River Man - The Stunning Harmony of Nick Drake

Melancholy can be overcome only by melancholy

Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy

Nick Drake recorded River Man in 1969, as part of his debut album, Five Leaves Left. With its haunting melody, mysterious lyrics, subtle guitar chords, irregular pulse, and poetic orchestral string textures, it represents a striking moment in musical history when pastoral English Romanticism seemed to collide with the new world of the singer-songwriter.

The unknown woman named Betty, the sense of seasons passing, changing weather, the almost mystical presence of 'the River Man’ and notions of belief and doubt, freedom, perplexity and mortality are all presented in an extraordinarily evocative soundscape of rocking guitar chords and richly harmonised string sound. Nick’s voice has a unique fragility. To quote from a recent insightful YouTube comment, “the depth and melancholy of this song is transformative. It's otherworldly in its beauty."

According to producer Joe Boyd, Nick Drake recorded the song without overdubbing, singing and playing on a stool in the centre of the studio, surrounded by a semi-circle of string players.

Despite the beauty of their collaboration, Nick Drake and Harry Robinson, the orchestrator, did not work together again, and their work remained largely unnoticed by critics and the general public.

MUSICAL EXCERPTS USED IN THIS VIDEO

River Man by Nick Drake. String orchestration by Harry Robinson

Performers: Nick Drake: voice and guitar with the unnamed studio musicians

From Nick Drake’s debut album Five Leaves Left, produced by Joe Boyd
(recorded July 1968 - June 1969, Sound Techniques studio, Chelsea, London)

Nick Drake’s solo performance of the song (without strings), recorded in August 1969 on John Peel’s 'Night Ride’ session, can be heard here:    • Nick Drake - River Man (The John Peel...  

For further insight into Nick Drake’s skills as a guitarist and inventor of beautiful harmonic patterns on the instrument, here is a fascinating tutorial about the intricate guitar fingerings in the song,    • How To Play Nick Drake River Man (ful...  

A free pdf of this transcription is available if you email us. However, because these things take time and effort to produce, we would ask you to please donate to the channel before contacting us about this. Thank you.

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Edited by Ian Coulter ( https://www.iancoultermusic.com )
Produced and directed by Ian Coulter & Matthew King