From the recording Only Losers Write on Bridges
The song about a song. Nick Drake's "River Man" is lyrically mysterious, heartbreakingly suspended, musically unresolved.
Words & Music by Steve Dagleish © 2015. All Rights Reserved
Steve plays acoustic guitar and sings the lyric. Sonny Williamson's string arrangement tenderly returns us to Nick's melancholia. Sheena McKenzie's cello and Alice Butcher's violin are beautifully played.
Lyrics
Looking for the River Man
When you try to understand
The words in the heart of the ‘River Man’
Feel him close, do you? Feel him close, or is he too high?
Do you wait for the sun to end the night?
For the cracks in his words to shed some light?
Feel him close, do you? Feel him close, or is he too late?
Breathing takes you closer, dreaming makes that ghost disappear
Falling takes you higher, morning takes your eyes to the sky
Do you wait for the sun to end the night?
For the cracks in his words to shed some light?
Feel him close, do you? Feel him close, or is he too late?
Breathing takes you closer, dreaming makes that ghost disappear
Falling takes you higher, morning takes your eyes to the sky
And then you start to understand ...