Fairly sure he's referring to a lost love. The third stanza intrigued me, so i went and did some research. Das Dreimäderlhaus, an opera with music composed by Franz Schubert, about the composers life, debuting way back in 1916, was later rewritten for UK audiences and renamed 'Lilac time.' "Schubert writes a beautiful love song to his beloved Mitzi. But he gets his best friend Baron Schober to sing it to her, and she falls in love with him instead of poor Franz, who has to find consolation in their happiness - and in his music." How Nick Drake is that? Similar in tone to Hanging on a Star, the theme of unrequited love comes up fairly often in Drake's music. Betty comes by to talk of 'fallen leaves', lost opportunites, past actions that can't be recounted. Fallen leaves could also refer to Autumn, he then goes on to write about summer in a more nostalgic sense. The riverman could obviously refer to the passage of time. I think he's writing about a love that has been lost somewhere between summer and autumn. "Oh how they come and go." Beautiful song.
Lilac time could be an allusion to Schubert or it could be TS Eliot's or even Walt Whitman
Lilac time could be an allusion to Schubert or it could be TS Eliot's or even Walt Whitman
WARBLE me now, for joy of Lilac-time,
....
Souvenirs of earliest summer—birds’ eggs, and the first berries; The river man may represent someone who understands English literature and the Great Tradition. F R Leavis was a big influence at Cambridge at the time Drake was studying, though he had resigned is post at Downing in 1964. "I don't suppose its meant for me" could mean Drake appreciates the tradition but feels outside it. On the other hand he could just be someone planning a...
WARBLE me now, for joy of Lilac-time,
....
Souvenirs of earliest summer—birds’ eggs, and the first berries; The river man may represent someone who understands English literature and the Great Tradition. F R Leavis was a big influence at Cambridge at the time Drake was studying, though he had resigned is post at Downing in 1964. "I don't suppose its meant for me" could mean Drake appreciates the tradition but feels outside it. On the other hand he could just be someone planning a summer concert.
Fairly sure he's referring to a lost love. The third stanza intrigued me, so i went and did some research. Das Dreimäderlhaus, an opera with music composed by Franz Schubert, about the composers life, debuting way back in 1916, was later rewritten for UK audiences and renamed 'Lilac time.' "Schubert writes a beautiful love song to his beloved Mitzi. But he gets his best friend Baron Schober to sing it to her, and she falls in love with him instead of poor Franz, who has to find consolation in their happiness - and in his music." How Nick Drake is that? Similar in tone to Hanging on a Star, the theme of unrequited love comes up fairly often in Drake's music. Betty comes by to talk of 'fallen leaves', lost opportunites, past actions that can't be recounted. Fallen leaves could also refer to Autumn, he then goes on to write about summer in a more nostalgic sense. The riverman could obviously refer to the passage of time. I think he's writing about a love that has been lost somewhere between summer and autumn. "Oh how they come and go." Beautiful song.
Lilac time could be an allusion to Schubert or it could be TS Eliot's or even Walt Whitman
Lilac time could be an allusion to Schubert or it could be TS Eliot's or even Walt Whitman
WARBLE me now, for joy of Lilac-time, .... Souvenirs of earliest summer—birds’ eggs, and the first berries; The river man may represent someone who understands English literature and the Great Tradition. F R Leavis was a big influence at Cambridge at the time Drake was studying, though he had resigned is post at Downing in 1964. "I don't suppose its meant for me" could mean Drake appreciates the tradition but feels outside it. On the other hand he could just be someone planning a...
WARBLE me now, for joy of Lilac-time,
.... Souvenirs of earliest summer—birds’ eggs, and the first berries; The river man may represent someone who understands English literature and the Great Tradition. F R Leavis was a big influence at Cambridge at the time Drake was studying, though he had resigned is post at Downing in 1964. "I don't suppose its meant for me" could mean Drake appreciates the tradition but feels outside it. On the other hand he could just be someone planning a summer concert.