River Man
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 11:20, 18 June 2008 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 11:21, 18 June 2008 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEAsZa4Qz2Y, see "[[River Man]]" | :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEAsZa4Qz2Y, see "[[River Man]]" | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''"River Man"''' ({{audio| River man Nick Drake 28 sec.ogg|sample}}) is the second listed song from [[Nick Drake]]'s 1969 album ''[[Five Leaves Left]]'', remastered and released as a single in 2004. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Musical structure and lyrics== | ||
| + | The song features a 5/4 timing, and is one of the few songs he wrote to be played in standard tuning. The string arrangement was composed by [[Harry Robertson (composer)|Harry Robinson]] and [[Robert Kirby]]. Though Drake never revealed the identity of the 'Betty' character in the lyrics, [[Trevor Dann]] speculated that she may have been drawn from [[Betty Foy]], a character in [[Wordsworth]]'s "[[The Idiot Boy]]", a poem Drake had studied while attending [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[United States|American]] [[jazz]] pianist [[Brad Mehldau]] has been known to be a great admirer of Drake's music, and has recorded River Man on numerous albums, such as [[Live in Tokyo]], usually remaining very faithful to the dark, autumnal sound that defines Drake's recording. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Single recording details== | ||
| + | The single was backed by versions of "River Man" and "Day Is Done" (also from ''[[Five Leaves Left]]'', performed by [[Norah Jones]]. | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 11:21, 18 June 2008
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEAsZa4Qz2Y, see "River Man"
"River Man" (Template:Audio) is the second listed song from Nick Drake's 1969 album Five Leaves Left, remastered and released as a single in 2004.
Musical structure and lyrics
The song features a 5/4 timing, and is one of the few songs he wrote to be played in standard tuning. The string arrangement was composed by Harry Robinson and Robert Kirby. Though Drake never revealed the identity of the 'Betty' character in the lyrics, Trevor Dann speculated that she may have been drawn from Betty Foy, a character in Wordsworth's "The Idiot Boy", a poem Drake had studied while attending Cambridge.
American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has been known to be a great admirer of Drake's music, and has recorded River Man on numerous albums, such as Live in Tokyo, usually remaining very faithful to the dark, autumnal sound that defines Drake's recording.
Single recording details
The single was backed by versions of "River Man" and "Day Is Done" (also from Five Leaves Left, performed by Norah Jones.
