Sunday Music: Nick Drake’s “Time Has Told Me”

June 02, 2019

“Time Has Told Me” is the lead track from Nick Drakes debut album, Five Leaves Left. Notice the way the tone of his voice and the melody of each section are nearly fixed, but all of the other pieces – from the lush instrumentation to the slight turns of phrase in the lyrics – evolve to tell a story. Brilliant work.

A sample of the lyrics (from the final chorus out):

So leave the ways that are making you be

What you really don’t want to be

Leave the ways that are making you love

What you really don’t want to love

Time has told me

You’re a rare, rare find

A troubled cure

For a troubled mine

And time has told me

Not to ask for more

For someday our ocean

Will find its shore