Ode to Nick Drake

Album: Stratosphere (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • As the title implies, this song is a tribute to Nick Drake, an influential British musician who was just 26 years old when he died of an antidepressant drug overdose in 1974. The dreamy tone of the song is typical of Drake's work, and not at all what you might expect from a former member of Guns N' Roses.

    Matt Sorum joined GnR in 1990, taking over on drums after Steven Adler left the band. A former session drummer, Sorum has a wide range of musical interests and influences. He discovered Nick Drake when a friend played him Drake's song "River Man."

    "I was just blown away with the emotion of his voice, and these string arrangements were incredible," Sorum said. "So when I went to write the lyrics for 'Ode to Nick Drake,' I basically wanted to write a love song about my wife, and what would be the other factor that would be in that equation? And I just thought, Wow, Nick Drake, I could use it as a metaphor for love. Then I basically did the idea of what David Bowie used to do. He used to write down lyrics, like, different words, and he would put them on pieces of paper and cut them up and put them on the table. So I wrote down titles of Nick Drake songs, and album titles - Pink Moon, Five Leaves Left - and I put them around and I started writing all the verses based on these Nick Drake titles.

    And I thought about one of my greatest places growing up, which was this lake. My grandmother had a lake house and I'd see her every summer. It was one of the most peaceful places I've ever been. I still look at it as the place I always felt the most calm, and it was a great time for me as a kid. My best time as a kid. So I started out the song saying, 'A child was born and a loon has told me.' I used to wake to this loon on the lake going, 'Ooo, ooo,' and I just always loved that sound.

    I started writing the lyrics and it started to flow. I actually played guitar on that. It's me on guitar and my vocal and one cello. I played it for my wife and she said, 'I love that song, Matt, I love it! You've got to record that!' I said, 'Oh, yeah, baby, I wrote that for you.'" (Here's our full Matt Sorum interview.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.