Pink Moon by Nick Drake

by Lana Fleischli

Contrary to some of my previous articles, I have listened to this album before the past week. Usually, I like to find something that I haven’t listened to before to try to broaden my horizons. The thing is, however, that I initially listened to this album to have a new article to write about, but when I set myself up to write it, my mind went blank. 

It has been about seven months since I attempted to write about Pink Moon, and now I’m trying again. It’s not that I don’t like it, I actually really do. There is something so beautiful about the rawness of the album. There are no backing instrumentals on the album. It’s just him and his acoustic guitar. It sounds like it was just recorded on a cassette from his bedroom. I noticed this specifically in the song, “Know.” The riff is very tinny and “bouncy(?).” I’m not sure if that is the right word, but the quality of the recording makes the song feel very unpolished. I personally really like that. There’s something about Nick Drake and only his guitar that makes Pink Moon feel extra sincere. It’s directly from the heart. 

In the song, “Parasite,” he describes himself as a parasite-- not the greatest connotation. Spreading sadness to everyone around him and only being able to see sadness in other people seems to reflect the reality of his life. In “Which Will,” he seems to question everything. He is actively trying to find something to live for. He is questioning little things, but he is trying to see if it’s worth it. He had trouble finding something to live for as he died from an overdose of an antidepressant at 26 years old.

It’s hard to write about an album that is sad and truly from the heart. I keep finding myself looking for answers in the writing about who the artist is as a person and how they perceived the world. Frankly, it seems like Nick Drake was a sad person with beautiful songwriting abilities.