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 Nick Drake

Five Leaves Left (1969)

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  1. Time Has Told Me
  2. River Man
  3. Three Hours
  4. Way To Blue
  5. Day Is Done
  6. 'Cello Song
  7. The Thoughts of Mary Jane
  8. Man in a Shed
  9. Fruit Tree
  10. Saturday Sun

Note

 

Time Has Told Me

 

Time has told me 
You're a rare rare find
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind.

(Leggi la traduzione nella pagina dedicata a questa canzone)

 

And time has told me
Not to ask for more
Someday our ocean
Will find its shore.

 

So I`ll leave the ways that are making me be
What I really don't want to be
Leave the ways that are making me love
What I really don't want to love.

 

Time has told me
You came with the dawn
A soul with no footprint
A rose with no thorn.

 

Your tears they tell me
There's really no way
Of ending your troubles
With things you can say.

 

And time will tell you
To stay by my side
To keep on trying
'til there's no more to hide.

 

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 mind.

 

And time has told me
Not to ask for more
For some day our ocean
Will find its shore.

 

 

River Man

 

Betty came by on her way
Said she had a word to say
About things today
And fallen leaves.

Betty arrivò seguendo la sua strada
Disse che voleva dire una cosa
Sulle cose di oggi
E sulle foglie cadute

Said she hadn't heard the news
Hadn't had the time to choose
A way to lose
But she believes.

Disse di non aver sentito le notizie
Di non aver avuto il tempo di scegliere
Una strada per perdere
Ma che ha fede

Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all I can
About the plan
For lilac time.

Andrò a trovare l'uomo del fiume
Andrò a dirgli tutto quello che posso
Sul progetto
Per il tempo dei lillà

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
And all night shows
In summertime.

Se lui mi dice tutto quello che sa
Sul modo in cui scorre il suo fiume
E su tutta quella che la notte
Consente di vedere nel tempo d'estate (1)

Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away
Or maybe stay
She wasn't sure.

Betty disse di aver pregato, oggi
Perché il cielo soffiasse via (la pioggia) (2)
O forse perché rimanesse
Non era sicura

For when she thought of summer rain
Calling for her mind again
She lost the pain
And stayed for more.

Perché quando lei pensava alla pioggia d'estate
Rivedendola ancora nella sua mente
Lei dimenticava il dolore
E resisteva più a lungo (3)

Going to see the river man
Going to tell him all I can
About the ban
On feeling free.

Andrò a trovare l'uomo del fiume
Andrò a dirgli tutto quello che posso
Sul divieto
Di sentirsi liberi

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
I don't suppose
It's meant for me.

Se lui mi dice tutto quello che sa
Sul modo in cui scorre il suo fiume
Non immagino
Che sia destinato a me

Oh, how they come and go
Oh, how they come and go

Oh, come vanno e vengono…
Oh, come vanno e vengono…

 

Three Hours

 

Three hours from sundown
Jeremy flies
Hoping to keep
The sun from his eyes
East from the city
And down to the cave
In search of a master
In search of a slave.

Tre ore dal tramonto
Jeremy vola (1)
Sperando di mantenere
Il sole negli occhi
(Fino ad arrivare) a est della città
E tornare giù nella (sua) caverna (2)
In cerca di un padrone
In cerca di uno schiavo

Three hours from London
Jacomo's free
Taking his woes
Down to the sea
In search of a lifetime
To tell when he's home
In search of a story
That's never been known.

Tre ore da Londra
Giacomo è libero
Portando i suoi dolori
Al mare
In cerca di una vita intera
Nella quale possa dire quando è a casa
In cerca di una storia
Che non è mai stata conosciuta

Three hours from speaking
Everyone's flown
Not wanting to be
Seen on their own
Three hours is needed
To leave from them all
Three hours to wonder
And three hours to fall.

Tre ore dal discorso
Tutti se ne sono andati
Non volendo essere
Visti da soli
Tre ore sono abbastanza
Per allontanarsi da tutti loro
Tre ore per porsi delle domande
E tre ore per cadere

Three hours from sundown
Jeremy flies
Hoping to keep
The sun from his eyes
East from the city
And down to the cave
In search of a master
In search of a slave.

Tre ore dal tramonto
Jeremy vola
Sperando di tenere
Il sole negli occhi
A est della città
E giù in una caverna
In cerca di un padrone
In cerca di uno schiavo

 

Way To Blue

 

Don't you have a word to show what may be done
Have you never heard a way to find the sun
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?

(Leggi la traduzione nella pagina dedicata a questa canzone)

Have you seen the land living by the breeze
Can you understand a light among the trees
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Tell us all today
If you know the way to blue?

 

Look through time and find your rhyme
Tell us what you find
We will wait at your gate
Hoping like the blind.

 

Can you now recall all that you have known?
Will you never fall
When the light has flown?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?

 

 

Day Is Done

 

When the day is done
Down to earth then sinks the sun
Along with everything that was lost and won
When the day is done.

(Leggi la traduzione nella pagina dedicata a questa canzone)

When the day is done
Hope so much your race will be all run
Then you find you jumped the gun
Have to go back where you began
When the day is done.

 

When the night is cold
Some get by but some get old
Just to show life's not made of gold
When the night is cold.

 

When the bird has flown
Got no-one to call your own
Got no place to call your home
When the bird has flown.

 

When the game's been fought
You speed the ball across the court
Lost much sooner than you would have thought
Now the game's been fought.

 

When the party's through
Seems so very sad for you
Didn't do the things you meant to do
Now there's no time to start anew
Now the party's through.

 

When the day is done
Down to earth then sinks the sun
Along with everything that was lost and won
When the day is done.

 

 

'Cello Song

 

Strange face, with your eyes
So pale and sincere.
Underneath you know well
You have nothing to fear.
For the dreams that came to you when so young
Told of a life
Where spring is sprung.

Viso strano, con i tuoi occhi
Così chiari e sinceri
Dentro di te lo sai bene
Di non aver nulla da temere
Per i sogni che hai fatto quando, così giovane
Ti hanno raccontato di una vita
Nella quale è scoppiata la primavera

You would seem so frail
In the cold of the night
When the armies of emotion
Go out to fight.
But while the earth sinks to its grave
You sail to the sky
On the crest of a wave.

Sembreresti così fragile
Nel gelo della notte
Quando gli eserciti dell'emozione
Escono per andare a combattere
Ma mentre la terra scende verso la sua tomba (1)
Tu salpi verso il cielo
Sulla cresta di un'onda

So forget this cruel world
Where I belong
I'll just sit and wait
And sing my song.
And if one day you should see me in the crowd
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud.

Quindi dimentica questo mondo crudele
A cui appartengo
Io non farò altro che sedermi e aspettare
E cantare la mia canzone
E se tu mi dovessi vedere un giorno tra la folla
tendimi una mano e portami su
Fino al tuo posto nella nuvola

 

The Thoughts of Mary Jane

 

Who can know
The thoughts of Mary jane
Why she flies
Or goes out in the rain
Where she's been
And who she's seen
In her journey to the stars.

Chi può conoscere
I pensieri di Mary Jane?
Perché vola
O esce fuori nella pioggia?
Dov'è stata
E chi ha visto
Nel suo viaggio verso le stelle?

Who can know
The reasons for her smile
What are her dreams
When they've journeyed for a mile
The way she sings
And her brightly coloured rings
Make her the princess of the sky.

Chi può sapere
Il motivo del suo sorriso?
Quali sono i suoi sogni
Quando hanno viaggiato per un miglio?
Il modo in cui canta
E i suoi anelli brillanti e multicolori
La fanno diventare la principessa del cielo

Who can know
What happens in her mind
Did she come from a strange world
And leave her mind behind
Her long lost sighs
And her brightly coloured eyes
Tell her story to the wind.

Chi può sapere
Cosa succede nella sua mente?
E' venuta da uno strano mondo
E ha lasciato la sua mente dietro di sé?
I suoi lunghi sospiri perduti
E i suoi occhi scintillanti e colorati
Raccontano al vento la sua storia

Who can know
The thoughts of Mary Jane
Why she flies
Or goes out in the rain
Where she's been
And who she's seen
In her journey to the stars.

Chi può conoscere
I pensieri di Mary Jane?
Perché vola
O esce fuori nella pioggia?
Dov'è stata
E chi ha visto
Nel suo viaggio verso le stelle?

 

Man in a Shed

 

Well there was a man who lived in a shed
Spent most of his days out of his head
For his shed was rotten let in the rain
Said it was enough to drive any man insane
When it rained
He felt so bad
When it snowed he felt just simply sad.

Bene, c'era un uomo che viveva in una casupola (1)
Trascorreva la maggior parte dei suoi giorni
fuori di testa / Perché la sua casupola era marcia e lasciava passare la pioggia
Disse che questo bastava a far impazzire un uomo
Quando pioveva
Si sentiva così male
Quando nevicava, si sentiva semplicemente triste

Well there was a girl
who lived nearby
Whenever he saw her he could only simply sigh
But she lived in a house
so very big and grand
For him it seemed like some very distant land
So when he called her
His shed to mend,
She said I'm sorry you'll just have to find a friend.

Bene, c'era una ragazza che viveva lì vicino
Ogni volta che l'uomo la vedeva poteva soltanto sospirare
Ma lei viveva in una casa così grande e imponente  / Che a lui sembrava come una terra molto lontana
Così, quando lui la chiamò
Per riparare la sua casupola
Lei gli rispose: "Scusa, ma dovresti proprio trovarti un amico"

Well this story is not so very new
But the man is me, yes and the girl is you
So leave your house come into my shed
Please stop my world from raining through my head
Please don't think
I'm not your sort
You'll find that sheds are nicer than you thought.

Bene, questa storia non è molto nuova
Ma quell'uomo sono io, si, e la ragazza sei tu
Così lascia la tua casa e vieni nella mia casupola
Per piacere ferma il mio mondo, fai che non mi piova nella testa
Per piacere non pensare
che io non sia il tuo tipo
Scoprirai che le casupole sono più carine di quanto tu potresti pensare

 

Fruit tree

 

Fame is but a fruit tree
So very unsound.
It can never flourish
Till its stalk is in the ground.
So men of fame
Can never find a way
Till time has flown
Far from their dying day.
Forgotten while you're here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style.

(Leggi la traduzione nella pagina dedicata a questa canzone)

Life is but a memory
Happened long ago.
Theatre full of sadness
For a long forgotten show.
Seems so easy
Just to let it go on by
Till you stop and wonder
Why you never wondered why.

 

Safe in the womb
Of an everlasting night
You find the darkness can
Give the brightest light.
Safe in your place deep in the earth
That's when they'll know what you were really worth.
Forgotten while you're here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style.

 

Fame is but a fruit tree
So very unsound.
It can never flourish
Till its stalk is in the ground.
So men of fame
Can never find a way
Till time has flown
Far from their dying day.

 

Fruit tree, fruit tree
No-one knows you but the rain and the air.
Don't you worry
They'll stand and stare when you're gone.

 

Fruit tree, fruit tree
Open your eyes to another year.
They'll all know
That you were here when you're gone.

 

 

Saturday Sun

 

Saturday sun came early one morning
In a sky so clear and blue
Saturday sun came without warning
So no-one knew what to do.
Saturday sun brought people and faces
That didn't seem much in their day
But when I remember those people and places
They were really too good in their way.
In their way
In their way
Saturday sun won't come and see me today.

Il sole del sabato spuntò presto, una mattina
In un cielo così limpido e azzurro
Il sole del sabato arrivò senza avvertire
Così nessuno seppe cosa fare
Il sole del sabato portò gente e volti
Che non sembravano proprio appartenere
al loro giorno
Ma quando ricordo quella gente e quei luoghi
Erano veramente troppo belli, a loro modo
A loro modo
A loro modo
Il sole del sabato non verrà a trovarmi oggi

Think about stories with reason and rhyme
Circling through your brain.
And think about people in their season and time
Returning again and again
And again
And again
And Saturday's sun has turned to Sunday's rain.

Pensa a favole con la spiegazione e la rima
Che girano per il tuo cervello
E pensa alla gente nella loro stagione e nel loro tempo
Che ritornerà ancora e ancora
E ancora
E ancora
E il sole del sabato si è trasformato nella pioggia della domenica

So Sunday sat in the Saturday sun
And wept for a day gone by.

Così, la domenica si sedette sul sole del sabato
E pianse per un giorno che era passato

 

Note

 

Time Has Told Me (3:56)

Paul Harris, piano
Richard Thompson, electric guitar
Danny Thompson, bass

Tony Reif's interpretation of Time Has Told Me:

The image of a 'rose without a thorn' was made popular by Leonard McNally's eighteenth century poem 'The Lass Of Richmond Hill':

"On Richmond Hill there lives a lass
More bright than May-day morn,
Whose charms all others maids' surpass,
A rose without a thorn."

(The song version has been the Official Regimental Song of The Green Howards Regiment of Yorkshire, England since 1789.)

River Man (4:28)

Arranged by the Scottish composer Harry Robinson.

This song is primarily in a 5/4 timing with occasional shifts to 4/4. Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five' aside, that was a rarely piece of music consistently in 5/4.

An excised verse culled posthumously from Nick's lyric notebook:

Betty fell behind awhile
Said she hadn't time to smile
Or die in style.
But still she tries
Said her time was growing short
Hadn't done the things she ought
Where teacher taught
And Father flies

River Man influenced by a Wordsworth poem?

Iain Cameron's analysis of River Man & At The Chime Of A City Clock

A possible source for the expression 'lilac time' in River Man are the following lines from a poem called Barrel Organ, by Alfred Noyes (1880-1958):

"Go down to Kew in lilac-time, in lilac-time;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!)
And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer's wonderland;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!)"

Note alla traduzione

(1)

Letteralmente "di mostrare".

(2)

Soffiasse via cosa? Può essere qualcosa di simbolico (lei stessa, la vita) oppure, agganciandosi al verso successivo, semplicemente la pioggia d'estate, così comune in Inghilterra.

(3)

Letteralmente: "poteva restare".

Three Hours (6:01)

Danny Thompson, bass
Rocki Dzidzornu, congas

The following verse is included on the original vinyl record cover (but not sung):

We had all the time, but failed to make sense
From one side to the other we fell to the fence
The one hope of failure had turned to the best
While three hours had taken the hope of success

(1) The mentioning of 'Jeremy' in Three Hours is referring to Jeremy Mason, a friend of Nick's at Marlborough. Mason says:
"When I asked Nick whether the tune was about me, he said yes. I said: 'Well, what does it mean?' He said: 'Well, if you don't know it doesn't matter...it's the way I perceived your situation at that time.'" (Humphries: 'Nick Drake', p. 95)

Note alla traduzione

(1)

Probabilmente la caverna è un riferimento metaforico alla casa verso cui si dirige il protagonista nelle ore che precedono il tramonto. Lì è in cerca di un padrone (o padrona) o di uno schiavo (o schiava), oppure di un padrone che è in cerca di uno schiavo.

Way To Blue (2:22)

Arranged by Robert Kirby

Day is done (3:05)

Arranged by Robert Kirby

'Cello Song (3:58)

Clare Lowter, 'cello
Danny Thompson, bass
Rocki Dzidzornu, congas

The Thoughts of Mary Jane (3:12)

Arranged by Robert Kirby

Man in a Shed (3:49)

Paul Harris, piano
Danny Thompson, bass

Note alla traduzione

(1)

"Shed" è tipicamente il capanno attrezzi spesso presente nelle "house" di campagna o dintorni delle città inglesi. Proviamo a tradurlo con un termine un po' antico ma meno tecnico di "capanno".

Fruit Tree (4:42)

Arranged by Robert Kirby

Saturday Sun (3:56)

Paul Harris, piano
Danny Thompson, bass
Tristam Fry, drums & vibraphone

 

Note tratte dal sito The Nick Drake File.
Le altre traduzioni di Nick Drake: Bryter Layter,
Pink Moon

 

© Musica & Memoria 2001 - Febbraio 2015 (Traduzione completa dell'album) / Testi di Nick Drake / Copia per usi commerciali non consentita (Vedi Disclaimer / Avvertenze)

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