A few years ago I discovered the music of Nick Drake and for a while I listened to little else. I was fascinated by the arrangements of these meandering, melancholic masterpieces and the fact that he never saw commercial success in his tragically short lifetime (he died in 1974 aged 26). I started playing around with the folk guitar tuning of DADGAD (as popularised by Davy Graham) and a chord progression began to surface based initially around Drake’s “Riverman”, a track from his 1969 debut album “Five Leaves Left”. I was fully aware that I could never compose (let alone play) anything as intricate as Drake’s but I love drawing on all my influences no matter how ambitious that may seem in an attempt to come up with something of my own so I started work on what became “Wish Away The Moon”. I began finger picking the chords while developing the vocal melody and it was at this point the song took on a more Harry Nilsson mood with particular inspiration from “Without Her”. I finished the song, recorded a demo and forgot about it for a couple of years. It was some time in 2011 when I remembered the song and offered it to Suzi Chunk for inclusion on her debut album “Girl From The Neck Down”. For some reason I didn’t think she’d like it much but I couldn’t have been more wrong. She loved it and agreed to record her version at the very next recording session. You can compare the two versions here below the lyrics.
Wish Away The Moon
By the time it takes to seize hold of the early morning breeze she’ll rise/A moment come and gone before the setting of the sun is in her eyes
Wish away the moon take a chance and pretty soon you’ll fall
Waiting for the sound of the footsteps on the ground she cries/And while the clock alarm does its rise and shining harm she nearly dies
Wish away the moon, take a chance and pretty soon you’ll fall
She just keeps her eyes on the beautiful horizon/he’ll kiss away her tears but there’s a price to pay and here’s the deal
Just wish away the moon, take a chance and pretty soon you’ll fall