Beautifully melodious and yet entrenched in melancholy, lyrically simple and yet riven with meaning, At the Chime of a City Clock is classic Drake. In a sense an expansion on the opening line of Hazey Jane II, where Drake asks ‘what will happen when the world gets so crowded that you can’t look out...
[Verse 1]
A city freeze, get on your knees
Pray for warmth and green paper
A city drought, you're down and out
See your trousers don't taper
Saddle up, kick your feet
Ride the range of a London street
Travel to a local plane
Turn around and come back again
[Chorus 1]
And at the chime of a city clock
Put up your roadblock
Hang on to your crown
For a stone in a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour down
[Verse 2]
Stay indoors, beneath the floors
Talk with neighbours only
The games you play make people say
You're either weird or lonely
A city star won't shine too far
On account of the way you are
And the beads around your face
Make you sure to fit back in place
[Chorus 2]
And at the beat of a city drum
See how your friends come
In twos, or threes, or more
For the sound of a busy place
Is fine for a pretty face
Who knows what a face is for
[Verse 3]
The city clown will soon fall down
Without a face to hide in
And he will lose if he won't choose
The one he may confide in
Sonny boy with smokes for sale
Went to ground with a face so pale
And never heard about the change
Showed his hand and fell out of range
[Bridge]
In the light of a city square
Find out the face that's fair
Keep it by your side
When the light of the city falls
You fly to the city walls
Take off with your bride
[Chorus 1]
But at the chime of a city clock
Put up your roadblock
Hang on to your crown
For a stone in a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour down
At the Chime of a City Clock was written by Nick Drake.
At the Chime of a City Clock was produced by Joe Boyd.
Nick Drake released At the Chime of a City Clock on Sat Mar 06 1971.