To me this track is a Rosetta Stone for the work of Tim Buckley overall. There are clear pathways back to the folk stylings of the earlier Buckley – earlier extant versions of this song sound wan by comparison, less storm-tossed than gently rowing past the boathouse – and visions of a future Buckley who would barely get the ship out of dock without drunkenly crashing it. Here, the passion and torment that underscored and illuminated both is on full display.
There are so many memorable deliveries here, miracles of intonation, the kind of stuff that makes other singers say “I want to sing that song too” whilst definitively demonstrating why they shouldn’t. “Broken lovelorn on your rocks”, “shies from the sorrow”, the way he leans into the mic for the dive into “newborn child” before the tide pulls him back out. It’s a masterclass in surrendering to the passion that animates a great performance: let it enfold you.