‘All Flowers In Time’: the story of the lost Jeff Buckley and Elizabeth Fraser ballad
Music history is littered with tragedies. So many talents have been taken far too early, leaving the world forever wondering what incredible songs and shows we all missed out on. One of the most heartbreaking losses was that of Jeff Buckley, who died at only 30 years old after releasing only one official album. There was plenty left behind, though. Some pieces were compiled into posthumous releases or special editions. But one cult favourite has been lost.
A track has to be really good to get music fans off streaming services and into the depths of YouTube. It needs to be even better to get people willing to listen to an unfinished and unmastered demo. So, with over five million views on the rare YouTube video that’s nothing but a still shot of Jeff Buckley and Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser as their unpolished cut plays in the background, you know that the song is something special.
‘All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun’ is that song. Without a proper studio recording and no release, little is known about its origin. It must have been written sometime between 1994 and 1995, providing an insight into Buckley’s creative world in the immediate aftermath of his debut album, Grace.
In many ways, the piece feels like a beautiful stepping stone between that and the collection of songs that eventually found a home on Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. It has the richly poetic lyricism that colours earlier tracks like ‘Grace’ or ‘Lover You Should’ve Come Over’, specifically capturing the same spiritual streak with the opening lyrics of “My eyes are a baptism”. But musically, it’s more stripped back. Perhaps this is just because the recording we have is only a demo. Still, with the acoustic guitar lead and the priority given to the vocals, it feels more akin to later cuts like ‘Morning Theft’ as Buckley clearly began considering what would come next.
But in the present moment and that time in his life, there was a clear and intense love. On the track with him is the beautiful voice of Elizabeth Fraser, heard in rare clarity without the haziness added to her Cocteau Twins works or even her cover of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’, which she recorded with This Mortal Coil. Revealing a powerful and emotive voice, the rawness of Fraser’s performance is just as special here as Buckley’s own. It was recorded at a time when the two musicians were in a relationship, proving that it was a deeply creative one that saw them collaborating together. “To meet Jeff was like being given a set of paints. I had all this colour in my life again,” Fraser said of the relationship and its inspirational nature for both of their music.
In this one insight, the merge of their two artists’ worlds is beautiful. In the more mysterious and elusive imagery, Fraser’s influence veils Buckley’s own vividly emotional lyricism in a glorious, shimmery shroud. We can only imagine how that might have been elevated if the track had been completed and produced, merging shoegaze and rock into something stunning, no doubt.
Beyond being able to pinpoint when their relationship was and getting a roundabout date of when the song was probably made, that’s all that’s known about it. It’s remained a mystery since. As the demo became a cult favourite track amongst Buckley’s fans, there have been calls for an official release for years that his estate has always batted away. His team has made it clear that the work will never be officially on streaming services as they “never had a proper studio recording of it, and the demo recordings we had were too personal and not suited to past projects.”
The song’s personal element also leaves a conflicting air about it. Ever since it was first leaked, fans have been captivated by the rawness of the feeling in this rare performance. But that’s exactly why Fraser herself hates that it’s out there.
“I’d read his diaries, and he’d read mine. We’d literally just hand them over and swap. I’ve never done that with anyone else. It was very personal,” she said of their writing process. But having such an intimate and open relationship, both musically and personally, makes the revelation of this song feel incredibly tender. In an interview about the work, Fraser simply said, “Why does everything have to be heard?” As she suggests that some things should be kept in a private archive, it casts a painful shadow over the beautiful track.
It’s a tender balance. For fans and Fraser alike, the song feels like a rare, additional slither of a much-missed talent. After he was taken so young, anyone who knew, loved or respected the musician naturally went scrambling to find as much of him as possible to hold onto. But as fans want to hold onto his art, and loved ones want to hold onto their private memories, ‘All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun’ slips into the cracks down the middle, becoming as bittersweet as the track itself.
