I want to know do I stay or do I go…

At the beginning of “The Fairest Of Seasons”, Nico is contemplating whether her relationship has run its course. At this point she is not sure. Should I get out while things are good? It seems they’ve plateaued or at the very least it wasn’t the love of her life that she was looking for.  But at night, it is so easy to just stay in something that is comfortable.

When the morning comes, she begins to see things a little clearer–though she still acknowledges leaving will be a difficult decision. What if she regrets it? Sure she is young. There is plenty of time to find someone. Who says she couldn’t come back if she changes her mind anyway?

In the end, Nico decides that the time is now to leave. It brings her a sort of relief whereas before she was terrified. So, she decides to leave in the fairest of the seasons.

While the lyrics in Nico’s “The Fairest of Seasons” are great, the melody and delivery by Nico are what make this a classic. We can hear Nico struggle with her decision in her voice. She sings the song with a melancholy because as she said, there is nothing really wrong, the relationship has just run its course, and parting from a loved one is hard.

The Fairest Of Seasons Lyrics

Now that it’s time
Now that the hour hand has landed at the end
Now that it’s real
Now that the dreams have given all they had to lend
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe try another time
And do I really have a hand in my forgetting?

Now that I’ve tried
Now that I’ve finally found that this is not the way,
Now that I turn
Now that I feel it’s time to spend the night away
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe finally split the rhyme
And do I really understand the undernetting?

Yes and the morning has me
Looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs carefully.

Now that it’s light
Now that the candle’s falling smaller in my mind
Now that it’s here
Now that I’m almost not so very far behind
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And maybe follow another sign
And do I really have a song that I can ride on?

Now that I can
Now that it’s easy, ever easy all around.
Now that I’m here
Now that I’m falling to the sunlights and a song
I want to know do I stay or do I go
And do I have to do just one
And can I choose again if I should lose the reason?

Yes, and the morning
Has me looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs more carefully.

Now that I smile,
Now that I’m laughing even deeper inside.
Now that I see,
Now that I finally found the one thing I denied
It’s now I know do I stay or do I go
And it is finally I decide
That I’ll be leaving
In the fairest of the seasons.

written by Jackson Browne