"At the Chime of a City Clock" is a song written by Nick Drake, who composed both its music and its lyrics. Drake recorded it at Sound Techniques in London, and it appears as the third track on side one of his album Bryter Layter, released by Island Records on 5 March 1971. Joe Boyd produced the album and John Wood engineered it. The track runs 4:47 and sits between "Hazey Jane II" and "One of These Things First". Drake sings and plays acoustic guitar, accompanied by Dave Pegg on bass, Ray Warleigh on alto saxophone, Mike Kowalski on drums and a string arrangement by Robert Kirby. Kirby said that Drake intended the arrangements to evoke the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. The song blends folk with a jazz-inflected, post-bossa nova rhythm and lush string arrangements. The original performance is dated to November 1970. Later versions include those by The High Llamas (1992), Nerina Pallot (2012) and Lisa Hannigan (2013). In Never a Dull Moment (2016), David Hepworth called it "the perfect soundtrack for the dispensing of a cup of tea in a polystyrene cup".
