Neil Young



Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation. Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960, before moving to California in 1966, where he co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills, and later joined Crosby, Stills & Nash as a fourth member in 1969.

Song lyrics

 * Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain With the barkers and the colored balloons, You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon, You're leaving there too soon.
 * Sugar Mountain (1969)

With Buffalo Springfield

 * Did you see them in the river? They were there to wave to you. Could you tell that the empty quiver, Brown skinned Indian on the banks That were crowded and narrow, Held a broken arrow?
 * Broken Arrow, from Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)
 * There you stood on the edge of your feather Expecting to fly. While I laughed, I wondered whether I could wave goodbye Knowin' that you'd gone.
 * Expecting to Fly, from Buffalo Springfield Again
 * I gave to you, now, you give to me I'd like to know what you learned. The sky is blue and so is the sea What is the color, when black is burned?
 * I Am a Child, from Last Time Around (1968)

With Crosby, Stills & Nash

 * There is a town in north Ontario, With dream comfort memory to spare, And in my mind I still need a place to go, All my changes were there.
 * Helpless, from Déjà Vu (1970)
 * Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'. We're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drummin'. Four dead in Ohio.
 * Ohio, from 4 Way Street'' (1971)
 * If you guarantee the postage, I'll mail you back the key.
 * The Last Trip to Tulsa

Neil Young (1968)

 * I've been looking for a woman to save my life Not to beg or to borrow A woman with the feeling of losing once or twice.
 * I've Been Waiting for You

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

 * A dreamer of pictures I run in the night. You see us together, Chasing the moonlight, My cinnamon girl.
 * Cinnamon Girl
 * You take my hand, I'll take your hand Together we may get away This much madness is too much sorrow It's impossible to make it today.
 * Down by the River

After the Gold Rush (1970)

 * Look at Mother Nature on the run In the nineteen seventies.
 * After the Gold Rush
 * I was lying in a burned out basement With the full moon in my eyes. I was hoping for replacement When the sun burst through the sky. There was a band playing in my head And I felt like getting high. I was thinking about what a Friend had said I was hoping it was a lie.
 * After the Gold Rush
 * But only love can break your heart Try to be sure right from the start Yes only love can break your heart What if your world should fall apart?
 * Only Love Can Break Your Heart
 * Southern man better keep your head. Don't forget what your good book said. Southern change gonna come at last Now your crosses are burning fast. Southern man.
 * Southern Man
 * Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning, Just find someone who's turning And you will come around.
 * Don't Let It Bring You Down
 * When you dance, Do your senses tingle? Then take a chance? In a trance, While the lonely mingle With circumstance?
 * When You Dance I Can Really Love

Harvest (1972)

 * See the lonely boy, out on the weekend, Tryin' to make it pay. Can't relate to joy, he tries to speak and Can't begin to say.
 * Out On The Weekend
 * Will I see you give More than I can take? Will I only harvest some? As the days fly past Will we lose our grasp Or fuse it in the sun?

Did she wake you up To tell you that It was only a change of plan? Dream up, dream up, Let me fill your cup With the promise of a man.
 * Harvest
 * I've been to Hollywood I've been to Redwood I crossed the ocean For a heart of gold. I've been in my mind, It's such a fine line That keeps me searching For a heart of gold. And I'm getting old.
 * Heart of Gold
 * Old man look at my life, Twenty four And there's so much more Live alone in a paradise That makes me think of two.
 * Old Man
 * Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you. I need someone to love me The whole day through. Ah, one look in my eyes And you can tell that's true.
 * Old Man
 * I've seen the needle and the damage done. A little part of it in everyone. But every junkie's like a settin' sun.
 * The Needle and the Damage Done
 * If I was a junkman selling you cars, Washing your windows and shining your stars, Thinking your mind was my own in a dream What would you wonder and how would it seem? Living in castles a bit at a time The King started laughing and talking in rhyme. Singing words, words between the lines of age. Words, words between the lines of age.
 * Words (between the lines of age)
 * A while ago somewhere I don't know whenI was watching a movie with a friendI fell in love with the actressShe was playing a part that I could understandA maid
 * A man needs a maid

On the Beach (1974)

 * Oh, baby, that's hard to change, I can't tell them how to feel, Some get stoned, some get strange, But sooner or later, it all gets real. Walk on. Walk on.
 * Walk On
 * Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars, But I hate them worse than lepers and I'll kill them in their cars.
 * Revolution Blues
 * You can really learn a lot that way, It will change you in the middle of the day, Though your confidence may be shattered, It doesn't matter.
 * For the Turnstiles
 * The world is turning, I hope it don't turn away.
 * On the Beach
 * Well, all those people, they think they've got it made, But I wouldn't buy, sell, borrow or trade Anything I have to be like one of them. I'd rather start all over again.
 * Motion Pictures
 * I guess I'll call it sickness gone, It's hard to say the meaning of this song.
 * Ambulance Blues, referring to the drug related death of bandmate Danny Whitten
 * You're all just pissin' in the wind, You don't know it but you are.
 * Ambulance Blues

Zuma (1975)

 * I have seen you in the movies, And in those magazines at night. I saw you on the barstool, When you held that glass so tight.
 * Barstool Blues
 * He came dancing across the water with his galleons and guns Looking for the new world in that palace in the sun
 * Cortez The Killer
 * On the shore lay Montezuma with his coca leaves and pearlsIn his halls he often wondered of the secrets of the worlds....The women all were beautiful, the men stood straight and strongThey offered life in sacrifice so that others could go on Hate was just a legend, war was never knownThe people worked together and they lifted many stones.
 * Cortez The Killer

Tonight's the Night (1975)

 * A sparkle was in his eye, but his life was in his hand.
 * Tonight's the Night
 * Well, people let me tell you, it sent a chill up and down my spine, When I picked up the telephone and heard that he'd died out on the mainline.
 * Tonight's the Night
 * Oh tell me where the answer lies, Is it in the notebook behind your eyes?
 * Speakin' Out
 * And the world on a string doesn't mean a thing.
 * World On A String
 * I'm singin' this borrowed tune I took from the Rolling Stones, Alone in this empty room, too wasted to write my own.
 * Borrowed Tune
 * Think I'll roll another number for the road, I feel able to get under any load, Though my feet aren't on the ground, I've been standing on the sound Of some open-hearted people going down.
 * Roll Another Number (For The Road)
 * I'm not going back to Woodstock for a while, Though I long to hear that lonesome hippie smile, I'm a million miles away from that helicopter day, No, I don't think I'll be goin' back that way.
 * Roll Another Number (For The Road)
 * I've been flyin' down the road, And I've been starvin' to be alone, Independent from the scene that I've known.
 * Albuquerque
 * He tried to do his best but he could not.
 * Tired Eyes
 * Please take my advice, please take my advice, Open up the tired eyes, Open up the tired eyes.
 * Tired Eyes

American Stars 'n Bars (1977)

 * You are like a hurricane There's calm in your eye. And I'm gettin' blown away To somewhere safer Where the feeling stays. I want to love you but I'm getting blown away.
 * Like a Hurricane
 * It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down.
 * Saddle Up the Palomino

Comes a Time (1978)

 * It's gonna take a lotta love To change the way things are It's gonna take a lotta love Or we won't get too far.
 * Lotta Love
 * It's gonna take a lotta love To get us through the night It's gonna take a lotta love To make things work out right.
 * Lotta Love

Rust Never Sleeps (1978)

 * My my, hey hey Rock and roll is here to stay. It's better to burn out Than to fade away. My my, hey hey.
 * Hey Hey, My My, written with Jeff Blackburn; quoted by Kurt Cobain in his suicide note.
 * Where the eagle glides ascending There's an ancient river bending Through the timeless gorge of changes Where sleeplessness awaits.
 * Thrasher
 * The king is gone But he's not forgotten. This is the story Of a Johnny Rotten It's better to burn out Than it is to rust. The king is gone But he's not forgotten.
 * Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
 * In my little box At the top of the stair With my Indian rug And a pipe to share.
 * Pocahontas
 * Shelter me from the powder And the finger Cover me with the thought That pulled the trigger Think of me As one you'd never figured Would fade away so young With so much left undone.
 * Powderfinger

Hawks & Doves (1980)

 * Live music is better! Bumper stickers should be issued!
 * Union Man

Old Ways (1985)

 * When I was a younger man, Got lucky with a rock 'n' roll band, Struck gold in Hollywood, All the time I knew I would Get back to the country, Back where it all began. Get back to the country, Back in the barn again.
 * Get Back To The Country
 * The economy was getting so bad, I had to lay myself off.
 * Old Ways

Freedom (1989)

 * There's colors on the street Red, white and blue People shufflin' their feet People sleepin' in their shoes But there's a warnin' sign On the road ahead There's a lot of people sayin' We'd be better off dead. Don't feel like Satan, But I am to them. So I try to forget it, Any way I can.
 * Rockin' in the Free World
 * We got a thousand points of light For the homeless man. We got a kinder, gentler, Machine gun hand. We got department stores And toilet paper Got styrofoam boxes For the ozone layer. Got a man of the people, Says keep hope alive Got fuel to burn, Got roads to drive.
 * Rockin' in the Free World

Weld (1991)

 * Welfare mothers make better lovers.
 * Welfare Mothers

Harvest Moon (1992)

 * I never believed in much, But I believed in you.
 * From Hank to Hendrix

Mirror Ball (1995)

 * Need distraction Need romance and candlelight Need random violence Need entertainment tonight Need the evidence Want the testimony of Expert witnesses On the brutal crimes of love.
 * I'm the Ocean

Greendale (2003)

 * And we'll be watching you No matter what you do And you can do your part By watchin' others too.
 * Leave the Driving

Quotes about

 * Neil, you know, was this rock & roller who was coming around to folk music through Bob Dylan. Of course. Anyway, Neil came out to the club, and we liked him immediately. He was the same way he is now – this offhanded, dry wit. And you know what his ambition was at the time? He wanted a hearse, and a chicken farm. And when you think of it, what he’s done with his dream is not that far off. He just added a few buffalo. And a fleet of antique cars. He’s always been pretty true to his vision.
 * Joni Mitchell Interview with Rolling Stone (1979)