Neil Young

Neil Young is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has become one of the most respected and influential musicians of his generation. He famously collaborated with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash on much of his early music.

Song Lyrics

• "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"
• "Where the eagle glides ascending / There's an ancient river bending / Through the timeless gorge of changes / Where sleeplessness awaits" - '"Thrasher" (Rust Never Sleeps, 1978)
• "Old man, look at my life, 24 and there's so much more, live alone in a paradise that makes me think of 2." Old Man
• "What is the color when black is burned?" - "I Am a Child"
• "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"
• "If you guarantee the postage, I'll mail you back the key." - "The Last Trip to Tulsa"
• "I guess I'll call it sickness gone" - "Ambulance Blues", referring to the drug related death of bandmate Danny Whitten
• "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"
• "Well, 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 never believed in much, but I believed in you." - "From Hank to Hendrix"
• "The same thing that makes you live can kill you in the end." - "From Hank to Hendrix"
• "It's better to burn out than to fade away." - "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", quoted by Kurt Cobain in his suicide note.
• "Shelter me from the powder and the finger / Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger." - "Powderfinger"
• "Look at mother nature on the run in the 1970's." - "After the Gold Rush"
• "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"
• "In my little box / At the top of the stair / With my Indian rug / And a pipe to share." - "Pocahontas"
• "A sparkle was in his eye, but his life was in his hand" - "Tonights the Night"
• "It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down" - "Saddle Up the Palomino"
• "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"
• "The economy was getting so bad, I had to lay myself off." - Old Ways (1986)
• "And we'll be watching you / No matter what you do / And you can do your part / By watchin' others too." - "Leave the Driving"
• "You're all just pissin' in the wind / You don't know it but you are." - "Ambulance Blues"
• "Don't feel like Satan but I am to them." - "Rockin' in the Free World"
• "We got a thousand points of light for the homeless man, we got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand." - "Rockin' in the Free World"
• "Welfare mothers make better lovers." - "Welfare Mothers"
• "Live music is better! Bumper stickers should be issued!" - "Union Man"
• "Southern man better keep your head, don't forget what your good book said." - "Southern Man"
• "I've seen the Needle and the Damage done/a little part of it in everyone/but every junkie's like a setting sun" - "The Needle and the Damage done"

Unsourced

• "Man, that's my style!" -- When asked by the producer of "Tears Are Not Enough" (the Canadian counterpart to "We Are The World") to sing his line again because it sounded "a little flat".
• "You gotta keep changing. Shirts, old ladies, whatever."
• "It's all one song." -- Replying to a man in the audience, who said "It all sounds the same!"
• "Smell the horse on this one " -- While performing with Crazy Horse
• "Getting sued by your record company for making 'uncommercial records' after twenty years in the business, that's even better than receiving a Grammy" -- After Geffen Records had accused him of making "albums impossible to promote".
• "Heart of Gold put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride, but I saw more interesting people there." -- Expressing his disdain for the fame that he received from his song Heart of Gold
• "I can't play that without the band... Don't worry, I came prepared. This is a big gig for me." -- Replying to a request from the audience during a February 27, 1971 solo show at Royal Festival Hall, London.
• "As soon as you start talking about mystique, you have none." -- Interview for Rolling Stone magazine.
• "I am Stephen Stills." -- Replying to a audience member who yelled for his fellow CSNY member at a show in 1978.
• "Shut up white boy!" -- Replying to a loud heckler at United Palace Theatre in New York City, December 18, 2007.
• "You better see a doctor." -- Replying to a fan who said "Neil Young makes the pain go away" at United Palace Theatre in New York City, December 18, 2007.
• "It's your voice that keeps on bothering me. Now, I don't mind ya bein' here, but everyone else might." at the United Palace Theater in New York City, December 16, 2007