by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by,
Blue moon sinking
from the weight of the load
And the building scrape the sky,
Cold wind ripping
down the allay at dawn
And the morning paper flies,
Dead man lying
by the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes.
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around.
Blind man running
through the light
of the night
With an answer in his hand,
Come on down
to the river of sight
And you can really understand,
Red lights flashing
through the window
in the rain,
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying
in a gutter in the lane,
If you're walking home alone.
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
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining the folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the beginning of his solo career, often with backing by the band Crazy Horse, he has released critically acclaimed albums such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After the Gold Rush (1970), Harvest (1972), On the Beach (1974), and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). He was also a part-time member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with whom he recorded the chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu.
Young's guitar work, deeply personal lyrics and signature high tenor singing voice define his long career. He also plays piano and harmonica on many albums, which frequently combine folk, rock, country and other musical genres. His often distorted electric guitar playing, especially with Crazy Horse, earned him the nickname "Godfather of Grunge" and led to his 1995 album Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam. More recently he has been backed by Promise of the Real.
Young directed (or co-directed) films using the pseudonym "Bernard Shakey", including Journey Through the Past (1973), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Human Highway (1982), Greendale (2003), CSNY/Déjà Vu (2008), and Harvest Time (2022). He also contributed to the soundtracks of the films Philadelphia (1993) and Dead Man (1995).
Young has received several Grammy and Juno Awards. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him twice: in 1995 as a solo artist and in 1997 as a member of Buffalo Springfield. In 2023, Rolling Stone named Young No. 30 on their list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time. Young is also on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest musical artists. 21 of his albums and singles have been certified Gold and Platinum in the U.S. by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Young was awarded the Order of Manitoba in 2006 and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.
What difference does it make? If I like a piece of music, whether it's Mozart or Bob Dylan, I admire it because of its merits. I don't make a lot of differences based on what other folks think.
Maybe that's good, maybe not. But that's the way I am. Don't let others dictate your tastes. They may be more f*cked up than you are.
As a friend of mine always said: If you spend your time responding to other people's perceptions, pretty soon you are living their trip and not your own.
This is a classic album for me because of the added value of a personal connection to the time and place I first heard it. I'll never be in high school again, but I can always put on certain albums and relive the inner experience.
Does anyone else ever tire of the pathetic whining?
Yes, we're tired of your pathetic whining.
Great song though.
Anyway, I enjoy Neil's work and his voice, and yeah, his vocal flaws are inseparable from his unique style. But that's a very subjective experience and one I cannot fully explain, especially since there are other singers who, on the surface, appear to possess similar attributes but whose work does not appeal to me.
I like it but if you don't, I understand, it's okay. Just don't tell me what to like or not to. I doubt very much if you would approve if I did that to you.
Does anyone else ever tire of the pathetic whining?
NOPE...... but your pathetic whining can take a hike.
Randy: Yo dawg, listen, you got some pitch and timing issues, its gonna be a no from me, Simon?
Simon: Neil, is this a joke?, that was the worst singing ive ever heard, thats 3 nos. but thankyou and goodbye.
Says someone who places their taste in the hands of American Idol.
Does anyone else ever tire of the pathetic whining?
No - never!
Back in the 1950s, a boy was growing up with passion, principle, and an Elvis Presley baritone, but not much inspiration.
Sometime around 1960, while he was idly walking down the road playing his harmonica, he was visited by the Devil.
Whoosh!
"Neil, I have a deal for you."
"Aaah….!"
"How'd you like to be a great singer-songwriter?"
"Aaah--huh? But everybody already says I sing really nice about nature and, like, birds, and… uh, farmers… and stuff. Yup."
"What if I were to offer you eloquence, the ability to put your passion into words?"
"Oh, no. You want to make me like them that 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 be here again."
Neil smiles at the words and the rich voice in which he'd said them.
"Free sample," the Devil says.
"What? I don't believe you. I believe in love. And I believe in action, when push comes to shove."
"Also, free sample."
"Damn it! Stop that!"
"OK."
"It's just… that, the words, the things… thoughts." He looks helplessly at the Devil.
"Need some assistance?"
"No, I got this, it's like… if I could hold on to just one thought long enough to know, why my mind's moving so fast and this conversation so slow… You did it again didn't you?"
"Yes."
Neil glares at him. "What's the catch?"
"You must give me your voice."
"What?"
"And I will replace it with the voice every arch-conservative imagines when he pictures a leftist songwriter.
"No!"
"Choose--a voice to win hearts or words to move minds."
Neil kicks some dirt. He plays a couple notes on the harmonica.
"Hearts are hard to change," he says, "I can't tell them how to feel. Some'll get stoned, some strange. But sooner or later, it all gets real."
"Well? Do you want me to work my magic or not?"
"Work on, work on."
Her rendition is beautiful!
still love Neil's music, don't like his politics
A mystery to me how one could love/respect the former but not the latter; the angry poetic progressive Zen of NY's musical view is one foundation of much of the music. We don't get Rockin in the Free World, Throw Your Hatred Down, etc. without the progressive p.o.v. Anyway, as you've revealed a hint of your politics, I doubt NY gives a shit. He has no lack of those who concur with him.