I mean this as a compliment though it doesn't sound like it. He had to be an incredible song writer to make that voice work. And I love his songs and his voice with his songs. If he wasn't such an incredible song writer it would have never worked. Same story with Bob Dylan.
This was written about Neil's bandmate in Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten (also a gifted singer/songwriter) who got caught up in heroin to the point that Young had to fire Crazy Horse ("I hit the city and I lost my band"). When Neil recorded this and other songs for the Harvest album, he gave Whitten one more chance and brought him up to his ranch for the recording sessions, but Whitten was still too strung out. Neil sent him back to LA and gave him some money, which Whitten used to score the heroin that he OD'd on. That and another OD (CSNY roadie Bruce Berry) inspired the song (and the album) Tonight's The Night, which is pretty raw and rough going for some listeners. When Neil put together the Decade compilation album, he included Needle And The Damage Done, and in his own handwritten liner notes for the album, he wrote "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of good men".
Danny wrote (and originally performed) the song made famous by Rod Stewart, “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It”.. Everything But The Girl did a really good cover of it too..
Tonight's the Night is one of my favorite records of all time. At first listen, it sounds like a rough-cut by a garage band recorded in one night. But with further listening, it unfolds with some of the most amazing lyrics and raw, unpolished music that Neil has produced. I have grown to love that record.
@@stpnwlf9 I like it too, but it is rough going for some people, either because Neil is so drunk that his normal off-pitch vocals get even more off-pitch, or because the subject matter is too close for some people. I've known people who were around hardcore drug use and couldn't stand to listen to Tonight's The Night because it was like opening up a raw wound for them.
@@esssee9386 I was one (clean 21 years now) and watched many once brilliant friends slowly but surely sink their way down into death by overdose or suicide. It’s an inevitable part of the life. That’s what it means to me.
I grew up very sheltered, when I got out on my own I met a young man, just slightly older than I was, I knew he had come out from rehab and was clean when we met. He was musically talented, a couple of times he played the piano and sang some songs it was a moving experiance, then he slipped back into the drugs and he was like a zombie, just wandering around with no life in his eyes. One of the saddest things I've ever seen.
Unbelievably, Rick James was in a band with Neil Young called the The Mynah Birds. They were also roommates in Toronto. Neil Young was not the singer of that band, Rick James was. But Rick knew Neil was a great song writer and encouraged him to sing his own material
@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN Punctuation is important. Are you saying, "So what. Rick James was garbage.", or are you saying. "So what, Rick James was garbage?".
*Neil did have an impact on music all those years ago. He stuck to doing his own thing and he did it well. Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young were all great...but I really did prefer Neil and his guitar. It felt much more intimate.*
No, he literally said he wanted to be removed from spotify because his fans told him to due to joe rogan, and then got back on a week later and acted like it never happened.
@@aprilecotton2060 maybe you misunderstood my comment. Neil pleases himself first before his audience when writing and performing music. Your comment had to do with his decision regarding Spotify, which has nothing to do with singing or writing songs.
@@rockodilechannel3509 if he pleases himself first, why did he do what his audience wanted when he clearly did not want it. And wtf kind of weird comment is that anyways. Why would it be good that an artist, “pleases himself” smh.
Thank you to MS Dewey, my 7th grade chorus teacher, for introducing us to Neil Young, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and classical music. I have enjoyed this song since then.
Saw Neil at the Fox theater in Atlanta in 75. First part of the show was just Neil and Guitar/Harmonica. Second part the band came out for the electric stuff. We were high (well, up high - and high) and we could see what they were doing when they wandered behind the amps and stacks.
Neil Young does a song called HEY HEY MY MY , rock n roll can never die , and he does a song called MY MY HEY HEY , rock n roll is here to stay , they are two different songs but they should be listened to together !! Neil Young is almost in a class by himself !!!
Yay Neil Young! One of my all time favorites. Such a long career and a huge catalog of music. Neil is best like this I think, just him. I especially love Harvest Moon and Birds .
You touched on a good point about being young and naive. Some of us thought, "I'll just try it, I won't get hooked." I was lucky, I was able to try it then leave it alone. My brother tried it, couldn't stop and eventually died from it. 🙁✌🧡
Sorry about your brother. I lost my best friend just before Christmas 1970. OD'd and passed in my arms. The third, maybe 4th time we shot up. Not sure why he went and I didn't, we did the same amount. I was a little heavier I suppose. Still, I shot up two more times after. We were in 9th grade...It snags you right away but you don't notice at first. His dying and I was starting to feel it tug real hard, and somehow, I recognized it for what it was, that what they started telling us about in 7th grade was true, and very real, I rounded up some Seconal and managed to sleep through the worst of it, but it was tough. I wish I could find that same resolve to quit smoking. I found it real quick when I grew allergic to alcohol. Once i realized what was going on I just stopped and never looked back. I do on occasion miss the warmth of my Wild Turkey 101, but not enough so to even risk a swig. That was around 95. About 10 years later I grabbed a Corona to make some batter for some cod and took a little pull off the bottle. The reaction was almost instant, could barely eat the fish, and had a hangover for three days. I always hear how beautiful Seattle is, and it is, but I've seen it's shit covered underbelly up close and personal. Had we stayed there, I'm pretty positive I never would have seen 18 much less 66...
As much as the lyrics hit (and they always find a way) the guitar chords and singing style of Neil is pretty amazing. This song, his stuff with CSNY, Old Man, Down by the river, Don't let it bring you down - essential music for my life.
Lex is so spot on with her assessment that Neil could be a busker. By himself with 12 string and a pockerful of harmonics he can sound like a whole band sometimes! I have a friend like that. Mark Wesley. He was already good as a teen playing guitar. But now he is a solo performer. But not like any other you're seen. He has a contraption, that's all I can think to call it! That he plays drums with his feet while playing the guitar. Then he has a small recorded portion that plays simultaneously. It's AMAZING to watch him!
@@jco207 I'm not sure if my friend has any videos of himself playing, but I'm going to check. If I find one I'll send it. A whole group of us friends from Lansing mi have continued to play through the years with fairly decent success. The band showdown, has been playing in Lansing for 30 yrs. Four of us started our first grg band in 75! I'm a vocalist myself. I know a few tunes on piano. Peace bro, keep practicing!
@@jco207 hey jean-carlos, search mark Wesley live at Dixie fish co. I'm sure he has better songs but this shows him playing very clearly. Lmk if you find it. I think you'll trip!
He is just so talented . I saw him in concert at an outdoor amphitheater and he just delivered. Everyone was satisfied , everyone enjoyed the concert, and everyone left thinking they had just watched one of our best performers. The man just gave pleasure to a small stadium full of music lovers.
Love your reaction. I've been a Neil Young fan since the BUFFALO SPINGFIELD in the 60's. I'm so glad new generations are discovering Neil Young's song writing, musicianship and voice. Check out the "FOR WHAT ITS WORTH". ALL THRU CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG and ALL SOLO ALBUN in the 1970's. Two great solo albums HARVEST AND AFTER THE GOLD RUSH. I've lost friends and a neice to heroin.
I saw him in Massey Hall in 2007, a half a century after he recorded those ground-breaking songs in his 20s. Honestly, his vocals were absolutely perfect
@ 5:28 really resonated... I had that realization when I was 19 years old and struggling to keep my tiny, cheap studio apartment and keep myself fed and clothed (no, I didn't have a drug or alcohol problem; I was just young and clueless). I realized that it was HARD to make it to old age and that people who had made it that far deserved much respect. I don't recall ever calling anyone sir or ma'am before that but those words became regular parts of my vocabulary right then and there' nearly 4 decades later I still use them constantly when talking to others. Oh, and yeah: Neil Young is a fething genius, a rare talent and an all-around amazing person.
This whole concert is outstanding and was broadcast on the MTV Live Unplugged show.. I had recorded it on VCR, and it was later released on VHS.. it was hugely popular when it came out..
Wife here. The song is about Danny Whitten was guitarist in Neil’s back up group Crazy Horse. He came to record high on heroin couldn’t play and Neil had to ask him to leave gave him some money he went and OD’d. That is what the song is about. Big Neil Young fan since I first heard him at 12 yrs old . Love watching you react to him . Soooo many great songs . Talented saw him 10 times or more by now .
Back in the day when he wrote this song and many of the drug use back then was directly related to the Vietnam war. Also during this time the youth of America was facing the Cubin Missile Crisis. In school kids did like monthly drills in case Russia launched their nucs. Yet we where also taught that none of us would survive. the civil rights movement was ongoing. Cities being burnt to the ground. People building fallout shelters in their back yards. Everything in the 60's/ early 70's where or seemed to be a dangerous world to grow up in. Many of the youth back then never thought they would live past 30. So regardless of what the adults told you about drugs it really didn't seem to matter. Escape from reality was a much better option at the time.
Yeah Neil did a short thing in the early 70s, had a film crew following him around as he busked on street corners in Scotland while on tour lol, many ppl in the crowd had no idea who he was, of course many of the younger ones knew him, some held up newspapers with ads for his show etc
I saw Neil in the early 80s. He was phenomenal! I lived with an addict for 18 years! He was the type of addict that about twice a year would disappear for 2 or 3 days. Yup love is blind! Took me awhile to finally stop accepting that for myself. Not all addicts live on the street.
Neil Young is a great Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Humanitarian, Producer, Businessman (he owns Lionel Model Trains), and Performer. Have been honored to see him in concert four times, each a unique experience and presentation by Neil. As I like to say, he is THE MAN. This song is one of his most personal and truly deep compositions.
I'm 61 have been listening to neil since I was 12 my elder sister's fault love his music this song always stuck with with me and the line every junkies like a setting sun how true never dabbled love a pint and smoke but so many people I grew up with have died young from drugs it's so sad I'm lucky I see people on drugs and get angry and sad at the waste of life😢
Many people hear tales of addiction and their response is one of disgust and condemnation. Your reaction was to say how sad it was. That shows you are good people. Love and best wishes. PS. This song is one of Neil Young's best and he is one of the best.
I'll chime in here when I can not only cause of the work I do here in Canada, Vancouver & the Downtown East side but this song was obviously performed way back in the 70's when Mr. Young wrote this so it's not that. It isn't that old but also think, Elvis also sang In the Ghetto. I can also remember many bands who alos sung songs that brought awareness or at least tride to. Funny or sad, or just how we've become a custom to with how polititians always talk about how they will "be thier most promising care" if their voted into office. No mattter where you are in North America it seems to me, artists like Pink Floyd or Neil Young or Elvis Pestley seem to keep on having their songs more relevant decade after decade where our polititians seem to be like a turn buckle in a subway. maybe I can't portray my thoughts 100% but when is enough is enough when artists for decades can seem to feel the "Beat" where out local and federal government seem to not understand. That's the main question I ask myself these days.
Lex nailed why we had so many real (even homely) looking country singers in the past, even the women .. labels had to sign folks who could actually sing.
I'm glad u said that about him being a street musician, the street corner where Neil played right smack downtown at Dundas & Yonge has changed but the memories are still there.
his "imperfection" is the precursor and why he's known as "godfather of grunge" - I didn't make the connection until "yeah, of course he's touring with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden"
Neil was one of the early artists to record an album using a Vocoder too. 1981-82. Trans. It's an interesting story about trying to help his son speak with a synthesized voice.
After hearing your very first comments, I really wish you would go back to when he was a younger man running the stage alone.... Old Man, A Heart of Gold, The Needle and the Damage Done. He tells a couple of little stories about the songs and has a little heyday with his many harmonicas lol. He made it seem like he was just learning to play..... if so.... Wow!!! You really should check him out back then! Oh FYI a lot of your older bands are either as good as or better than the original album. I guess that's why there are so many live recordings!!!
Neil Young has been an inspiration to so many younger artists and his peers as well, because for his entire career he has always followed his own instincts as an artist entirely. He produced a lot of amazing and wildly successful work, and other things that didn't work as well. But his music is always compelling and interesting, precisely because it is all the genuine results of an artist trusting his own intuition Not everything he's done turned out great - though the majority of it did - but you always know you're getting something he put himself into completely.
Hit the nail on the head. Making it out of childhood is a win. Neil is the man. Every junkie is like a setting sun.....harsh and truth to power at the same time.
Mr Young long before he created Crazy Horse he was writing songs for Buffalo Springfield checkout Mr Soul awesome song for it’s time truly a revelation of its time..
… I caught you knockin' at my cellar door I love you, baby, can I have some more? Ooh, ooh, the damage done … I hit the city and I lost my band I watched the needle take another man Gone, gone, the damage done … I sing the song because I love the man I know that some of you don't understand Milk blood to keep from running out … I've seen the needle and the damage done A little part of it in everyone But every junkie's like a settin' sun
one of the best concerts i ever saw was in 1982 A Solo Evening With Neil Young, 2 sets with him and a lineup of guitars, pianos and a synthesizer, awesome
I just spent the day in Vancouver, the city I was born and raised in. I live in the suburbs and drove home passing through an area the addicted, homeless and mentally ill congregate. It was shocking, disturbing and heartbreaking to see these people. Unfortunately, it is all too common in larger cities throughout the world and it seems our politicians lack the political will to make the hard decisions that have to be made to even begin to solve this problem. I have experienced first hand the tragic consequences of addiction. My cousin who was more like a brother to me, was an addict. Not homeless, had a wonderful family, retired. In short, not what you would think an addict would be. Addiction can impact anyone, anywhere, any time. My dear cousin could not live with his addiction and chose to end his life. Broke my heart.
One of the best and brilliant features of this song, which is about the holes left in our lives by the senseless loss of meaningful people, is that at the end of the song, the last measure is left incomplete and stumbles to a dissonant end. Thereby leaving a hole on the song, like a musical "missing man" formation.
Im from Ireland, this song takes me back, im now 36 but everytime i hear that song i go back to being a 6 year old kid in the backseat of my dads car on the way to the beach with the family, good times, love the channel folks
Ah yes. Neil is a Canadian gem. So regarded. Coffee house beginnings. But a huge musical carreer. CSNY. And a stellar solo carreer. After the Gold rush. Harvest. Huge part of my growing up in the 70s
This song is about addicted people who ODed, died. The addiction phase of having lost interest in life and living is sung about in Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb".
The best thing about listening to reactions to songs like this that I’ve heard a thousand times is I get to hear the lyrics again as though for the first time. Totally blew me away all over again.
Yes Neil Young doesn't need no auto tuning. His voice is imperfectly perfect. Also top 5 songwriter all time.
Truer words were never spoken. They don't make them like Neil anymore.
Weird that works.
I mean this as a compliment though it doesn't sound like it. He had to be an incredible song writer to make that voice work. And I love his songs and his voice with his songs. If he wasn't such an incredible song writer it would have never worked. Same story with Bob Dylan.
RB....who says top 5?
@@michaelasay8587 I do. Why?
This was written about Neil's bandmate in Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten (also a gifted singer/songwriter) who got caught up in heroin to the point that Young had to fire Crazy Horse ("I hit the city and I lost my band"). When Neil recorded this and other songs for the Harvest album, he gave Whitten one more chance and brought him up to his ranch for the recording sessions, but Whitten was still too strung out. Neil sent him back to LA and gave him some money, which Whitten used to score the heroin that he OD'd on. That and another OD (CSNY roadie Bruce Berry) inspired the song (and the album) Tonight's The Night, which is pretty raw and rough going for some listeners.
When Neil put together the Decade compilation album, he included Needle And The Damage Done, and in his own handwritten liner notes for the album, he wrote "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of good men".
I’m guessing too that Neil was inspired by Bert Jansch’s song Needle of Death. Neil asked Bert to tour with him before the latter’s death.
Great explanation of what a song is about. Neil young couldn't have done better himself.
Danny wrote (and originally performed) the song made famous by Rod Stewart, “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It”.. Everything But The Girl did a really good cover of it too..
Tonight's the Night is one of my favorite records of all time. At first listen, it sounds like a rough-cut by a garage band recorded in one night. But with further listening, it unfolds with some of the most amazing lyrics and raw, unpolished music that Neil has produced. I have grown to love that record.
@@stpnwlf9 I like it too, but it is rough going for some people, either because Neil is so drunk that his normal off-pitch vocals get even more off-pitch, or because the subject matter is too close for some people. I've known people who were around hardcore drug use and couldn't stand to listen to Tonight's The Night because it was like opening up a raw wound for them.
“every junkie’s like a setting sun” hits so hard, every time.
Glad to be here, glad to see y’all.
As an ex heroin addict this song hits like a mule, profound!
Every junkie's like a setting sun because they always promise a better tomorrow. Live with one and you'll definitely get that line
@@esssee9386 I was one (clean 21 years now) and watched many once brilliant friends slowly but surely sink their way down into death by overdose or suicide. It’s an inevitable part of the life.
That’s what it means to me.
i means the sun is slowly fadeing burning out just like addictt@@esssee9386
I never complain about growing older - I'm grateful. It's a privilege denied to many.
I grew up very sheltered, when I got out on my own I met a young man, just slightly older than I was, I knew he had come out from rehab and was clean when we met. He was musically talented, a couple of times he played the piano and sang some songs it was a moving experiance, then he slipped back into the drugs and he was like a zombie, just wandering around with no life in his eyes. One of the saddest things I've ever seen.
Unbelievably, Rick James was in a band with Neil Young called the The Mynah Birds. They were also roommates in Toronto. Neil Young was not the singer of that band, Rick James was. But Rick knew Neil was a great song writer and encouraged him to sing his own material
It's just so bizarre and crazy. I've told this to so many people and the reaction is always, "What?!? The "Super Freak" guy!?!"
So what Rick James was garbage
@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN Punctuation is important.
Are you saying, "So what. Rick James was garbage.", or are you saying. "So what, Rick James was garbage?".
If I recall this song is about a member in Neil's band who had a problem with Heroin.
Neil Young is such a pure and authentic talent. Beautiful voice and emotion
I love how Lexi described Neil's sound. Raw and amazing talent.
I could listen to just him, his guitar and harmonica, all damn day!!! Lhm.
*Neil did have an impact on music all those years ago. He stuck to doing his own thing and he did it well. Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young were all great...but I really did prefer Neil and his guitar. It felt much more intimate.*
Until you read Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon : Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & The Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
Neil always sings from his heart. He's a true artist in that he's out to please himself before pleasing his audience.
No, he literally said he wanted to be removed from spotify because his fans told him to due to joe rogan, and then got back on a week later and acted like it never happened.
@@aprilecotton2060 That has nothing to do with his artistic expression.
@@rockodilechannel3509 did not say it did? And you did not either? Sounds like you done to many drugs to
@@aprilecotton2060 maybe you misunderstood my comment. Neil pleases himself first before his audience when writing and performing music. Your comment had to do with his decision regarding Spotify, which has nothing to do with singing or writing songs.
@@rockodilechannel3509 if he pleases himself first, why did he do what his audience wanted when he clearly did not want it. And wtf kind of weird comment is that anyways. Why would it be good that an artist, “pleases himself” smh.
One of my all time favorites, but I am a drug counselor and a recovering addict. So many lost over the years.
Stay well!
Thank you to MS Dewey, my 7th grade chorus teacher, for introducing us to Neil Young, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and classical music. I have enjoyed this song since then.
I’ve seen him play five times: acoustic, electric, country, folk, rock & roll. He played this song (and “Powderfinger”) every time.
Saw Neil at the Fox theater in Atlanta in 75. First part of the show was just Neil and Guitar/Harmonica. Second part the band came out for the electric stuff. We were high (well, up high - and high) and we could see what they were doing when they wandered behind the amps and stacks.
Neil Young does a song called HEY HEY MY MY , rock n roll can never die , and he does a song called MY MY HEY HEY , rock n roll is here to stay , they are two different songs but they should be listened to together !! Neil Young is almost in a class by himself !!!
These are both lyrics from the same song My My Hey Hey. Just in different verses. th-cam.com/video/t4Y1wDdMYH4/w-d-xo.html
Check out "After the gold rush" too. Another classic Neil Young tune
Love you kids and your empathy. Peace
“Every junkie is a setting sun” 🥲
Yay Neil Young! One of my all time favorites. Such a long career and a huge catalog of music. Neil is best like this I think, just him. I especially love Harvest Moon and Birds .
You touched on a good point about being young and naive. Some of us thought, "I'll just try it, I won't get hooked." I was lucky, I was able to try it then leave it alone. My brother tried it, couldn't stop and eventually died from it. 🙁✌🧡
Sorry about your brother. I lost my best friend just before Christmas 1970. OD'd and passed in my arms. The third, maybe 4th time we shot up. Not sure why he went and I didn't, we did the same amount. I was a little heavier I suppose. Still, I shot up two more times after. We were in 9th grade...It snags you right away but you don't notice at first. His dying and I was starting to feel it tug real hard, and somehow, I recognized it for what it was, that what they started telling us about in 7th grade was true, and very real, I rounded up some Seconal and managed to sleep through the worst of it, but it was tough. I wish I could find that same resolve to quit smoking. I found it real quick when I grew allergic to alcohol. Once i realized what was going on I just stopped and never looked back. I do on occasion miss the warmth of my Wild Turkey 101, but not enough so to even risk a swig. That was around 95. About 10 years later I grabbed a Corona to make some batter for some cod and took a little pull off the bottle. The reaction was almost instant, could barely eat the fish, and had a hangover for three days. I always hear how beautiful Seattle is, and it is, but I've seen it's shit covered underbelly up close and personal. Had we stayed there, I'm pretty positive I never would have seen 18 much less 66...
Every junkie I've ever known started taking heroin thinking, "It won't happen to me". Guess what?
Wonderful reaction you two…
Like Lex said, “the meaning of the song is so deep”.
Thank you Neil for writing such a poignant song…👍🏼
As much as the lyrics hit (and they always find a way) the guitar chords and singing style of Neil is pretty amazing. This song, his stuff with CSNY, Old Man, Down by the river, Don't let it bring you down - essential music for my life.
The melody is so beautiful but the subject matter is so ugly, haunting song but one I like to hear now and then for a reality check.
Lex is so spot on with her assessment that Neil could be a busker. By himself with 12 string and a pockerful of harmonics he can sound like a whole band sometimes! I have a friend like that. Mark Wesley. He was already good as a teen playing guitar. But now he is a solo performer. But not like any other you're seen. He has a contraption, that's all I can think to call it! That he plays drums with his feet while playing the guitar. Then he has a small recorded portion that plays simultaneously. It's AMAZING to watch him!
That takes a lot of talent. I'm a beginner guitarist, and just the multitasking of trying to play basic chords and sing makes my head explode.
@@jco207 I'm not sure if my friend has any videos of himself playing, but I'm going to check. If I find one I'll send it. A whole group of us friends from Lansing mi have continued to play through the years with fairly decent success. The band showdown, has been playing in Lansing for 30 yrs. Four of us started our first grg band in 75! I'm a vocalist myself. I know a few tunes on piano. Peace bro, keep practicing!
@@jco207 hey jean-carlos, search mark Wesley live at Dixie fish co. I'm sure he has better songs but this shows him playing very clearly. Lmk if you find it. I think you'll trip!
Absolutely not a busker.....wimpy wimpy stop the Acoustic shit.....need his electric stuff
No he isn't a SOLO ARTIST just Crazy Horse
Neil Young Unplugged is possibly my favorite album. From top to bottom it is a masterpiece.
He is just so talented . I saw him in concert at an outdoor amphitheater and he just delivered. Everyone was satisfied , everyone enjoyed the concert, and everyone left thinking they had just watched one of our best performers. The man just gave pleasure to a small stadium full of music lovers.
Love to see people upgrade their thinking when new info comes in. Those moments are milestones in personal evolution. It's a beautiful thing.
Love your reaction. I've been a Neil Young fan since the BUFFALO SPINGFIELD in the 60's. I'm so glad new generations are discovering Neil Young's song writing, musicianship and voice. Check out the "FOR WHAT ITS WORTH". ALL THRU CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG and ALL SOLO ALBUN in the 1970's. Two great solo albums HARVEST AND AFTER THE GOLD RUSH. I've lost friends and a neice to heroin.
I saw him in Massey Hall in 2007, a half a century after he recorded those ground-breaking songs in his 20s. Honestly, his vocals were absolutely perfect
@ 5:28 really resonated... I had that realization when I was 19 years old and struggling to keep my tiny, cheap studio apartment and keep myself fed and clothed (no, I didn't have a drug or alcohol problem; I was just young and clueless). I realized that it was HARD to make it to old age and that people who had made it that far deserved much respect. I don't recall ever calling anyone sir or ma'am before that but those words became regular parts of my vocabulary right then and there' nearly 4 decades later I still use them constantly when talking to others. Oh, and yeah: Neil Young is a fething genius, a rare talent and an all-around amazing person.
Brad & Lex, you'll love his "Harvest Moon" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"/"My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)"!!!
Quite possibly the Goat. You can go down the rabbit hole with his songs. Lots of hits.
This whole concert is outstanding and was broadcast on the MTV Live Unplugged show.. I had recorded it on VCR, and it was later released on VHS.. it was hugely popular when it came out..
Wife here. The song is about Danny Whitten was guitarist in Neil’s back up group Crazy Horse. He came to record high on heroin couldn’t play and Neil had to ask him to leave gave him some money he went and OD’d. That is what the song is about. Big Neil Young fan since I first heard him at 12 yrs old . Love watching you react to him . Soooo many great songs . Talented saw him 10 times or more by now .
Back in the day when he wrote this song and many of the drug use back then was directly related to the Vietnam war. Also during this time the youth of America was facing the Cubin Missile Crisis. In school kids did like monthly drills in case Russia launched their nucs. Yet we where also taught that none of us would survive. the civil rights movement was ongoing. Cities being burnt to the ground. People building fallout shelters in their back yards. Everything in the 60's/ early 70's where or seemed to be a dangerous world to grow up in. Many of the youth back then never thought they would live past 30. So regardless of what the adults told you about drugs it really didn't seem to matter. Escape from reality was a much better option at the time.
Saw him perform this 6 days before the live recording was done January 1971. He was in a funk and played 40 minutes.
Growing up in the 70's, this song holds a special place in my heart. Always has, always will.
Yeah Neil did a short thing in the early 70s, had a film crew following him around as he busked on street corners in Scotland while on tour lol, many ppl in the crowd had no idea who he was, of course many of the younger ones knew him, some held up newspapers with ads for his show etc
Only Love Can Break Your Heart is another great Neil Young tune.
I saw Neil in the early 80s. He was phenomenal! I lived with an addict for 18 years! He was the type of addict that about twice a year would disappear for 2 or 3 days. Yup love is blind! Took me awhile to finally stop accepting that for myself. Not all addicts live on the street.
Neil Young is a great Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Humanitarian, Producer, Businessman (he owns Lionel Model Trains), and Performer. Have been honored to see him in concert four times, each a unique experience and presentation by Neil. As I like to say, he is THE MAN. This song is one of his most personal and truly deep compositions.
Good ole Niel...so raw and true...💋💋
1:53 Look up "Neil Young Busking Glasgow, Scotland 1976"
The line "Every junkie's like a setting sun." I do landscape photography and the only thing a setting sun does is go down and lose it's brightness.
I'm 61 have been listening to neil since I was 12 my elder sister's fault love his music this song always stuck with with me and the line every junkies like a setting sun how true never dabbled love a pint and smoke but so many people I grew up with have died young from drugs it's so sad I'm lucky I see people on drugs and get angry and sad at the waste of life😢
Many people hear tales of addiction and their response is one of disgust and condemnation. Your reaction was to say how sad it was. That shows you are good people. Love and best wishes.
PS. This song is one of Neil Young's best and he is one of the best.
I'll chime in here when I can not only cause of the work I do here in Canada, Vancouver & the Downtown East side but this song was obviously performed way back in the 70's when Mr. Young wrote this so it's not that. It isn't that old but also think, Elvis also sang In the Ghetto. I can also remember many bands who alos sung songs that brought awareness or at least tride to. Funny or sad, or just how we've become a custom to with how polititians always talk about how they will "be thier most promising care" if their voted into office. No mattter where you are in North America it seems to me, artists like Pink Floyd or Neil Young or Elvis Pestley seem to keep on having their songs more relevant decade after decade where our polititians seem to be like a turn buckle in a subway. maybe I can't portray my thoughts 100% but when is enough is enough when artists for decades can seem to feel the "Beat" where out local and federal government seem to not understand. That's the main question I ask myself these days.
Lex nailed why we had so many real (even homely) looking country singers in the past, even the women .. labels had to sign folks who could actually sing.
I'm glad u said that about him being a street musician, the street corner where Neil played right smack downtown at Dundas & Yonge has changed but the memories are still there.
his "imperfection" is the precursor and why he's known as "godfather of grunge" - I didn't make the connection until "yeah, of course he's touring with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden"
This song has always sounded like a funeral to me. Art imitates life.
a REALLY GOOD street performer! That guitar is SO good. Neil sings from experience.
From Musical Youth to the genius that is Neil Young...loving it...
Neil was one of the early artists to record an album using a Vocoder too. 1981-82. Trans. It's an interesting story about trying to help his son speak with a synthesized voice.
Seen Neil 3 times. 1983 Dallas TX. 2 at the farm aids 1986 1987. I have 20 albums of him. Peace
After hearing your very first comments, I really wish you would go back to when he was a younger man running the stage alone.... Old Man, A Heart of Gold, The Needle and the Damage Done. He tells a couple of little stories about the songs and has a little heyday with his many harmonicas lol. He made it seem like he was just learning to play..... if so.... Wow!!! You really should check him out back then! Oh FYI a lot of your older bands are either as good as or better than the original album. I guess that's why there are so many live recordings!!!
You got it, Lex. He is a true troubadour from an almost forgotten Era.
Neil Young has been an inspiration to so many younger artists and his peers as well, because for his entire career he has always followed his own instincts as an artist entirely. He produced a lot of amazing and wildly successful work, and other things that didn't work as well. But his music is always compelling and interesting, precisely because it is all the genuine results of an artist trusting his own intuition Not everything he's done turned out great - though the majority of it did - but you always know you're getting something he put himself into completely.
Hit the nail on the head. Making it out of childhood is a win. Neil is the man. Every junkie is like a setting sun.....harsh and truth to power at the same time.
LEGEND
Mr Young long before he created Crazy Horse he was writing songs for Buffalo Springfield checkout Mr Soul awesome song for it’s time truly a revelation of its time..
I really want you guys to get deeper into Neil, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead. These 3 artists will change your lives.
Of all the songs about drug use, this has to be the best one.
0ne of my favorite Niel songs. Worked it out living in a dismal bedsit when I was about 21
… I caught you knockin' at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more?
Ooh, ooh, the damage done
… I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done
… I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk blood to keep from running out
… I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a settin' sun
I just wanted to say that you two (Brad and Lex) absolutely nailed the meaning of this song! Brilliant job!
Another emotional classic. Very pertinent to today, especially, with the fentanyl epidemic. Thanks, cats.
Oh NEIL you are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good ! :) Peace & love
one of the best concerts i ever saw was in 1982 A Solo Evening With Neil Young, 2 sets with him and a lineup of guitars, pianos and a synthesizer, awesome
This is the precursor to "Tonight's the Night" (1975), the best and darkest Neil Young album.
Harvest is a Brilliant album. I have it on Vinyl for the house and CD for the car. Niel Young is a great songwriter.
Such an amazing song, and while many have covered it, I still think Neil's version is the best.
I just spent the day in Vancouver, the city I was born and raised in. I live in the suburbs and drove home passing through an area the addicted, homeless and mentally ill congregate. It was shocking, disturbing and heartbreaking to see these people. Unfortunately, it is all too common in larger cities throughout the world and it seems our politicians lack the political will to make the hard decisions that have to be made to even begin to solve this problem.
I have experienced first hand the tragic consequences of addiction. My cousin who was more like a brother to me, was an addict. Not homeless, had a wonderful family, retired. In short, not what you would think an addict would be. Addiction can impact anyone, anywhere, any time.
My dear cousin could not live with his addiction and chose to end his life. Broke my heart.
Neil Young is a special breed though he is a composer also he writes lyrics and music and sings and plays multiple instruments rare breed indeed!
Absolutely spot on, Neil Young could be a street performer, always raw, take me as you find me attitude.
Wow your comments are great! I love listening to you and notice your music vocabulary improving. Bravo!
One of the best and brilliant features of this song, which is about the holes left in our lives by the senseless loss of meaningful people, is that at the end of the song, the last measure is left incomplete and stumbles to a dissonant end.
Thereby leaving a hole on the song, like a musical "missing man" formation.
Im from Ireland, this song takes me back, im now 36 but everytime i hear that song i go back to being a 6 year old kid in the backseat of my dads car on the way to the beach with the family, good times, love the channel folks
"Every junkie's like a setting sun."
The lyrics: masterful.
The composition and playing: masterful.
The heartfelt, emotional singing: masterful.
At 5:16, Brad says one of the truest things. As a parent in this day, you know he’s right.
Neil is a phenomenal songwriter
Great tune.. lovelovelove ❤️🌸✌🏻
Maestro Fresh Wes - Let Your Backbone Slide
Aloha guys, good morning...tough song...a hui hou
If you get a chance, listen to the Harvest LP (which Needle is from). The entire record is masterful!
Enjoyed your reaction and comments!
Great song even greater artist
Ah yes. Neil is a Canadian gem. So regarded. Coffee house beginnings. But a huge musical carreer. CSNY. And a stellar solo carreer. After the Gold rush. Harvest. Huge part of my growing up in the 70s
That’s how it used to be especially in the 70’s, sad you weren’t there! A blast, music in he air!
thanks to my sister I survived the 70's heroin era now 61 years and she still keeps saving me,
Great song. I could actually play it on the guitar back in the day (and I'm not a great guitarist). Thank you for the reaction.
He followed this up a few years after with an album full of observations from this sad vantagepoint('Tonight's the Night')...
makes the hair on my arms stand up. 1968 started smoking left handed cigarettes and listening to Neil Young.
He is truly one of a kind. Canadian to a fault.
This song is about addicted people who ODed, died. The addiction phase of having lost interest in life and living is sung about in Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb".
Having Lost several Friends to the Needle, this song always makes me cry.
I'm so sorry @brown. I've gone through losing close friends as well. What a waste. Thank God I made it while so many others did not! smdh............
Thank you @@jamesperine3472
Sorry for your loss.
Gratitude helped me greatly.
For everything… the good the bad & the ugly. ✌️
thank you! i love this song so much!
Like a Hurricane from Unplugged is incredible. Old pump organ sounds haunting.
"Don't let it bring you down" is another good one Neil does acoustically as well.
I love your conversation here. It's all so complicated.
The best thing about listening to reactions to songs like this that I’ve heard a thousand times is I get to hear the lyrics again as though for the first time. Totally blew me away all over again.
great pick guys, keep it up!
"A little pitchy, dude..."