Weirdest Neil Young Song You've Ever Heard....

[Rose___]

My vote is for "Danger Bird"

And I love it - in fact that may be part of the reason..

but just listen to those lyrics...

As best I can make out - I don't have them in front of me...

Danger Bird flies alone
and he rides the wind back to his home
Although his wings have turned to stone..

and he used to be so proud
Now I think about you all day long
...........
He recalls the moment that he cracked
Long ago in the museum with his friends..

The jail bird takes a rap
And he finds himself spread-eagled on the track
But the training that he learned will get him nowhere fast...
And I know he should be free

.......
Like those memories the rain
Keeps pounding down, pounding down

And though these wings have turned to stone
I can fly, fly away
Watch me fly above the city, like a shadow on the sky...

So is this song about a fossilized teradactyl, among other things??
Not to mention the weird Neil singing, guitar and Crazy Horse music.

It's my favorite track on Zuma, just wondering where the lyrics came from...

[Tregembo]

Post by Rose___
My vote is for "Danger Bird"

My vote is for just about anything in his discography. I think he's the
most overrated singer/songwriter of the rock/folk genre.

Ray Arthur

[Endy9]

Post by Tregembo

Post by Rose___
My vote is for "Danger Bird"

My vote is for just about anything in his discography. I think he's the
most overrated singer/songwriter of the rock/folk genre.

I love all of the C,S,N&Y members. My favorite Neil Young lyric is from
Crime In The City

~I sassed back to my mom~
~I sassed back to my teacher~
~I got thrown out of Bible school~
~For giving the finger to the preacher~



http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/crimeinthecitysixtytozeropart1.html

[PhillyGuy]

Post by Tregembo

Post by Rose___
My vote is for "Danger Bird"

My vote is for just about anything in his discography. I think he's the
most overrated singer/songwriter of the rock/folk genre.
Ray Arthur

Frank Sinatra never "got" (read: saw what there was to see in) Elvis
Presley, so what else is new? The art of the other is not lessened,
and ergo, this is not a groundbreaking type of announcement, folks...

(yes, I will sign as)

Tom Blumenthal

[PhillyGuy]

Additional thoughts:...

I don't think it is about a pterodactyl. But I have my own least
favorite one:
"Will To Live", something about the salmon, from the non-essential
Stars n' Bars. I like weird in the general sense, but this time he
was over-the-top and beyond the pale. I published an all-time lousy
Top 40, but Will To Live would be in such a Top 100.

All that said, he had some great songs and great albums. If you have
trouble translating this lyric, imagine yourself being a Dylan fan in
the 60's. Now there's a challenge for you. Neil had pretty much done
everything he was capable of doing by the end of the 70's. There
would be some commendable efforts later, like "Freedom", but he broke
no new ground in sound or lyrical themes. Still he had a 70's like
Dylan had a 60's, and supplanted the former in folk-rock leadership.

I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

Tom

Post by Rose___
My vote is for "Danger Bird"
And I love it - in fact that may be part of the reason..
but just listen to those lyrics...
As best I can make out - I don't have them in front of me...
Danger Bird flies alone
and he rides the wind back to his home
Although his wings have turned to stone..
and he used to be so proud
Now I think about you all day long
...........
He recalls the moment that he cracked
Long ago in the museum with his friends..
The jail bird takes a rap
And he finds himself spread-eagled on the track
But the training that he learned will get him nowhere fast...
And I know he should be free
.......
Like those memories the rain
Keeps pounding down, pounding down
And though these wings have turned to stone
I can fly, fly away
Watch me fly above the city, like a shadow on the sky...
So is this song about a fossilized teradactyl, among other things??
Not to mention the weird Neil singing, guitar and Crazy Horse music.
It's my favorite track on Zuma, just wondering where the lyrics came from...

...

[Bob E.]

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

That would be "Frankie Lee"... Gosh, I haven't thought about that
song in a long time! --Bob

=======================================================================
Bob Ellingson ***@halted.com
Halted Specialties Co., Inc. http://www.halted.com
3500 Ryder St. [phone]
Santa Clara, Calif. 95051 USA [phone] (FAX)

[Mr. M]

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

JP did a version of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust"- not exactly the
kind of song you'd expect from them.

Mr. M

[r***@REMOVE_THIS.hotmail.com]

Post by Mr. M

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

JP did a version of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust"- not exactly the
kind of song you'd expect from them.

But they did a very good job at it, IMO.

Robert

( modify address for return email )

www.numbersusa.com
www.americanpatrol.com

[HARANGOZO CSABA]

Post by r***@REMOVE_THIS.hotmail.com

Post by Mr. M

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

JP did a version of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust"- not exactly the
kind of song you'd expect from them.

But they did a very good job at it, IMO.
Robert

...

You can say that twice. A very good song. I didn't even know
Joan's original before Judas Priest's cover/remake.

Cheers, Csaba

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSABA I. HARANGOZO |d|i|g|i|t|a|l| csabah(at)zipworld(dot)com(dot)au
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
EARTH::AUSTRALIA:[SYDNEY]HARANGOZO.CSABA;1, delete? [N]:

Weinberg's Law :
If builders built buildings the way programmers write programs, then
the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilisation.

[Mike Mooney]

Post by Mr. M

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

JP did a version of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust"- not exactly the
kind of song you'd expect from them.

I don't think he was talking about Rob Halford's band, but the Dylan song
"The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest".

OTOH, the band are more OT for this ng! (Even though I can't stand them -
why on earth they chose to butcher a totally personal song from Joan Baez to
Bob Dylan I'll never know),

Mike M

[BJB]

A Neil Young song by someone else (and my sister's favorite)

Southern Man

Sung by the Dave Clark Five.

Interesting....


BJB

Post by Mike Mooney

Post by Mr. M

Post by PhillyGuy
I enjoy a challenging lyric, as long as there are some clues. My
favorite is Clancy. The only way I can abide Dylan's John Wesley
Harding is that it is sonically beautiful, in Dylan's vocals,
arrangements and production. But songs like Frankie Laine (oy, the
reference to the Italian pseudo-cowboy) and Judas Priest give no
quarter for accessibility, in meaning.

JP did a version of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust"- not exactly the
kind of song you'd expect from them.

I don't think he was talking about Rob Halford's band, but the Dylan song
"The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest".
OTOH, the band are more OT for this ng! (Even though I can't stand them -
why on earth they chose to butcher a totally personal song from Joan Baez to
Bob Dylan I'll never know),
Mike M

...

[Brian]

Post by Rose___
My vote is for "Danger Bird"
And I love it - in fact that may be part of the reason..

I've never actually heard it, but from it's description in the Young
bio "Shaky", I'd guess one of the strangest things he ever recorded
must be his first recorded version of "Hey Hey My My", which was a
collaberation between Young and, of all people, Devo, which took the
form of a wild, 12 minute freakout jam (most likely the *only* time
Devo has ever "jammed" in their life that the book describes as
"insect-like", but which the author, who heard the tape and is usually
very opinionated about Young's work, seems to avoid ever directly
saying whether he thought it was good or not, quite possibly because
he couldn't quite decide.

Brian

Post by Rose___
but just listen to those lyrics...
As best I can make out - I don't have them in front of me...
Danger Bird flies alone
and he rides the wind back to his home
Although his wings have turned to stone..
and he used to be so proud
Now I think about you all day long
...........
He recalls the moment that he cracked
Long ago in the museum with his friends..
The jail bird takes a rap
And he finds himself spread-eagled on the track
But the training that he learned will get him nowhere fast...
And I know he should be free
.......
Like those memories the rain
Keeps pounding down, pounding down
And though these wings have turned to stone
I can fly, fly away
Watch me fly above the city, like a shadow on the sky...
So is this song about a fossilized teradactyl, among other things??
Not to mention the weird Neil singing, guitar and Crazy Horse music.
It's my favorite track on Zuma, just wondering where the lyrics came from...

...

[BlueWindow27]

<< My vote is for "Danger Bird"

And I love it - in fact that may be part of the reason..

-- snip --

It's my favorite track on Zuma, just wondering where the lyrics came from... >>

It's my favorite track from "Zuma" as well, and "Zuma" is also my all-time
favorite Neil Young album -- and that covers quite a lot of ground.

I've never much worried about the lyrics -- this song speaks to you on other
levels, and the guitar playing is transcendent...perhaps Neil's most beautiful
ever.

[Rose]

Post by BlueWindow27
<< My vote is for "Danger Bird"
And I love it - in fact that may be part of the reason..
-- snip --
It's my favorite track on Zuma, just wondering where the lyrics came from... >>
It's my favorite track from "Zuma" as well, and "Zuma" is also my all-time
favorite Neil Young album -- and that covers quite a lot of ground.
I've never much worried about the lyrics -- this song speaks to you on other
levels, and the guitar playing is transcendent...perhaps Neil's most beautiful
ever.

I didn't intend "weird" to mean "bad", several people seem to think
that's what I meant?

I think to come up with lyrics like that takes quite an imagination.

Rose