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There is no reason for you to hide
It's so hard for me, staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride
Yeah
She could drag me over the rainbow
And send me away
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Dead, ooh, ooh
Shot her dead, ooh
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
Ooh, yeah
She could drag me over the rainbow
And send me away
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Dead, dead, ooh, ooh, shot her dead
Shot her dead
Be on my side, I'll be on your side
There is no reason for you to hide
It's so hard for me, staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride
Ooh, yeah
She could drag me over the rainbow
And send me away, yeah
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Why do these things always happen down by the river?
The river is always changing but the violence is always the same
Check out Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave. Maybe you'll like that better.
Murder Ballads.... one of my favourite genres, and Nick Cave's album titled with that.. an excellent compilation yes! (Crow Jane.. Stagger Lee ... SO GOOD)
of course, since then, i have read that this is NOT at all true and had read further claims of the story behind this song that make sense, too.
Why do these things always happen down by the river?
Always? As opposed to, instead of, in addition to...?
For me this is Neil at his weird-style anti guitar hero best. He just turns it up and plays the shit out of it. YOU may not like what comes out, but it is raw and real and in my worthless opinion, pretty great.
One of Neil's best three-note guitar solos!
Why do these things always happen down by the river?
Moisture.
Probably the BEST song to jam to with HeadPhones on and turned to 11...somewhere in there, the barriers melt and the two hemispheres of the brain cross-fire in synch and when the spine-shiver signals from the body trigger proprioception in the cerebellum, that tingle of endorphin release comes and I know I have arrived to where Neil and Crazy wanted to put me to receive their peculiar brand of shaman-type insight, and man, it is ALL a matter of vibration and all a vibration of matter, and, true, there is this illusion that everything actually exists, but there is also this eternal and infinite plasma dance going on that is beyond mere perception and Neil knows it and shows it and has always taken it up and shared it out so well...
and I thought it just me who came up with postulations like this.
Neil for leader of the human condition!
American or Canadian...national treasure?
Yes
Way to go Neil, telling Spotify to f-off regarding that dim-witted, meat-headed, roid-raging Joe Rogan!
Actually, it's Young doing the raging as though he's on 'roids, not Rogan... in case you weren't paying attention.
Hey Jelani - fuck off you Rogan loving POS.
That's very liberal(party of tolerance) of you. Cheers!
Beethoven played guitar ... ? Might you mean Camper Van Beethoven?
One of my fav NY songs/pieces. Such emotion in that guitar - reminds me of Beethoven.
Beethoven played guitar ... ? Might you mean Camper Van Beethoven?
As a guitarist, no one sounds like Neil Young. His style is unique just like a few other greats. Another national treasure.
American or Canadian...national treasure?
I spent hours listening to this song while studying for my high school exams in the 80's. I'd cue up Decade on my parents' turntable and just play and flip, play and flip, for hours.
I spent hours listening to this song while studying for my high school exams in the 80's 70's. I'd cue up Decade this album on my parents' turntable and just play and flip, play and flip, for hours.
Probably didn't do the flip/flip/flip part, but your point is well made.
Up rating cause Rogan is a POS.
Rogan is a POS, only if you are something worse.
Down rating this song because of Young's Joe Rogan drama.
Giving you ten thumbs up on that!
I like Neil's voice so much better these days.
Perhaps I've grown accustomed to it.
Perhaps I just appreciate it more.
Perhaps I've heard Bob Dylan sing too much.
Bob Dylan is NOT his voice!
Down rating this song because of Young's Joe Rogan drama.
Up rating cause Rogan is a POS.
Here I'm asking for a three minute (or more) overage.
Unmistakably awful, that is.
Any time I hear a track by this man, exclusively, I am compelled to turn RP OFF
The dog on the cover was sitting on the stage!
Made me happy
I won't DV but put him in the bin with Bob Dylan ...
"You'll have plenty of time to shoot your old lady... when you're living in a van down by the river!"
- Matt Foley, motivational speaker
Too funny!
As a guitarist, no one sounds like Neil Young. His style is unique just like a few other greats. Another national treasure.
Yes, for both the USA and Canada!
- Matt Foley, motivational speaker
Clean production, unpretentious, I don't know what it is, but it does work.
My new porn name.
I prefer master debater.
Probably the BEST song to jam to with HeadPhones on and turned to 11...somewhere in there, the barriers melt and the two hemispheres of the brain cross-fire in synch and when the spine-shiver signals from the body trigger proprioception in the cerebellum, that tingle of endorphin release comes and I know I have arrived to where Neil and Crazy wanted to put me to receive their peculiar brand of shaman-type insight, and man, it is ALL a matter of vibration and all a vibration of matter, and, true, there is this illusion that everything actually exists, but there is also this eternal and infinite plasma dance going on that is beyond mere perception and Neil knows it and shows it and has always taken it up and shared it out so well...
and the prize for the longest sentence goes to...
you see...neil is a crazy cat
I'm growing cool toward songs about shooting women.
Check out Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave. Maybe you'll like that better.
I'm growing cool toward songs about shooting women.
Two songs I like but make me cringe--
This song and "Bigmouth Strikes Again" by The Smiths
master piece
My new porn name.
It is my favorite NY+CH song for sure. A 10! But makes you wonder, if NY didn't have a creative outlet for his prodigious talent, what he'd be doing with that gun on a regular basis. I mean, look at that face!
this and Southern Man
I almost made a similar comment about the Little Green Cars tune...one of the things I like about RP
How I imagine it would sound if someone had a petit mal seizure while holding an electric guitar.
Define bad, define iconic, define guitar solo. Define yourself.
I have always rather liked the separate instruments in L & R channels. It used to happen in the early days of stereo before the rules were so rigid. I’m kinda sorry it doesn't seem to happen any more.
I agree.
Crime solved.
I totally agree. I used to despair that today seemed bereft of poet-warriors like Dylan, Young, Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Cockburn , U2 (I apologize for my massive omissions on this list) appeared to be the last of our poet-leaders. But perhaps the Old Testament had it down already "there is nothing new under the sun". Are there new sentiments, expressions or observations that can't be found already noted in text or in voice? Today's poets can only fill the ever-smaller gaps instead of pioneering new territory?
this and Southern Man
Awareness? Yes, there's more awareness. Enough awareness to make domestic violence disappear? No. Every day news articles or situations when a dumb ass slaps or shoots his wife or the kids. How does NOT singing about it in 2020 somehow show progress over the era of a song in 1970?
And Neil, btw, is now an American citizen. Or, as he says, a Canarican.
https://tinyurl.com/v7qgtr6
WOW! Talk about a understanding of reality - you got it!!!
That's why Zuma was such a big hit for me and then when he toured it...... Another plane. and the dreams ( ) were out there
Not sure, but roads and parking lots "down by the river" always give me the willies.
Some contradiction here?
Maybe that's why I love it so? The simple hammering that is considered a Neil Young solo. Maybe. Maybe it's the quiet bass groove that changes ever so slightly, but is hypnotically clear and unwavering ...
.
.
.
..... and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.
Not only does it play with the bass line, but it also interacts greatly with the variations that the rhythm guitars are throwing down. And yes, it famously starts out with that one note, but it quickly moves into greatness.
I agree with the other commenter that said this is best enjoyed on cranked headphones.
BCarn wrote:Over rated whiner.
On_The_Beach wrote:
Don't be so hard on yourself.
You can't help it if your taste in music sucks.
LOL....my taste is AWESOME! But hey, if you like whiners, your option.
NY is a whiner.
coloradojohn wrote:
THAT's a great sentence that might never be approved in writing class .
Perhaps I've grown accustomed to it.
Perhaps I just appreciate it more.
Perhaps I've heard Bob Dylan sing too much.
This is a debate that will have no end and has been going on since NY became a thing. The same can be said for his guitar playing. Love him too--at least this period of his career.
Why... have you never bin dragged over the rainbow?
😎
Why... have you never bin dragged over the rainbow?
Yes, that. This is one of those songs that stops me in my tracks every time. Seems so simple on the surface but it just sucks you in and holds you there. And it helps if you were kind of raised on it.
I couldn't say I was, but rest assured, it doesn't unhelp me. Loved this song right from the start when I first heard it, well into my thirties, if my memory doesn't fail me.
On_The_Beach wrote:
(Sorry, couldn't resist. Arguably Farley's best bit.)
Those rivers have a lot to answer for!
Psalm 137 is one of the oldest songs about being "down by the river".
Those rivers have a lot to answer for!
Well the river reflects time: past, present and future, and all are one at the same time.
Those rivers have a lot to answer for!
No; it's similar (especially the tempo), but it's not the same bass line - this one has more notes and variations for one thing. Both songs have I - IV progressions in the verses, though this one is in a minor key; there are only so many bass notes to play between two chords. Learn to play an instrument or learn some scales before you recklessly accuse musicians of "stealing".
That's funny, since Neil has been nominated for the Juno Awards Male Vocalist of the Year 12 times between 1979-1997.
Let's stop peddling the silly memes.