The band's original lineup consisted of Neil Young (vocals, guitar), Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar), Richie Furay (vocals, guitar), Bruce Palmer (bass) and Dewey Martin (drums). Palmer left the band in 1968 and was replaced by Jim Messina. The band's only Top 40 single, "For What It's Worth", was released in 1967. The band split in 1968. Despite lasting for under 25 months, the band was massively influential on many later folk rock and country rock artists and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
The band only released three albums in its short life, "Buffalo Springfield" (1966), "Buffalo Springfield Again" (1967) and "Last Time Around" (1968). "For What It's Worth", which peaked at #7 in early 1967, was the band's only Top 40 single in the United States. 1967's "Rock 'n' Roll Woman" came the closest to giving the band a second Top 40 entry, peaking at #44.
Stills and Young would go on to perform with David Crosby and Graham Nash in the hugely popular rock act Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young shortly after Buffalo Springfield's demise. Furay and Messina went on to found country-rock group Poco, before Furay embarked on his own solo career. After Messina left Poco, he formed Loggins and Messina with singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins.
On October 23 and 24, 2010, Young, Furay and Stills, along with drummer Joe Vitale and Rick Rosas (replacing the deceased Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer, respectively) reunited for two performances for the Bridge Schools Benefit concert in Mountain View, California.
The band played six concerts starting in Oakland, CA, on June 1, 2011, followed by dates in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, before moving on to play the 2011 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. A proposed full tour in 2012 never took place. On February 27, 2012, founder member Furay announced that the band was on indefinite hiatus.
Burned
Buffalo Springfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And with both feet on the ground
I've learned,
That it's painful comin' down
No use runnin' away
And there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Flashed
And I think I'm fallin' down
Crashed
And my ears can't hear a sound
No use runnin' away
And there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Burned
And with both feet on the ground
I've learned
That it's painful comin' down
No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
The lyrics of Burned by Buffalo Springfield indicates an individual who has just experienced a harsh reality. The first stanza of the song explains how the individual has been burned, but they have now learned that it's painful to come back down from the top. The second stanza describes the individual as having crashed and unable to hear anything. The repetition of the lyrics suggests that the person is in shock by the events that just occurred. The final stanza comprises the same lyrics as the first stanza, with the added emphasis that there is no use running away from the situation because they cannot ignore it anymore.
The song is a depiction of isolation and confusion felt by the youth in the 1960s. The lyrics were written by Stephen Stills and sang by Buffalo Springfield. The song was released in October 1966, but the recording session initially started in the previous March. This song did not fare well commercially, reaching only number 96 on the Billboard chart. It has been covered by a variety of performers since its release.
Line by Line Meaning
Been burned,
Having been hurt before,
And with both feet on the ground
I've learned,
After experiencing pain, I now know that I should stay grounded and be cautious.
That it's painful comin' down
It's tough to fall from a high place and come back down to reality.
No use runnin' away
Escaping from problems doesn't solve them.
And there's no time left to stay
Time is running out, and I can't waste any more of it.
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
I'm learning that life can be confusing and unclear.
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Time is slipping away and I feel like I'm losing my battle.
Flashed
And I think I'm fallin' down
Suddenly, I feel like I'm losing control and tumbling down.
Crashed
And my ears can't hear a sound
I've hit rock bottom and I'm in a state of deafening numbness.
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
Again, I'm realizing that life can be perplexing and tangled.
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Time is disappearing, and I can feel that I'm not winning my battles.
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
Burned
All of these things make me feel burned, and I can tell that I'm quickly running out of time to make a difference.
And with both feet on the ground
I've learned
That it's painful comin' down
Again, I realize that it hurts to come down from a high place, and I need to stay grounded to stay safe.
No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'
I can't run from my problems, and there's barely enough time to solve them. It's all so confusing, and I feel like I'm losing the battle.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Neil Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind