Having success on his own for a bit, he later joined the folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash as a fourth member in 1969, thus forming Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He forged a successful and acclaimed solo career, releasing his first album in 1968. His career has since spanned over 40 years and 34 studio albums, with a continual and uncompromising exploration of musical styles; his musical vision is notably referred to by his autobiographical tune"The Loner". Music critics have often called him one of the best single artists of all time, and several tunes such as "Heart of Gold" and "Rockin' in the Free World" remain popular on rock radio.
According to the Don't Be Denied Songfacts, the 16-year-old Neil was raising chickens and selling the eggs, with plans to go to Ontario Agricultural College and be a farmer. Only his leisure activities foretold his future, when he would hide from his family problems in his room with his transistor radio playing local station CHUM. From this, Young experienced a growing admiration for rock n roll originators such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and, of course, Elvis Presley. In 1958, his father bought Neil his first music instrument, a plastic ukulele. His father would later recall, "He would close the door of his room... and we would hear plunk, pause while he moved his fingers to the next chord, plunk, pause while he moved again, plunk."
In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Neil started his professional music career in the mid-60s with a number of bands in Canada, including the Squires and later the Mynah Birds, which also included fellow future Buffalo Springfield bassist Bruce Palmer and future funk star Rick James. When the Mynah Birds broke up, Young and Palmer headed to California to meet Stephen Stills, whom he had met in Thunder Bay, and the result was Buffalo Springfield. That band split up after releasing three critically acclaimed albums, particularly achieving international fame for their tune "For What It's Worth".
Showing his strengths as a cynical yet experimental songwriter in the group, he also sung prominently in some of the band's songs such as the biting satire of 'rock star' life "Mr. Soul". Neil soon started his solo career with the release of 'Neil Young' on November 12, 1968. The album did not do very well commercially, but it included several strong tracks, including "The Loner", said to be a portrait of Stephen Stills but also being deeply auto-biographical.
On May 14, 1969, he recruited members of Crazy Horse and made the critically acclaimed 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere'. This was a much more consistent album, being the first to introduce longstanding collaborators Crazy Horse and beingbuilt around the balanced interplay between the guitar playing of Young and the talented Danny Whitten. The album also featured two lengthy classics, "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand". The critically acclaimed solo album "After the Gold Rush" came out in 1971, featuring such classic songs as "Southern Man'", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Don't Let it Bring You Down". Harvest followed in 1972 with the hit"Heart of Gold".
During this time he also enjoyed considerable success as a quarter of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Neil's subsequent work has zig-zagged across genres - dabbling in country rock on "Old Ways"; electronics on "Trans"; hooking up with the Shocking Pinks in a homage to old-time Rock 'n' Roll on "Everybody's Rockin'"; creating a wall of feedback on the live Arc-Weld; and cementing his status as Godfather of Grunge when collaborating with Pearl Jam on Mirror Ball.
His idiosyncratic approach to genre even led to him being sued by his record company (Geffen) in the 80s for making "uncharacteristic" music.
Young has also dabbled in film, most recently on the album/concert series/dvd Greendale.
Young is often known by the nickname "Shakey." According to his biographer Jimmy McDonough, the name was given by his friends after noticing very unsteady results holding a camera for home movies.
Young founded Pono Music, whose mission was to bring a digital player, download store, and streaming service devoted to hi-res music. It was a commercial flop and was shut down in 2016. Young has stated that the labels would not agree that "All songs should cost the same, regardless of digital resolution."
The film Canadian Bacon includes the line "Canadians are always trying to figure out a lot of ways to ruin our lives. The metric system, for the love of God! Celsius! Neil Young!"
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A Letter Home Intro
Neil Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey, it’s great to be able to talk to you
Ah, I haven’t been able to talk to you in really a long time
and ah, my friend Jack has got this box that I can talk to you from
So I’d like to be able to send you this message
and tell you how much I love you and also tell you
that I think you should start talking to daddy again.
Since you’re both there together there’s no reason not to talk
on TV, and we used to know what was happening, ah, you know up there in Winnipeg
And ah, well I met this guy named Al and he’s, um, he’s the weatherman now for the whole planet
If you can imagine that, and ah, he’s uh, sometime’s not popular because, uh,
this is very strange but, you know people turn on the weatherman
When the weather is gonna be bad, they actually turn on the weatherman
and uh, say bad things about him and put him down
So, so uh, things haven’t been that great lately, uh
you know, day by day is really good, uh, you know most of the time
but every once in a while all hell breaks loose, mom
and the whole thing is just like nothing I’ve ever seen before
and it, it seems to be happening everywhere
So ah, you know if you’re in there, everywhere all the time
All around the whole globe, around earth
So you know, even though Al’s forecasts are good he gets in trouble
So ah, you know I always know we used to watch the weather forecast together
so I thought I’d tell you about that and ah, I miss you
And I know that ah, I-I know that ah, you know I’d like you to say hello to Ben for me
Ah and, tell him that you know that I’ll be around, ah, I’ll be there eventually.
Ah, not for a while though, I still have a lot of work to do here
And ah, and so I love you, and ah I hope eveybody’s feeling good up there
and don’t forget to talk to daddy, bye!
The lyrics to Neil Young's song A Letter Home Intro depict a young man who is separated from his family and is trying to connect with his mother through a unique communication box that his friend Jack has. The message that he wants to convey to his mother is that he loves her and wants her to start talking to his father again since they are both together there. He then goes on to talk about how he met a guy named Al who is now the weatherman for the whole planet, and how people turn on the weatherman when the weather is bad. He also expresses his concern about the chaotic state of the world and how things have been difficult lately. In the end, he sends his love to his family and hopes that everyone is feeling good up there.
The lyrics of A Letter Home Intro reveal the deep sense of nostalgia and longing for human connections that Neil Young felt during a period of separation from his family. The use of a communication box reflects his struggle to find ways to communicate with his loved ones despite being physically distant. The song captures the bittersweet and complex emotions that often come with being away from family and trying to maintain connections over long distances.
Line by Line Meaning
Hi mom!
Neil is addressing his mom, glad to be able to talk to her after a long time.
Hey, it’s great to be able to talk to you
Neil is expressing his happiness to be talking to his mom through a box belonging to his friend Jack.
Ah, I haven’t been able to talk to you in really a long time
Neil is indicating that it has been a while since he talked to his mom.
and ah, my friend Jack has got this box that I can talk to you from
Neil is informing his mom that he is using a box owned by his friend Jack to talk to her.
So I’d like to be able to send you this message
Neil wants to communicate a message to his mom through the box.
and tell you how much I love you and also tell you that I think you should start talking to daddy again.
Neil expresses his love for his mom and advises her to resume talking with his father since they are both present together.
Since you’re both there together there’s no reason not to talk
Neil believes that since his mom and dad are together, they should talk to each other.
And also, um, you know how we used to watch the weather all the time on TV, and we used to know what was happening, ah, you know up there in Winnipeg
Neil is reminiscing about the times they watched weather reports on TV and how they knew what was happening in Winnipeg.
And ah, well I met this guy named Al and he’s, um, he’s the weatherman now for the whole planet If you can imagine that,
Neil tells his mom about a person named Al who is now the weatherman for the entire planet, which he believes is unimaginable.
and ah, he’s uh, sometime’s not popular because, uh, this is very strange but, you know people turn on the weatherman When the weather is gonna be bad, they actually turn on the weatherman and uh, say bad things about him and put him down
Neil is explaining how Al sometimes gets unpopular despite being the weatherman, people blame him when the weather is bad and criticize him.
So, so uh, things haven’t been that great lately, uh you know, day by day is really good, uh, you know most of the time but every once in a while all hell breaks loose, mom and the whole thing is just like nothing I’ve ever seen before and it, it seems to be happening everywhere
Neil tells his mom things haven't been good lately, that everyday life is generally fine, but sometimes things go bad, which he hasn't seen before, and it seems to be happening everywhere.
So ah, you know if you’re in there, everywhere all the time All around the whole globe, around earth So you know, even though Al’s forecasts are good he gets in trouble So ah, you know I always know we used to watch the weather forecast together so I thought I’d tell you about that and ah, I miss you
Neil reflects how Al, who makes good forecasts, still gets blamed, and how the state of the world affects everyone, everywhere. He shares that he misses his mom, and thought he'd talk about the weather because they used to watch it together.
And I know that ah, I-I know that ah, you know I’d like you to say hello to Ben for me
Neil requests his mom to pass on his greetings to Ben on his behalf.
Ah and, tell him that you know that I’ll be around, ah, I’ll be there eventually.
Neil assures his nephew Ben that he will be around and will visit eventually.
Ah, not for a while though, I still have a lot of work to do here
Neil says that although he will visit eventually, he still has a lot of work to do first.
And ah, and so I love you, and ah I hope eveybody’s feeling good up there and don’t forget to talk to daddy, bye!
Neil ends the message by expressing his love to his mom and asking her to say hello to everyone. He reminds her to talk to his dad and bids goodbye.
Contributed by Brooklyn J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.