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!"
For recent news see: http://www.neilyoung.com/
Alabama
Neil Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The devil fools with the best laid plan
Swing low, Alabama
You got the spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment is all that it meant
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh, Alabama
Banjos playing through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama
See the old folks tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo
Don't it take you down home?
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh-oh, Alabama
Can I see you and shake your hand?
Make friends down in Alabama
I'm from a new land
I come to you and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union to help you along
What's going wrong?
Neil Young's song "Alabama" is a haunting anthem against racism and bigotry that was written in response to the senseless brutality that occurred at the time in Birmingham, Alabama on May 14, 1963. The song's opening line suggests that the devil is messing with the best laid plan, and the repetition of "swing low" invokes images of a spiritual that slaves sang in the US. The lyrics speak to the mournful spirit of the state - a place where a Cadillac has a wheel in a ditch and a wheel on a track, meaning there is no escape from the quagmire of poverty, inequality and oppression. The weight of history and the burden of the past is too much for the people of Alabama to bear, and the tension between the old traditions understood by the "old folks tied in white ropes" and the new world order represented by Young and others like him, is palpable.
Young calls upon the people of Alabama to unite and seek alliance with the rest of the nation to help them move forward. The lyrics are a call to action to confront the legacy of racism and inequality that the state was built upon. The repetition of the phrase "what's going wrong" suggests that things are not right, and that all is not well in the state. The song highlights the problems of social injustice and questions the political processes in the United States that allowed such conditions to persist. The lyrics are a plea for a brighter future, with the hope that the people of Alabama will ultimately find a way to overcome their hardships.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh-oh, Alabama
Neil is expressing his sentiment towards Alabama and the issues surrounding the state.
The devil fools with the best laid plan
Even the most well thought out and strategic plans can be disrupted by evil forces, like racism and hate.
Swing low, Alabama
Neil is pleading for a change and a better future for Alabama.
You got the spare change
Alabama needs to make changes in order to progress, but even small contributions can make a difference.
You got to feel strange
Asking for change can feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but it is necessary for growth.
And now the moment is all that it meant
The current situation in Alabama is dire, and it is important to take action now to make a difference.
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Alabama is carrying the burden of racism and the struggles that come with it.
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Alabama is stuck between progress and stagnant ways of the past, unable to move forward.
Banjos playing through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama
Even as music plays, the broken state of Alabama is palpable and prevalent in every aspect of life.
See the old folks tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo
Don't it take you down home?
The ties to slavery and the past are deeply rooted and impossible to ignore, creating a sense of nostalgia and regret.
Can I see you and shake your hand?
Make friends down in Alabama
I'm from a new land
Neil is offering to work together with the people of Alabama towards a common goal and a better future for all.
I come to you and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union to help you along
What's going wrong?
Neil is questioning why Alabama is still struggling with progress, and reminding them that they are not alone in their fight for change.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Neil Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@haydenhoopla
Oh Alabama
The devil fools
with the best laid plan.
Swing low Alabama
You got spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment
is all that it meant.
Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh Alabama
Banjos playing
through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama.
See the old folks
tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo.
Don't it take you down home?
Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh Alabama.
Can I see you
and shake your hand.
Make friends down in Alabama.
I'm from a new land
I come to you
and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union
to help you along
What's going wrong?
@eco2geek.
So now the Alabama supreme court has ruled that embryos are "extrauterine children" and this song is more relevant than ever.
@scottsegraves9601
And today, Alabam Attorney General OK'd release of a White police officer after he's served TWO YEARS of a sentence FOURTEEN for the manslaughter of a Black man.
@robertgillingham985
I saw them both live at different times in my teens and they were both geniuses. Neal and Ronnie.
@pazuzu3933
Amazing album.
@claudesaintpierre7352
I got it in 1972 😊
@mikaelpedersen1327
Neil Young a true legend!
@awonderfulfeeling8588
Actually a pretty good song
@bauseeker
DUH ! !
@awonderfulfeeling8588
@@bauseeker what's with the tude
@randyaltiman3426
Plane and simple.