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/
Angry World
Neil Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some see life as an endless fight
They think they live in the age of darkness
They think they live in the age of light
It's an angry world
And everything is gonna be all right
Yeah, it's an angry world
Some see life as hope eternal
Some see life as a business plan
Some wish some will go to hell's inferno
For screwing with their life in Freedom Land
It's an angry world
For the business man and the fisherman
It's an angry world
And no doubt everything will go as planned
Yeah, it's an angry world
Yeah, it's an angry world
Neil Young’s “Angry World” is an insightful social commentary on the outlooks and perspectives that individuals can have towards life. The song highlights the multitude of ways in which people view the world and the emotions that can accompany their outlooks. The lyrics portray the contrasting viewpoints of different people - some see life as a broken promise or an endless fight, while others view it as hope eternal or a mere business plan. The song addresses the frustrations that come with living in a society where people have conflicting viewpoints, and it taps into the anger that can arise when people feel their rights and lives have been interfered with.
Throughout the song, the lyrics refer to the world as “angry,” reflecting the tension and frustration present in contemporary society. Despite this, the chorus reassures the listener that, although the world is angry, everything will be alright. The song expresses the frustration and anger that people can feel in their everyday lives, and it ultimately offers a message of hope that things will improve.
Line by Line Meaning
Some see life as a broken promise
Some people view their lives as if it never lived up to what was promised.
Some see life as an endless fight
Some people view their lives as if it is always an uphill battle.
They think they live in the age of darkness
They think they are living in a world that is full of despair and hopelessness.
They think they live in the age of light
They think they are living in a world that is full of opportunities and optimism.
It's an angry world
The world is full of anger and negative emotions.
And everything is gonna be all right
Despite the anger, everything will be okay eventually.
Yeah, it's an angry world
The world is full of anger and negative emotions.
Some see life as hope eternal
Some people view their lives as if there is always hope for a better future.
Some see life as a business plan
Some people view their lives as if it is a strategic plan that requires a lot of hard work to succeed.
Some wish some will go to hell's inferno
Some people wish bad things on those who have caused them issues or made their life difficult.
For screwing with their life in Freedom Land
For negatively impacting their life, especially in a country that prides itself on freedom and opportunity.
For the business man and the fisherman
The anger and negative emotions are felt by people from all walks of life, regardless of their profession.
And no doubt everything will go as planned
Despite the anger and negativity, everything will likely work out as planned eventually.
Yeah, it's an angry world
The world is full of anger and negative emotions.
Yeah, it's an angry world
The world is full of anger and negative emotions.
Lyrics © Silver Fiddle
Written by: NEIL YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
neilyoungchannel
Hi, this is Neil. Link to the NYA info-card for this song with press, documents, manuscripts, photos, videos. Look around NYA for fun and listening! ALL my music in high resolution at https://neilyoungarchives.com/info-card?track=t2010_0709_02
EatFishSurfer
Link doesn’t work!
Joann Alesch Saraydarian
The whole series of Le Noise hits the heart and mind with stark artistry-Neil's connected and rolls the rock with original edge...
Peter Breum
This - and the entire album for that matter - really needs to be listened to at an astounding true to live volume on a full-range stereo. The production just begs for that.
iused2BAfireman
As for the song, that's a matter of taste as to what is "best" and this year the taste police at the Grammys selected "Angry World." A poignant, contemporary and relevant message delivered in an all-encompassing wall of layered sound somehow delivered through a single guitar. A triumph!
margix
The voice....so emotional...high pitched.....this is how a rock voice must be!
stevenr12
What a display of Canadian talent! Lanois and Neil Young are musical geniuses.
Jones427
I freaking love just Neil and his guitar, something that I just simply love, that you get from the overall tone of the songs that you get with just him and a guitar. Just pure brilliance!
Uriel Vazquez
yeah! Just amazing , it delivers the chills down my spine, this sounds better than the last 3 albums, great songwriting, great production, great Neil!
kaattz
Great lyrics and video! will check out the whole album :-)