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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Change My Mind
Neil Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Might look like it does, but that means nothing
I got a face that gets me in trouble
I got a voice that does its damage
But I'm rescued now and this is all in my head
I gotta win somehow and lose this mind instead
It's always working on finding my weakness
How I was made to feel and can't forget, can't forget
I try to make my way past this moment
Move along 'til I'm new again
I got my history that won't be leaving
I gotta get somewhere that's ridden of hate
I gotta find a new television
Got to find a new display system
To make the sky look like the Earth is flattened
I gotta get someone to sort this out, out for me
Out for me, out for me
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
I gotta find myself a new television
Gotta get a new display system
Make the sky look like the Earth is flattened
I gotta get someone to sort this out for me
Out for me
Out for me, out for me
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
Won't someone help me lose my mind?
In Neil Young's "Mellow My Mind," the artist is pleading with someone to help him relax and take his mind off his troubles. He wants to feel carefree and young again. The metaphor of a "schoolboy on good time" implies a sense of innocence and naivety. Rather than worry about adult responsibilities, he wants to be "jugglin' nickels and dimes" - implying a simpler, more carefree existence.
The line "satisfied with the fish on the line" implies that finding and catching fish can bring contentment, even if it is a small victory. Essentially, Neil is looking for a way to escape the pressures of adulthood and return to a simpler, more joyful existence.
Throughout the song, Neil talks about his experience traveling down the road and coming back. He compares the "lonesome whistle on the railroad track" to the feelings he has had. He seems to be reminiscing about the past and feeling nostalgia for a time when he felt happier and more carefree.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby mellow my mind
Ask me to calm down and regulate my thoughts
Make me feel like a schoolboy on good time
Bring back memories of a carefree childhood
Jugglin' nickels and dimes
Earning an average salary while making ends meet
Satisfied with the fish on the line
Experiencing contentment with simple pleasures
I've been down the road and I've come back
Going through tough times and returning stronger
Lonesome whistle on the railroad track
Feeling lonely and isolated
Ain't got nothing on those feelings that I had
No emotions can match past experiences
'Cause something so hard to find
Difficult to locate or acquire
A situation that can casualize your mind
A circumstance that can make you feel relaxed and carefree
Baby mellow my mind
Ask me to calm down and regulate my thoughts
Make me feel like a schoolboy on good time
Bring back memories of a carefree childhood
Jugglin' nickels and dimes
Earning an average salary while making ends meet
Satisfied with the fish on the line
Experiencing contentment with simple pleasures
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
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=t1993_1206_01
@pamelachekelelee8979
I had a little trouble with these links but it could be my phone.
❤️ you guys! TY for everything.
@coopsawright7225
Thankyou Neil. From the very first moment I heard your voice I couldn't stop listening to your music. 23 years after listening to Harvest for the 1st time from beginning to end I reckon everything you have made never gets old, only better and better. You help me through the tough times and I cry tears of joy and get tingles and goosebumps when I listen to your songs. You will always be my favourite singer/ songwriter/ guitarist. I hope and pray all is well with you and your loved ones. God willing, God bless.
@LinDeeSixtiesRock_LSR-Channel
I had trouble with the link NEIL- Couldnt find that page error popped up and bummed me out.
@artvallejos1460
neilyoungchannel
Long Live Crazy Horse.
@mrlfhill
Are they in FLAC format?
@maryanderson9191
I suffer from Hero worship. Neil Young has dealt with polio, type 1 diabetes, epilepsy, back surgery, brain aneurysm surgery. Yet he has created and continues to create the music of my life. He has done this with courage of conviction and tireless passion for his music. I have no doubt he is a flawed hero, I have no doubt he wrestles with his own demons. But when I hear his music, I am carried away to another world and I feel renewed. He has saved my life. I am grateful for Neil Young.
@jonwolynies7465
I did know that about Neil. I’ve always loved and respected his music, but this adds so much more to the dimension of the man. Thanks!
@paulnamaste9422
And.. 2 sons born with cerebral palsy! Not easy for any man, musician ..
@strangerthankindness3573
Thank you! These are exactly my thoughts, I heard the song first when my father got cancer at the end of the 90s, and it brought me to the point to learn guitar myself. Until today I love this song. My two parents are dead now, I myself got an organ transplantation in 2012 (kidney & pancreas) and I live, but I still hear it for the maybe 500th time and get thrilled, because it´s the best, and Neil, whom I saw 2 times live, ist the one and only. He's about feelings and music, not about fame. Rare thing today. I adore him in every way. Thank you for your comment :-)