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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High Flyin' Bird
Neil Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I wonder does she looks down, as she flies on by?
Just floatin' so free and easy in the sky
Oh look at me here
I'm just rooted like a tree here
I got them sit-down, can't fly
Oh Lord I'm gonna die blues
Well the sun comes along and she lights up the day
And then when she gets tired, she just flies along on her way
From the east to the west, she goes down every day
But look at me here
I'm just rooted like a tree here
I got them sit-down, can't fly
Oh Lord I'm gonna die blues
(I'm gonna die blues)
Now I once knew a man
He worked in a mine
Well he never saw the sun
But then he never stopped tryin'
Then one day that old man, he up and he died
Yeah, he up and he died
He up and he died
Well he wanted to die and the only way to fly was to die
Lord I'm gonna die blues
Lord I'm gonna die blues
Lord I'm gonna die blues
There's a high flyin' bird, way up in the sky
I wonder does she looks down as she flies on by
Just ridin' so free and easy in the sky
Look at me here
I'm rooted like a tree here
I got them sit-down, can't fly
Oh Lord I'm gonna die blues
God I'm gonna die blues
I know I'm gonna die blues
Oh I'm gonna die blues
Gonna die blues
Gonna die blues
Neil Young's High Flyin' Bird is about the desire to be free and escape from life's limitations. The song's main theme is captured in the chorus with the lines "Look at me here, I'm rooted like a tree here, I got them sit-down, can't fly, oh, Lord, I'm gonna die blues." Here, Young is expressing a feeling of being stuck, rooted, or trapped in one place, and he longs to be free like the high flying bird in the sky. The bird symbolizes freedom, and the singer wonders if the bird ever looks down on him and his struggles.
The song's second and third verses shift focus to a man who worked in a mine his entire life, never seeing the sun. The man dies with the desire to fly, and the only way to do so was through death. Young uses this man's story to emphasize the desire for freedom and the limitations that prevent us from achieving it.
Overall, Neil Young's High Flyin' Bird is a song about the human desire for freedom and liberation, and the realization that sometimes, there may be limitations in life that prevent us from achieving it. However, this does not stop us from dreaming and yearning for the possibility of flight.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a high flyin' bird, way up in the sky
Neil Young is referring to a bird that is soaring very high up in the sky.
And I wonder does she looks down, as she flies on by?
Neil is pondering whether the bird is looking down as she passes by.
Just floatin' so free and easy in the sky
Neil is observing how effortless the bird's flight is.
Oh look at me here
Neil is drawing attention to himself.
I'm just rooted like a tree here
Neil is feeling trapped and unable to move or fly.
I got them sit-down, can't fly
Neil is obviously feeling down and is expressing how he feels like he can't fly.
Oh Lord I'm gonna die blues
(I'm gonna die blues)
Neil feels so trapped and hopeless that he's becoming suicidal.
Well the sun comes along and she lights up the day
Neil is describing how the sun illuminates the day.
And then when she gets tired, she just flies along on her way
Neil is observing how the sun eventually sets and goes on its way.
From the east to the west, she goes down every day
Neil is pointing out how the sun follows a predictable path across the sky every day.
Now I once knew a man
He worked in a mine
Well he never saw the sun
But then he never stopped tryin'
Neil is recalling a person he once knew who worked in the mines and never saw daylight, but he still had hope and kept trying.
Then one day that old man, he up and he died
Yeah, he up and he died
He up and he died
Well he wanted to die and the only way to fly was to die
The man Neil knew died, and Neil suggests that he wanted to die so that he could finally escape the darkness and fly free like the bird he's been talking about.
Lord I'm gonna die blues
God I'm gonna die blues
I know I'm gonna die blues
Oh I'm gonna die blues
Gonna die blues
Gonna die blues
Neil is repeating his earlier sentiment that he's so trapped and weak that he's becoming suicidal, except now he's including mentions of God.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Billy Edd Wheeler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind