Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer, guitaris… Read Full Bio ↴Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and social activist who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation, particularly as Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Young was born in Toronto, but he moved to the family home of Winnipeg as a child, which is where his music career began. Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960, before moving to California in 1966, where he co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills and Richie Furay.

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/

When God Made Me
Neil Young Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Was he thinking about my country
Or the color of my skin
Was he thinking about my religion
And the way I worshipped him
Did he create just me in his image
Or every living thing

When God made me

When God made me

Was he planning only for believers
Or for those who just had faith
Did he envision all wars
That were fought in his name
Did he say there was only one way
To be close to him

When God made me
When God made me

Did he give me the gift of love
To say who I could choose

When God made me
When God made me
When God made me

Did he give me the gift of voice
So some could silence me
Did he give me the gift of vision
Not knowing what I might see
Did he give me the gift of compassion
To help my fellow man

When God made me

When God made me
When God made me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Neil Young's song When God Made Me raise questions about the nature of God and His intentions when He created human beings. The song begins with a series of questions, asking whether God was thinking about a person's country, skin color, or religion when He created them. This suggests that the songwriter is questioning if we are all equally loved and why there are differences in people's lives.

The lyrics then move on to ask whether God had believers in mind when creating humanity, or whether faith alone was enough. The songwriter questions whether God intended for wars to be fought in His name and whether there was only one way to be close to Him. These questions raise issues concerning religious dogma and the problematic nature of interpreting and enforcing religious beliefs.

The third verse of the song addresses the gifts that God may have given us. The songwriter muses on whether God gave some people the gift of love so that they could choose who to love, or if He may have given some people the gift of silence by taking their voices away. The songwriter also questions whether God gave them the gift of vision, but with no guarantee of what they might see, and whether He gave them compassion to help others, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or culture. These questions, in a way, address the essence of being human and what makes us human.

Line by Line Meaning

Was he thinking about my country
Did God have my nation in mind?

Or the color of my skin
Was He considering the ethnicity of my body?

Was he thinking about my religion
Did He ponder over my faith system?

And the way I worshipped him
Did He have concern for my adoration patterns?

Did he create just me in his image
Did He make only me similar to Himself?

Or every living thing
Or did He create everything in the universe like Him?

Was he planning only for believers
Did He intend for only devotees to be beneficiaries?

Or for those who just had faith
Or did He make it possible for those who only have belief?

Did he envision all wars
Did He foresee all conflicts?

That were fought in his name
That took place in His honor?

Did he say there was only one way
Did He decree that there's just one path?