Driftin' Back
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Lyrics

Hey now now, hey now now
The song begins with the artist calling out to grab the listener's attention.

I'm driftin' back
The artist feels a sensation of reminiscence and nostalgia.

Dreaming about the way things sound now
The artist discusses his desire to write about the current state of music.

Write about them in my book
The artist notes his intention to document the current state of music during this period.

Worry that you can't hear me now
The artist is anxious that his message is not being heard properly.

And feel the time I took
The artist ponders on the amount of time he has invested in his music.

To help you feel this feeling
The artist hopes that through his music, the listener will feel the emotions he's trying to convey.

Let you ride along
The artist is offering the listener an opportunity to connect with his music.

When you hear my song
The artist is happy at the prospect of his music being heard.

I'm driftin' back
The artist repeats that he is being dragged towards memories and nostalgia.

In my meditation I block out all my thoughts
The artist discusses his meditation techniques that help him concentrate by blocking out distracting thoughts.

When they come back I push them out
The artist describes his ability to control his thoughts which intrude during his meditation session.

Like Jesus had a rock
The artist utilizes a religious reference to describe the fortitude with which he tries to block out all his thoughts during meditation.

They pushed in front of this cave now
The artist is using an analogy to convey how his thoughts can intrude and obstruct the progress of his meditation.

They rolled across the ground
The artist is comparing the trickling of his thoughts to a boulder which eventually rolls down the hill.

Here's how I got my mantra
The artist goes on to describe how he attained his mantras or repetitive thoughts.

Gave them thirty-five bucks now
The artist paid for the mantras he uses during meditation.

Excuse my religion
The artist apologizes for interjecting religious references in his song.

I used to dig Picasso
The artist changes the subject and reflects on his change in preferences.

Then the big tech giant came along
The artist criticizes the influence of big technology companies on the artistic world.

And turned him into wallpaper
The artist argues that big technology companies have made art less valuable.

Don't want my mp3
The artist goes on to criticize the excessive attachment to technology like audio players.

When you hear my song now
The artist reflects on how his royalties have dwindled.

You only get five percent
The artist is complaining about reduced royalties from music streaming services.

You used to get it all
The artist reminisces on the time when his royalties were much more substantial.

Gonna get me a hip hop haircut
The artist again changes the subject to his physical appearance.

Blocking out my anger
The artist opens up about how he is applying the same meditation techniques to his emotions.

Finding my religion
The artist is following up by alluding to the cathartic experiences he found while meditating.

I might be a pagan
The artist declares himself to be agnostic and unconcerned with religious dogma.