Crazy Horse is best known for its long association with Young, despite having released five albums of its own over a 19-year span. It has been co-credited with Young as Neil Young and Crazy Horse on 15 albums, "Americana" and "Psychedelic Pill" from 2012 being the latest.
The band recorded a concept album entitled "Greendale" (2003) that told the story using metaphors of murder and crime to represent the destruction of a small town community. The final song "Be The Rain" is one of Neil's classic epics, pleading for the world to be like the rain -- recycle and conserve to save our planet.
Discography: the studio albums "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (1969), "Zuma" (1975), "Rust Never Sleeps" (1979), "Re-ac-tor" (1981), "Life" (1987), "Ragged Glory" (1990), "Sleeps With Angels" (1994), "Broken Arrow" (1996), Greendale (2003), "Americana" (2012), Psychedelic Pill (2012) and live albums "Live Rust" (1979), "Weld" (1991), "Year of the Horse" (1997), "Live at the Fillmore East" (2006)
Gallows Pole
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slack it for a while
I think I see my papa comin'
Ridin' a many mile
Papa, did you bring me silver?
Papa, did you bring me gold?
Did you come to see me hanged
Didn't bring no silver
Didn't bring no gold
I came to see you hanged, boy
By the gallows pole
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope
Slack it for a while
I think I see my mama comin'
She's ridin' a many mile
Mama, did you bring me silver?
Mama, did you bring me gold?
Did you come to see me hanged
By that gallows pole?
Didn't bring any silver
Couldn't bring you any gold
I came to see you hanged, child
By the gallows pole
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope
Slack it for a while
I think I see my sweetheart
She's ridin' a many a mile.
Honey, did you bring me silver?
Honey, did you bring me gold?
Did you come to see me hanged
By the gallows pole?
I brought you a little silver
I brought you a little gold
Didn't come to see you hangin'
By that gallows pole
Brought you a little silver
I brought you a little gold
Didn't come to see you hangin'
By that gallows pole
The lyrics of Neil Young & Crazy Horse's song Gallows Pole paint a picture of a person about to be hanged, and his family coming to see him one last time before his execution. The first verse sees the person asking the hangman to slacken his rope, as he thinks he sees his father coming to see him. He asks his father if he has brought him any silver or gold, before asking if he has come to see him hanged. His father responds that he did not bring any precious metals, but he did come to see his son's execution.
In the second verse, the person sees his mother riding towards him, and asks her the same questions. She responds that she did not bring any silver or gold, and that she came to see him hanged too. In the final verse, the person sees his sweetheart approaching, and asks her if she brought him silver or gold. She responds that she did bring him some silver and gold, but that she did not come to see him hanged.
The lyrics of this song hint at themes of family, love, betrayal and mortality. The person about to be hanged is seeking comfort from his loved ones, but finds that they all came to witness his execution. The song's structure of repeating the same lines with different family members adds to the overall theme of loneliness and isolation in the face of death.
Line by Line Meaning
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope
The singer is addressing the hangman and requesting him to loosen his rope.
Slack it for a while
The singer wants the hangman to give him some time to see his family for one last time.
I think I see my papa comin'
The singer believes he can spot his father in the distance.
Ridin' a many mile
The singer is describing his father's journey to reach the hanging site.
Papa, did you bring me silver?
The singer is asking his father if he has brought any silver for him.
Papa, did you bring me gold?
The singer is asking his father if he has brought any gold for him.
Did you come to see me hanged
The singer is questioning his father's intentions for coming to the hanging site.
By the gallows pole?
The singer is specifying the location where he will be hanged.
Didn't bring no silver
The father did not bring any silver for his son.
Didn't bring no gold
The father did not bring any gold for his son.
I came to see you hanged, boy
The father admits he came to see his son being executed.
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope
The singer is once again addressing the hangman and requesting him to give him some more time.
I think I see my mama comin'
The singer believes he can see his mother approaching the hanging site.
She's ridin' a many mile
The singer is describing his mother's journey to reach the hanging site.
Mama, did you bring me silver?
The singer is asking his mother if she has brought any silver for him.
Mama, did you bring me gold?
The singer is asking his mother if she has brought any gold for him.
Did you come to see me hanged
The singer is questioning his mother's intentions for coming to the hanging site.
By that gallows pole?
The singer is specifying the location where he will be hanged.
Didn't bring any silver
The singer's mother did not bring any silver for him.
Couldn't bring you any gold
The singer's mother could not bring any gold for him.
I came to see you hanged, child
The mother admits she came to see her child being executed.
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope
The singer is once again requesting the hangman to give him some more time.
I think I see my sweetheart
The singer believes he can see his girlfriend approaching the hanging site.
She's ridin' a many a mile.
The singer is describing his girlfriend's long journey to reach the hanging site.
Honey, did you bring me silver?
The singer is asking his girlfriend if she brought any silver for him.
Honey, did you bring me gold?
The singer is asking his girlfriend if she brought any gold for him.
Did you come to see me hanged
The singer is questioning his girlfriend's intentions for coming to the hanging site.
By the gallows pole?
The singer is specifying the location where he will be hanged.
I brought you a little silver
The singer's girlfriend brought him a small amount of silver.
I brought you a little gold
The singer's girlfriend brought him a small amount of gold.
Didn't come to see you hangin'
The singer's girlfriend did not come to see him being executed.
By that gallows pole
The singer is specifying the location where he will be hanged.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Odetta Felious Gordon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Beth
on We Never Danced
i desperately want to know who painted aunt lisa's paintings in the movie