Neil Young and his new backing band called The Bluenotes recorded an album … Read Full Bio ↴Neil Young and his new backing band called The Bluenotes recorded an album "This Note's For You", which was released in 1988. The album featured brass section, which provided a jazzier sound. Most of the album's concept centered around the commercialism of rock and roll, and tours in particular (the title track is a social commentary on concert sponsorship).

The video for the title track famously included a Michael Jackson look-alike whose hair catches fire. The video parodied corporate rock, the pretensions of advertising and Michael Jackson in particular. It was initially banned by MTV after legal threats from Michael Jackson's attorneys (although the Canadian music channel, MuchMusic ran it immediately). After becoming a hit on MuchMusic, MTV reconsidered their decision to yank the video and put it into heavy rotation, finally giving it the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year for 1989. The video was directed by Julien Temple and written by Charlie Coffey. It was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Concept Video" of 1989 but lost to "Weird Al" Yankovic's Michael Jackson video spoof of "Bad", "Fat".

Since Harold Melvin, founder of the R&B group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, took legal action against Young over use of the "Bluenotes" name, the album is now credited as a Neil Young solo recording. The backup band Young used for this album was renamed "Ten Men Workin'" (after the album's lead-off song). The cover of this album is reportedly a photo taken in the back lane of the 200 block of Main Street Winnipeg, which housed the Blue Note Cafe. Neil was known to play unannounced in the Blue Note Cafe while in Winnipeg.[citation needed] "Ordinary People", an epic 18 minute outtake described as "Cortez the Killer with horns", finally saw release in 2007 on Young's Chrome Dreams II.

Walking After Midnight
Neil Young & the Bluenotes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a face in the window
Lookin' back at me
There's a face in the window
I just can't see.
That face in the window
Keeps haunting me.

I went walking after midnight

Up and down the street
I went walking after midnight
Up and down the street
When I stopped for a smoke
I heard shuffling feet.

Well, I stopped for a smoke
What did I see?
A face in the filter
Lookin' back at me.

Ah, listen to me baby
Hear what I have to say.
Yeah, listen to me baby
Hear what I have to say.
These midnight blues
They won't go away
These midnight blues
Won't go away.

Yeah, I stopped for a smoke
What did I see?
A face in the filter
Lookin' back at me.

I'm walking after midnight
Well, I'm walking after midnight.

Overall Meaning

In "Walking After Midnight" by Neil Young & the Bluenotes, the lyrics depict a sense of haunted introspection and an ongoing struggle with the past. The repeated line, "There's a face in the window," reflects the singer's fixation on a ghostly presence that they cannot fully comprehend or see clearly. This face in the window serves as a metaphor for the haunted memories and emotions that continue to haunt the singer.

The song takes a turn when the singer goes walking after midnight, seeking solace or perhaps trying to escape from their troubles. However, even during this solitary nighttime walk, the past continues to intrude upon their present. When the singer stops for a smoke, they hear "shuffling feet," creating an eerie atmosphere. This further emphasizes the notion that their haunted past is inescapable.

The second half of the song finds the singer pleading with their lover to listen to them, as they attempt to convey the burden of their midnight blues. The repetition of the line, "These midnight blues won't go away," showcases the lingering, persistent nature of their emotional struggle. The final lines, "I'm walking after midnight, well, I'm walking after midnight," suggest that despite their efforts to move on, the haunting continues and they are still caught in a cycle of restless introspection.

Overall, "Walking After Midnight" is a poignant exploration of a haunted mind, where the past and present intertwine and the emotional toll of these midnight blues remains ever-present.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a face in the window
I see a haunting image in the reflection of the window

Lookin' back at me
Staring directly at me

I just can't see
But I can't clearly perceive it

That face in the window
The image I see in the window

Keeps haunting me
Continuously disturbs and occupies my thoughts

I went walking after midnight
I started strolling along the streets during the nighttime

Up and down the street
Moving in both directions along the road

When I stopped for a smoke
Upon pausing to have a cigarette

I heard shuffling feet
I perceived the sound of footsteps nearby

Well, I stopped for a smoke
Well, I took a break to smoke

What did I see?
What did my eyes witness?