1. Steve Youn… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists using the name Steve Young.
1. Steve Young (July 12, 1942 – March 17, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, known for his song "Seven Bridges Road" (on Rock Salt & Nails & Seven Bridges Road). He was a pioneer of the country rock, Americana, and alternative country sounds, and also a vital force behind the "outlaw movement" that gave support to the careers of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr. and more. Young was also featured in the 1975 Outlaw Country documentary Heartworn Highways. He was the subject of the song "The All Golden" by Van Dyke Parks. Young's first album, Rock Salt & Nails, on A&M, was performed on and supported by Gram Parsons, Gene Clark and other musicians from the 1969 musical community in Southern California.
Steve Young has never fit comfortably into categories. He follows his own musical and spiritual quest, weaving together Southern roots with a wide experience of life, and creating new traditions in American music.
Young was born in Georgia and grew up in Alabama, Georgia and Texas in a family which moved frequently in search of work. By the time he had completed high school in Beaumont, Texas, he was playing guitar and writing songs which incorporated influences of folk , country , gospel, and blues musicians and people like Hank Williams , Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and others. Once as a teenager he was blown away by seeing Carlos Montoya , a Flamenco Guitarist. He managed to use that too!
By his late teens, Young was back in Alabama, where he established some reputation on the local music scene. However, the wandering spirit soon took over again. He immersed himself briefly in the Greenwich Village folk scene, at a time when Bob Dylan and others were just being noticed.
Returning to Alabama, Steve found that "my New York folk-protest songs didn't fly in the South." Searching for more receptive audiences, he made short forays to California and other locations before moving to the West Coast in 1964.
In California, he worked with musicians like Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills, at one point holding a day job as a mailman. A major-label record deal led to a short-lived stint with a psychedelic country-folk band, Stone Country.
Settling into a solo career, Steve Young became an integral part of the movement which defined the California country-rock sound. Appearing on Steve's 1969 classic album, Rock, Salt & Nails were fellow pioneers like Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon and Gram Parsons.
Through 12 albums and countless live performances, Steve Young's music has remained fresh and aggressive, with a sense of deepening spirituality, and a consistent intellectual and artistic challenge, to himself and to his audience.
Many of the stars of the music industry have recorded Steve Young songs, and in some cases forged a career image around them. "Lonesome, Orn'ry & Mean," for example, became the signature tune for 'Outlaw' Waylon Jennings. Hank Williams Jr.'s cover of "Montgomery In The Rain" remains a classic.
Certainly the most-covered Steve Young song of all is "Seven Bridges Road," which has been recorded at various times by artists like Joan Baez, Rita Coolidge, Ian Matthews, the Eagles, Ricochet, and, most recently, Dolly Parton.
While Steve Young songs have brought commercial success to others, Young has never been close enough to the mainstream to sustain his occasional brushes with stardom . He has been unwilling to accept the loss of artistic control that the industry expects of its stars.
And while Steve has lived in country music towns like Nashville and Austin, and his songs have had a strong impact on the direction of country music, he rejects the country label for himself. Young is in many ways a cultural dynamic in himself.
Part Cherokee (from his father) by birth, steeped in Baptist fundamentalism as a child, yet attracted to a Zen spirituality, the young man from the South with a nomadic spirit went on to create a unique form of American roots music with a truly global perspective.
Steve Young has literally toured the world. He has performed in many countries of Europe, in Australia and New Zealand, in Micronesia, China and Mongolia, in Egypt and East Africa and beyond. Wherever he has gone, he has filled the dual role of ambassador for American music and student of the cultures of others.
Young's live performances express the depth and power of his vision. He draws on his own songs, on Southern folk songs from varied traditions, on collaborations and on the best of contemporary songwriters such as J.D. Loudermilk, David Olney and others.
Steve passed away on March 17, 2016 at age 73
2. 'Steve Young' is also a pseudonym of Peter Friel, ambient tape musician.
Kenny's Song
Steve Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So high in the sky
I'd see the little birds fly
And I'd wonder why
Not one tear
Not one mournful sigh
Now when I die and I will see
And not narrow and deep
I'd lay on that hillside as time goes on
I'll feel the south wind blowing
As I go alone
Well it's Codine, it's Codine
I'd love you from old
I heard more Codine than your silver
And your gold
It helped me when I was restless
You know it helped me to grow old
So give the stars to my mama
And give the moon to my pa
Give the road to my best friend
When the wild geese howl
Give love to my enemies
Well give it all
The lyrics of Steve Young's song Kenny's Song are quite poignant, hinting at mortality and the passage of time. The loss of innocence and the realization of one's own mortality is evident in the line "I used to see the birds fly, so high in the sky, I'd see the little birds fly, and I'd wonder why, not one tear, not one mournful sigh." However, towards the end of his life, the singer seems to have found acceptance as he expresses his desire to be buried shallowly on a hillside, where he can feel the south wind blow as he goes alone.
The chorus of the song alludes to the singer's love of a drug named Codine, which perhaps helped him to cope with the complexities and difficulties of life. He describes how it helped him when he was restless and ultimately helped him to grow old. In the final lines of the song, the singer seems to be at peace and asks for love to be given to even his enemies, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness before death.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to see the birds fly
There was a time when I could see birds flying high in the sky
So high in the sky
They were flying at quite an astounding height
I'd see the little birds fly
I would observe little birds also taking flight
And I'd wonder why
This sight filled me with inquisitiveness
Not one tear
Despite this, I never shed a tear
Not one mournful sigh
I never let out a sad or melancholic sound
Now when I die and I will see
When I pass away, as is inevitable
You can dig my grave shallow
I would prefer to be placed in a shallow grave
And not narrow and deep
The grave need not be too narrow or deep
I'd lay on that hillside as time goes on
I would prefer to be laid to rest on a hillside, and be allowed to exist there as time goes on
I'll feel the south wind blowing
As I am laid to rest in this place, I will be able to feel the south wind blowing
As I go alone
Despite the fact that I exist in a place where it is possible to feel a sense of connection with nature, I will still be going to the afterlife as an individual
Well it's Codine, it's Codine
I have used Codine, a drug, in the past
I'd love you from old
As I have grown old, my love for Codine has remained
I heard more Codine than your silver
I have spent more time and energy on Codine than I have accumulated silver or any other precious metal
And your gold
The same is true for gold
It helped me when I was restless
Codine has served as a source of comfort when I felt anxious or uneasy
You know it helped me to grow old
In a way, the use of Codine has helped me to age
So give the stars to my mama
If I were to pass away, the person in charge of my belongings should give the stars to my mother
And give the moon to my pa
Give the moon to my father
Give the road to my best friend
Give my best friend, who means a lot to me, the road
When the wild geese howl
This should happen when the wild geese begin to make noise
Give love to my enemies
Even my enemies should receive love in my absence
Well give it all
Everything I am leaving behind should be given away without reservation
Contributed by David B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kim Young
on Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
The lyrics posted here are not actually correct and I don't understand why they are not. If you listen to Steve's vocal you will hear what they should be. This song is truly about getting clean and sober, according to what Steve told me!