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.
No Place To Fall
Steve Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?
I'd never tell you no lies
I don't believe it's wise
You got pretty eyes
I ain't much of a lover, it's true
I'm here, then I'm gone
And I'm forever blue
But I'm sure wanting you
Skies full of silver and gold
Try to hide the sun
But it can't be done
Least not for long
And if we help each other grow
While the light of day
Shines down our way
Then we can't go wrong
Time, she's a fast old train
She's here, then she's gone
And she won't come again
Won't you take my hand
If I had no place to fall
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?
The song No Place to Fall by Steve Young is a beautiful slow ballad that talks about the fear of falling and the trust one needs to have in another person to be able to confide in them. The singer admits that he is not much of a lover but he is sure wanting the other person. The opening lines of the song, “If I had no place to fall, and I needed to, could I count on you, to lay me down?” sets the tone of the song and emphasizes the need for a shoulder to lean on when things get tough. The singer feels that he can be vulnerable with the other person and won’t tell them any lies because he believes it’s not wise. He admires the person’s pretty eyes and wants them to spin him around because he feels comfortable and safe around them.
The second stanza talks about how skies full of silver and gold try to hide the sun but it can’t be done for long. This metaphor talks about how no matter how hard one can try to hide their true feelings, it will eventually come out in the light. The song emphasizes the importance of helping each other grow while the light of day shines down our way to ensure that we can’t go wrong. The last stanza talks about time being a fast old train that’s here, then gone, and won’t come again. It talks about how it is important to make the best of the time we have and not let it slip away.
Line by Line Meaning
If I had no place to fall
If I was in trouble and had nowhere left to go
And I needed to
And I required assistance
Could I count on you
Would I be able to rely on you?
To lay me down?
To give me solace and support when I needed it the most?
I'd never tell you no lies
I would be honest with you
I don't believe it's wise
I believe honesty is the best policy
You got pretty eyes
I find you attractive
Won't you spin me 'round
Can we dance together?
I ain't much of a lover, it's true
I am not very romantic
I'm here, then I'm gone
I am not very consistent or reliable
And I'm forever blue
I am always sad and melancholic
But I'm sure wanting you
But I still desire you
Skies full of silver and gold
The sky is filled with beautiful colors
Try to hide the sun
Trying to conceal something from view
But it can't be done
It is impossible to hide
Least not for long
At least not for a prolonged period
And if we help each other grow
If we assist in each other's development
While the light of day
During daylight hours
Shines down our way
Illuminating our path
Then we can't go wrong
Then we cannot fail
Time, she's a fast old train
Time passes by quickly
She's here, then she's gone
She is present for a moment, then disappears
And she won't come again
Time cannot be repeated or reversed
Won't you take my hand
Will you hold my hand?
If I had no place to fall
If I were in dire straits
And I needed to
And I required assistance
Could I count on you
Would I be able to rely on you?
To lay me down?
To give me solace and support when I needed it the most?
Contributed by Ellie W. 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!