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.
Tobacco Road
Steve Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mama died and my daddy got drunk
Left me here to die or grow
In the middle of Tobacco Road
I grew up in a dusty shack
And all I had was a'hangin' on my back
Only you know how I loathe
But it's home
The only life I've ever known
Only you know how I loathe
Tobacco Road
I'm gonna leave and get a job
With the help and the grace from above
Save some money, get rich I know
Bring it back to Tobacco Road
Bring dynamite and a crane
Blow it up, start all over again
Build a town, be proud to show
Give the name Tobacco Road
Cause it's home
The only life I've ever known
I despise you ''cause your filthy
But I love ya, 'cause it's home
The song Tobacco Road by Steve Young speaks about the life experiences of a person growing up in a place called Tobacco Road. The first two lines of the song convey the tough life of the singer who was born in a bunk and left by his father after his mother died. The phrase "left me here to die or grow" suggests that the singer was left to fate which eventually led him to Tobacco Road. The third line "In the middle of Tobacco Road" reflects a sense of helplessness and despair as the singer was trapped in this place with no escape.
The second stanza starts by describing how the singer grew up in a dusty shack with nothing but the bare necessities of life. The phrase "Only you know how I loathe this place called Tobacco Road" conveys the singer's frustration and dissatisfaction with his life there. Despite his loathing, the singer acknowledges that this place is his only home, and the only life he has ever known. The final lines, "But I love ya, 'cause it's home," suggests that the singer has an ambivalent relationship with Tobacco Road.
In the last stanza, the singer speaks about his plans to leave Tobacco Road and get a job. He hopes to come back rich and improve his hometown by blowing up the place and start over again. The phrase, "I despise you 'cause you're filthy, but I love ya, 'cause it's home," reflects the singer's love-hate relationship with his birthplace.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born in a bunk
I was born in a very humble dwelling.
Mama died and my daddy got drunk
After my mother passed away, my father began to drink heavily.
Left me here to die or grow
Father abandoned me, allowing myself to either thrive and make something of myself or perish in the challenging environment.
In the middle of Tobacco Road
Life was spent in the oppressive Tobacco Road area, without any hope of escape.
I grew up in a dusty shack
During my developmental years, I resided in an arid, impoverished cabin.
And all I had was a'hangin' on my back
My personal belongings were scarce, with few possessions to my name.
Only you know how I loathe
Nobody can comprehend the extent of my dislike as much as I do.
This place called Tobacco Road
The Tobacco Road environment made me feel deeply upset and uncomfortable.
But it's home
Even though it's a difficult place to live, Tobacco Road is still considered 'home'.
The only life I've ever known
Tobacco Road can be unpleasant, but it's the only reality I've ever experienced.
I'm gonna leave and get a job
I plan to migrate to a new environment and work for an income.
With the help and the grace from above
I believe that divine intervention will assist me in my new journey.
Save some money, get rich I know
I aim to accumulate plentiful money and build wealth.
Bring it back to Tobacco Road
I want to use my new finances and prosperity to help the Tobacco Road area.
Bring dynamite and a crane
I'm willing to destroy the existing environments and structures to commence building anew.
Blow it up, start all over again
The best strategy is to eliminate the past and begin afresh.
Build a town, be proud to show
I want to construct a new town that I'm proud to display to others.
Give the name Tobacco Road
Even though Tobacco Road was a challenging location, its name should still be used in honour of the difficulties I endured there.
I despise you ''cause your filthy
Tobacco Road is deeply unpleasant and uncomfortable.
But I love ya, 'cause it's home
Despite everything, Tobacco Road is still considered 'home.'
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: John D. Loudermilk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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!