Neil...Young Not Diamond...Although I Love Him Too

In another attempt to avoid doing my extra credit and rough draft questions for my Human Sexuality final (which is so tomorrow!) I decided to talk about my man, Neil Young! I saw him in concert a few years back. The Pretenders opened for him (although, we had gotten lost going to the concert and only caught their cover of the Needle and the Damage Done). It became quite cold as the night went on and all I had on were sandals, a t-shirt and jeans and I was freezing my ass off! He didn't sing Old Man but they did do a really rockin' version of Tonight's the Night. Oh, and during the show I had to fend off a drunk man and then as we walked to find the car (which didn't go well) we were cat called from passing vehicles because we happened to be two well-developed women in the chest area. Yelling, "yeah, I'd like to see you get on each other" is not the best way to introduce yourself! We found cops but I think they thought we were drunk (which we weren't) because we both gave different answers to what type of terrain the car was parked on (me: grass? friend: gravel?). On to Neil, though. As I have MANY Neil songs I will pick and choose randomly.

• Don't Let it Bring You Down - It's only castles burning/find someone who's turning/And you will come around...There's something very Western about this song to me even though it's really not country at all. It's more folky. But it makes me think of dust and heat and a place where everything is constructed out of wood. Oh and what's this? *dream sequence* I work at a the five and ten store. I have a husband who's not the nicest fella in the neighborhood. He drinks too much, comes home too late and gambles our money away. It gets me down. We have a little baby who I love to pieces; just wish his dad wasn't Harold (that's right, my drunk husband's name is Harold). Neil stops into the store a lot. He's relatively new to the area. He's very nice to me and always has good advice for me like don't let it bring you down! We have feelings for each other but I'm married! He shows his love for me in little ways, though. He'll buy a bag of beans and leave his change behind for me or he'll walk me home in the evenings. One night after I picked up little Harold from my sister's house, Neil walked me home and offered to make me and little Harold his. Said he couldn't stand for any woman he loved to live the way I had to because of Harold. I told him I'd think about but I could never just walk away from Harold.
• I Believe in You - Now that you found yourself losing your mind/are you here again? Neil won't take no for an answer. I explain to him that I don't see how I could leave Harold. I'm in a long red dress and wearing brown boots by the way. We're out in the back of the five and dime because Neil was making a scene in the store. It's a tense conversation. "I'm not that kind of girl. I won't just leave my husband because of how you feel." "But he'd leave you and you know it," Neil says to me as he plops his hat back on his head and walks away. He's right. He's such an honest and caring man. How can I say no? I don't have to think too long about that, though, because thankfully Harold has a massive heart attack at a poker game and I become a widow. After the appropriate amount of time for mourning for a husband I didn't love anyway, I and little Harold show up on Neil's doorstep. He welcomes us in...Now that you made yourself love me/do you think I can change it in a day/how can I place you above me/Am I lying to you when I say/that I believe in you.
• Helpless - There is a town in North Ontario...Hell, there's really nothing else to say. This song rocks so hard!
• A Man Needs a Maid - It's 1972. Neil is big time. I mean, he's done the Buffalo Springfield thing, he's done the Crosby, Stills & Nash thing, he's hung with Crazy Horse. He's no joke. He does need a maid. Just someone to keep my house clean/cook my meals for me/and go away (actually, I need a maid!). My feminist soul tries to ignore the whole "a man needs a maid" bit. Cause really, everyone needs a maid! A buff male maid who cleans my apt. while he's naked would be supernice.
• Tonight's the Night - Can you hear the frustration in Neil's voice? This man is on the verge of exploding from the misery/grief/sadness/etc. and when I'm in that frame of mind I put this song on. People let me tell you/he sent a chill up and down my spine/when I picked up my telephone/and heard that he died out on the mainline...Neil lost a couple of friends to heroin (the Needle and the Damage Done) and, thankfully, he has the gift of song to work out his issues with that. This song simmers and it boils, people.
• Everybody Knows This is Nowhere - Hmmm...*dream sequence* I've just moved to a little country town. Population is about 200. I like it because it's peaceful up here and the house was cheap to rent. I've come up here to paint/write/or something you do where you can be artistic and reclusive. I carry my groceries in a brown paper bag (like Mrs. Brady used to) from the corner store that Mrs. Jesson runs. Look, there's the little post office. "Hi, Tommy!" He's the town mechanic. I walk everywhere even though I own a car because the town is so little. It's full of quirky characters a la Baby Boom. Right now, though, I'm sitting on my front porch eating an apple and watching my dog run around the yard. I'm in a plaid shirt, jeans and barefeet. Ah, I love Nowhere.
• The Losing End - *dream sequence* My friend runs a cafe. Like Cafe Wha? or the Bitter End...that kinda cafe. They have open mic night there on Thursdays. I sing from time to time with a couple of friends. We exclude the electrified bits from the song to "keep it real." This is a favorite of mine to perform with Willy (who would be like Bob Dylan). My voice is more in the vein of a Judy Henske than a Joan Baez and when I pass the hat I always get lots of dough.
• Cinnamon Girl - Let me preface by saying that I seem to have a fascination with being a groupie *dream sequence*...So, I'm a groupie...I'm Neil's favorite when he's in town. So much so that he'll actually take me out on the road from time to time. He surprises me with this song which he says he wrote especially for me! He says my freewheeling ways are a turn on. I've got hair parted down the middle which is very long, I wear a slightly shear shirt with no bra, jeans and barefeet (it's the 70s!). I carry a ginormous purse that has fringe and beads on it. Everything about the song reminds me of him he says...the guitars, the clappy sound of the drums, the vocals...it's all freewheeling and rock and roll, like me!
• Down by the River - Be on my side/I'll be on your side baby/there is no reason for you to hide...okay, except that you totally are trying to kill her!!! La la la la...yeah, those don't help soften it up. You shot her! Down by the river! Aw, man! I guess this is kind of like those old country songs where love goes wrong. I bet this is an awesome song in concert. He didn't do this either when I saw him live! I think he was with Crosby, Stills & Nash when he did this or am I making that up? This song makes me wish I could play guitar. It also makes me want to dance like a crazy hippie in a large outdoor concert!