16. Neil Young – Birds

When Neil Young recently guested at The Late Show with David Letterman many saw it as a let down primarily because he didn’t perform. He did talk about his latest project to make his 1959 Lincoln Continental fuel-efficient. It was interesting listening to this endeavor although he did admit that his project is limited only to proving that the conversion of old cars can be done. The price tag ($10 million!), or whether it would be affordable for everyone, is a different matter.

Young also talked about the latest documentary about his advocacy against Bush and his song Let’s Impeach the President. Perhaps, it was because of this that there was no performance; there’s really no way of telling.

Neil Young has been outspoken about his anti-war stands throughout his career. Some fans admire him for that. There are some fans who learned of Young when grunge ruled in the 90s. To this generation he was the Grungefather.

Growing up in the Philippines, I first heard Neil Young when Top 40 radio and jeepney drivers played Four Strong Winds to death. And because I hated country and folk when I was a kid, I endured listening to Young’s slide guitar and lazy nasal drawl practically everywhere I go.  Later on I heard Heart of Gold and I Believe in You, favorites among multiplex singers in the days when karaoke was still a dream. I’d read about the folk super-group CSNY but didn’t pay much attention.

Years later, when I was musically mature enough, I discovered the song After the Gold Rush.   I was blown away by the haunting piano track complemented by a desolate voice that sounded like coming from an AM transistor radio with its battery dying fast and singing about “Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s.” (I read somewhere that some fans of Wall*e thought that Pixar should have chosen this as the soundtrack of the closing credits instead of that song by Peter Gabriel.)

When I got a copy of the album, I found more gems. This time, I was able to appreciate I Believe in You. I loved the devil-may-care guitar solo of Southern Man. I was also taken in by the other love songs like Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Don’t let it Bring You Down (later covered by Annie Lennox and played in the closing minutes of American Beauty), Till the Morning Comes and my choice for the the saddest song of all time – Birds.

Here’s the lyrics and click here to hear the song:

Lover, there will be another one
Who’ll hover over you beneath the sun
Tomorrow, see the things that never come today

When you see me fly away without you
Shadow on the things you know
Feathers fall around you
And show you the way to go
It’s over, it’s over.

Nestled, in your wings my little one
This special morning brings another sun
Tomorrow see the things that never come today

When you see me fly away without you
Shadow on the things you know
Feathers fall around you
And show you the way to go
It’s over, it’s over.