Many of you know I am a Neil Young fan. But I am not sure I told you about the first time I remember hearing his music. I believe it started with a song called, "Old Man." I first heard the song when I was maybe 9 years-old. I borrowed my older brother's mix tape (mix tapes, too funny) and walkman (walkman, too funny) for a class trip. No idea what was on the tape, I just wanted something to listen to while on the bus trip. I remember listening to it on the way there and really enjoying the song.
So I decided to post some YouTube videos of Neil Young performing Old Man throughout his career. Here they are:
Bob Dylan covering Old Man:
There are many more covers...
Comments
Love his Philadelphia from the Philadelphia soundtrack...
Posted by: Neyne | June 27, 2008 5:58 PM
One of my favorite moments in Jonathan Demme's "Heart of Gold"-- a film with no shortage of sensitive camerawork and intimate scenes --comes when Young introduces "Old Man" and shares the story behind it.
There's something so marvelous and poignant about the way Young introduces the song, about how it was an attempt to communicate with the aged caretaker of the spacious California estate he'd bought in the early 70s and who was a bit bewildered by the new, young hippie owner. The song tries to bridge generations, but the unspoken truth is that it's Young who is now the "old man", singing a young man's song that is now essentially to himself.
Add to that the concert's backstory-- Young had been diagnosed with a brain aneurism that could potentially have killed him at any point, so he immediately wrote and recorded "Prairie Wind" in the time before the (successful) operation, then went on to debut the songs at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium --, and the song becomes wrapped with new layers of meaning.
Suffice it to say, the first time I saw that scene, I couldn't help but cry. But then, a beautiful song like "Old Man" will do that to you all on it's own...
Posted by: Winooski | June 28, 2008 12:09 AM