A news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings.
Please drop us a line on the lyrics and meaning of Neil Young's songs. We love to hear what folks think!
posted by Thrasher @ 7/01/2006 03:00:00 PM
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said...
Like many of Neil's songs and stories, the bitter obscurity of the lyrics are what make his songs mean so much personally to those who appreaciate the genius, the humanity, and the vulnerable spirit with which we all connect - those who appreciate Neil know of what I speak.
My band, Muscadine Wine perform 'Powderfinger' as well as at least 40 other songs of his including 'Country Girl' from the CSNY days. Now there is a lyric for contemplation. The beauty of this artist is not only that these songs seem to reach out to each of us and speak to us in images that we can all relate to, but that we can all come together in cyberspace and discuss them to create a harmony that compliments the music that we hear.
God bless Neil and all of those who listen to his music and are touched by his lyrics and react to his views. When the government lies to us and the corporations and greedy profiteers bleed us - bless those like Neil Young who speak out and care about what is going on in our world. It's greed, my friend, that will bring us down.
It's music that can bring us together and heal us. Rock on Neil.
I have only met Neil in my dreams but he is always as nice and thoughtful as I believed he is. We shared a fat one in the last one and it was so cool.
Rock on NY fans. Rock on Neil and thanks for all the best you could give.
Robin Stuckert
said...
On a stanza from "Needle and the Damage Done":
I sing this song because I love the man,
I know that some of you won't understand:
Milk blood to keep from running out.
A friend of mine once suggested that the last line of this stanza pertains to a practice of junkies, where they milk a little blood out into the needle after shooting up, since it will have some heroin traces in it, to shoot up later when they need another hit. I don't dismiss that reading of the line, but in the context of the other lines of the stanza, Neil seems to commenting on the song itself, and what he's getting at, I think, is that he's writing about this tragedy (milking the blood, as it were) in the hope that it will save some (to keep from "running out" of blood).
Neil has often seemed sensitive to the charge that he might have been capitalizing off the loss of Berry and Whitten, and this is his answer to such criticisms.
Jim Hale
said...
The imagery of “After the Gold Rush” comes from the 1951 Sci Fi film, "When Two Worlds Collide”. In this film, the Earth is doomed; A livable planet is discovered elsewhere and plan is conceived to “fly a silver seed” of a rocket ship containing “chosen ones” to their new home in the sun. Surely Neil saw this film, like the rest of us who grew up in that era.
said...
For the "After The Goldrush" review debate on how there can be a full moon and the sun in the sky at the same time I say this: He was lying in a basement looking up at the night sky. "(He) was hoping for replacement as the sun burst through the sky," I take this to mean that as he was hoping for replacement, it became morning. Time-lapse narration, something to think about.
I would also argue that the "goldrush" is a metaphor for the hippies migrating to Sanfrancisco, just like the miners during the actual goldrush. Young uses this metaphor because the song is looking at what will come in the future AFTER the "goldrush"
James Langford
said...
Powderfinger - Psychological mystery about suicide of a young man lost without love, except one remembered to late.
This song is about a young man and suicide.
Look out Mama, . with a big red beacon - His only reference to his Mama, and telling her what is about to happen.
there's a White Boat.- Mental Health wards in white coats to take him away.
Daddy's gone, Big John's been drinkin'.. etc. How depressed he is and hard it is to go on day to day.
Power to be left me to do the thinkin'... I was wondering what to do - means why am I here, I have no purpose,
The closer they got the more those feelings boom - paranoia, I better end it now (his life)
Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reasurring - His love for his lost father, family, loneliness and nothing else to hold.
When the first shot hit the dock- foresight, thinking of the bullet coming down the barrel
Raised my rifle (his rifle now) to my eye, never stopped to wonder why, and I saw black - BAM, he shot himself
My face spashed in the sky - his head being blown out behind the shot
Shelter me from the powder and the finger - Afterthought speaking after death, asking for forgiveness
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger - bury me, feelings for sorrow why he killed himself
Just think of me as one you never figured to fade away so young with so much left undone- "I never thought he'd commit suicide, he was so young" as his friend and family would say even today
Remember me to my love I know I'll miss her - Ultimate love for his girlfriend that is the only thing he is capable of feeling love for even though he is emotionlessly said in this last statement- his last cry out for help before he goes.
Wonderful song, one of my favorite from the since I first time I heard it. I play it when I on stage myself.
Tom
said...
Thinking about Thrasher, the line I headed off to where the pavement turns to sand, that's about Neil making on the beach after the 4 way street album, I guess.
said...
Well, for what it's worth, I've always thought that in Helpless, the lyrics:
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us
Helpless, helpless, helpless
referred to the Strategic Air Command Base in Alaska and it's B52 bombers.
But that's just an Australian perspective.
Cheers
Charles
james thompson said...
Powderfinger Analysis: I'll start with the assumptions of previous posts: We're dealing with a poor family living in the woodlands along a river. They have very little in terms of creature comforts, medicine, or contact with "civilized" society. They live off the land to a great extent (brother is hunting), poor medical care (river took Emmy-Lou suggests disease to me rather than drowning), and their main means of contact with the outside world is through mail boats.
All of this also suggests a more primitive era (no cell phones, tv, radios, etc). Therefore, I would agree with others that it makes sense that this story takes place during the civil war.
As such, I don't think they are drug runners or moonshiners as some have suggested. There just wasn't much of a market for that back then. They are just innocent, isolated folks with no money trying to get along the best they can.
So why the concern with the US military ship (big red beacon, a gun, a flag, numbers on the side)?
The key is that the song is about family of emancipated slaves living in the North along the Missouri river.
The fact is, the US was at war with itself at the time, and any time there is war, there are atrocities. The US civil war was no different. While the courage and honor of African-American soldiers during the war is well documented, it is lesser known that many freed slaves were forced into service by the government. There are many accounts of Union soldiers raiding black households and farms in the north and taking the males, often very young, away to the military.
So when the protagonist of the song (someone aptly referred to him as "22") sees a boat approaching in a threatening manner, he gets worried. Besides racial issues with white society, the family may be living in the sticks because they have already lost a family member to military kidnapping ("daddy's gone"), and so they are in hiding, in a way.
So what's my support? First, it seems to me that the "white boat" reference is obvious and intentional. Its the first line of the story and sets the stage for racial conflict. North/South issues were not a foreign topic for Neil (Southern Man). We also know that there are probably 3 males in the family the military could utilize (22, Big John, Brother).
Also, 22 seems very innocent and naive ("just think of me as one you'd never figure, to fade away so young). If he were into drugs or moonshining, that line would not make sense. He would be more cagey and worldly. His sense of fear and uncertainty throughout the song supports this ("I was wonderin' what to do, and the closer they got, the more those feelin's grew").
Additionally, 22 says that he "hope(s) they didn't come to stay" again indicating a Union raiding party who might not only kidnap the men but also make themselves at home for awhile before doing so.
OK, so why is it the Union army that's doing this? Couldn't it be a Confederate force going after the family? Probably not, since the family is together and has been for a while. Slaves did not escape and remain in the South...they went north.
So how did 22 die? As the boat approached, it fired a cannon shot at the homestead, hitting the dock. It was a warning/message aimed at instilling fear and submissiveness. 22 had been advised to flee such a situation by his father (red means run, son), but he must have thought that the entire family could not escape this attack, and besides,
Dad was captured despite his wisdom.
22's instincts to fight took over, and he raised his gun, immediately drawing full fire from the gunship.
The rest so to speak is history, or a lyrical version of it.
This is an emotional ballad, and as stated by others, fantastically supported by the instrumentals.
About me: Love Neil Young music, heartily disagree with his politics. I also don't discount points of view based on politics. Powderfinger is a sad story which happens during a sad time in American history. There will more sad stories, and more reasons to have faith for our future. Off the soapbox. JT
said...
Regarding the lyrics "Milk blood to keep from running out..." from Needle & The Damage Done
2 interpreatations are in general agreement. One is that a junkie will donate their blood/plasma for $'s.
The other has to do with a heroin injection of using the syringe to extract blood from user and inject another.
said...
Maybe post Civil War song?
Rebel Country Family on the river?
Or end of the Indian wars?
Native American family?
Father's wisdom "red means run son..." could be his experience with the war.
Who knows, but some of these theories I have read are very lame.
said...
I love the song POWDERFINGER and I've thought long about its meaning. Is it possible that the young man's gun misfires...explodes in his face? This would fit the timing of the narrative and the lyric "my face splashed in the sky". The first shot hits the dock and does not kill him...he then raises his rifle to his eye (the same eye that later sees black)...never stops to wonder why (why he pulls the trigger). What kills him? The powder (in the rifle, perhaps a musket) and the finger (his finger) - "shelter me from the powder and the finger. Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger". As to a theme...He's young, it's daddy's rifle and no matter how reassuring it may feel, daddy's gone and the weapon is not ready. Left alone...unprepared...he's using a gun that can't protect him and perhaps kills him instead. Youth abandoned and ill equipped to fight…the self-destructive nature of war…I’d say there’s a lot going on in this lyric.
said...
'what is the color, when black is burned?' is not a lyrical riddle as you posted on your first page.
it's simply just the type of supremely innocent question a child would ask seeing that it's from "I Am A Child"
said...
How in the WORLD did you go from "Let's Roll" to "Impeach Bush" ??
said...
Soldier (what a difficult song to interpret) seems to describe the Vietnam Soldiers as being full of life and potential (the bright eyes), but being forced to fight and die, and describes Jesus, which could be reasonanle people. as being unable to do anything about great atrocities (you can't deliver right away) and also shows wonder for why all of this is.
said...
I gotta say I agree with the comment by Tony M. I interpreted the song pretty much exactly as you and was surprised to see so many had A: been as concerned about the true meaning of the song, and B: so many had gotten it so wrong, (ha-ha).
Since this post seems to be in a diffent place, I will refresh:
The song was set during the Civil War era, the big white boat was a government boat, probably Union, the boy "22" was Southern, the men were gone and he was confronted with protecting his mother and perhaps others against a powerful drunken mob of marauders on a boat, and had no time to absorb the idea that he could not win, overtaken by the immortal feeling of youth and the idea that right is all that matters.
I envision his face flashed in the sky as the reflection of his own face in the sky like a picture of his soul as he is taken, visible to himself.
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger, was, of course, remember that I fought the bastards, and though I died, I did not abandon those I loved, I faced the music, I shot though took better than I gave.
And by the way, I gotta say, have any of you people heard Cowboy Junkies version? I heard it first, although I am a Huge Niel fan. Cowboy Junkies version is FANTASTIC, and I would suggest you go out and get it right now, in fact the whole album is sick, ( in a good way). Peace out!
said...
Being a big NY fan here in Europe I dont want to analyze the lyrics, but just wanted to mention, that when I listen to the song POWDERFINGER I envision a family from African American decent and the white boat for me was the Ku-Klux Clan. But thats just what is in my mind
said...
Why interpret Powderfinger so strictly? US government, probably not, but large enough to deploy a craft with a deck gun.
Fired at you, you'd see the round comin' with just enough time to say "Oh, xxxx", snap your daddy's rifle up, return fire and understand what smithereens really meant. If you've ever handled or loaded gunpowder, you'd have it on you hands when they caught you "redhanded".
said...
"Cover me with the thought . . . "--We commonly use ideology to excuse terrible actions, e.g. soldiers kill people (normally inexcusable) but they do it for "freedom and democracy". So: protect me from the consequences of my terrible actions with the laudable reasons I had for doing them. Thin protection indeed.
gonzo said...
powderfinger ive always
assumed/associated with
cocaine smuggling on the
ocean...and having the police after him so instead of running, he took a shot at them before he got hit..
just my interpretation...
said...
I always thought that this was an imaginary or possibly real event from the American Revoultion, that it was a British gunboat (Red means run, son) and that our main character had a musket blow up in his face.
said...
I have gotten a definite meaning from the song although I can't figure out how to trace that meaning back to any particular story that the lyrics tell. Instead, the lyrics and the music give me the feel that this 22-year old has been forced to fight for a side during the civil war. That's why he grabs the gun and was warned to run. When the first shot hit the dove refers to an earlier time when he felt that killing was wrong, but still he fires the gun when ordered into battle and kills. The feeling of killing humans in war was predicted by his earlier feeling when shooting a dove. He's got powder on his fingers,either from firing or loading. The conflict is his trying to come to grips with the thought that pulled the trigger. What turned me into a murderer. Like your life flashing before your eyes before you die, the images may not be in chronological order, which seems to excuse the lack of straightforward meaning in the song. Thanks to the others for the shroud image for cover me ... The song can be about the innocence that dies in the instant when the trigger is pulled in whatever context.
said...
Powderfinger is a simple war story told from one boy's first hand experience. He had a gun and a boat with bigger guns was coming after whoever was on shore. The boy couldn't defend himself - thank God his brother was out hunting in the mountains and his dad was gone. He was left with the Power do his own thinking. He's scared but brave. Powderfinger is the gunpowder on the trigger finger of the person on the boat who killed the boy. He faded away so young because Neil Young always makes references to his last name, Young. Fading away is because no one will remember the boy, not even himself when he dies. Only the song will keep his last memories alive. They are in the song. The boy talks to himself in his head all through the song. It's that simple. Very deep and very sad and there is nothing the listener can do to save the boy. Tragic death of yet another boy you cannot save. Don't try. If you get too involved you'll cry and wonder why. Just listen.
said...
Captain Kennedy is the killer of the boy in Powderfinger. Another first person account of the war. Civil war.
said...
What comes to my mind is a Ruby Ridge type of scenario. When he sees black I always thought the gun malfunctioned and blew up in his face, killing him accidentally, not ny the gun from the white boat and not suicide.
said...
lalalaaaaa.
who cares? hes lyke dead. ;]
lolz
said...
About Powderfinger: seems to me that everyone has missed the central point here. This song is about the slaughter of a young native American at the hands of the red coats. It's intended to convey, in a very visceral way, to the modern audience, the tragedy of that episode in history. John, EmmyLou ... this could have been your story, or mine. It's dumb luck that it turned out to be the story of the native Americans.
Why this interpretation? Some give aways:
"Red means run son, number add up to nothing" --- run when you see the red coats; numerical superiority of the native notwithstanding.
Big John, the once noble warrior, is drunk; a victim of that community's genetic predisposition to alcohol intolerance and addiction.
"I hope they didn't come to stay" --- you know that they are. This is definitely a colonial force.
said...
It's fascinating to see how simply many people want to make the lyrics of "I am a Child". Of course, the complicating question is "What is the color, when black is burned?". I, too, want this song to be an innocent interaction between a child and a man. However, Neil has never avoided the tougher social issues, as manifested in "Ohio" and "Southern Man". Taking the latter, is it not possible/probable that Young was making a social commentary on the racial relationships in North America? The historical reality of blacks being perceived as "boys/children" and "happy" and "smiling" are well documented stereotypes. "God gave to you, now, you give to me, I'd like to know what you have learned" hits this point between the eyes. "You are a man, you understand. You pick me up and you lay me down again. You make the rules, you say what's fair, It's lots of fun to have you there" - other than the last line (now clearly sarcastic) the theme continues. Now for the "mystery" of the lyrics - "what is the color, when black is burned?" What color is the ash of burned flesh (black, white or yellow)? Gray! It's all the same. Why can't the white man conceive of "the pleasure in my smile" - because he has no concept of the black man's awareness of shared humanity and his understanding of the tradegy of racial prejudice. For me - not saying I'm right (only Neil knows for sure) - "I am a Child" is much deeper than the average listener hears. There's a tragic, painful reality in each line; building toward the challenge that "dust to dust" is the same for all races. I'd be curious if anyone else can share the concept. The genious of Neil Young is that he appears very simple, but is actually deceptively complex.
said...
The person who left his analysis on the home page is so wrong it isn't even funny regarding his thoughts on what the color black is at the end of the song.
When the lyric says, "and then I saw black and my face splashed in the sky". It is not nighttime and he did not fall into the river.
He got shot in the face. The boat is a gov't or police boat. The first shot hit the dock was a warning shot. Then the 22 year old kid rasies his rifle. At this time the highly trained gov't agent shot the kid in the face. His face splashed in the sky lends truth to what your head does when hit by a high velocity projectile. Your head explodes like a rotten watermelon. YOu never hear the bullet that kills you. This is why the lyric says he "saw black" He never knew what hit him.
said...
Who ever gave us the breakdown line by line as a shrink would is over thinking the lyrics and trying to impress us with some ridiculous analysis of this song meaning suicide by a mental patient.
Also, " red means run son numbers add up to nothing" basically means.
Red- Equals the color of a siren ( not the red coats, for God's sakes)
The character in the song is into something, most likely moonshine.
Numbers add up to nothing- The law and their laws mean nothing to criminals and people trying to earn a living ilegally
This is not a song about suicide. Just a song about some kid getting his head blown off by a cop.
Geoff said...
This post has been removed by the author.
Geoff said...
I'm really quite amazed at all the interpretations of Powderfinger. From these comments alone, we seem to have 4 main theories for the broad story:
1) It's the civil war, and 22 is an African American, to be forced into service.
2) 22 is a Native American killed by the red coats.
3) It's about his suicide
4) The boat is a police boat and he's involved in cocaine trade on the ocean
Then you can take any of these and question what happens with the gun. Does he fire it? Does it explode in his face? Does he get shot before he can pull the trigger?
Personally, the first time I heard the song, I didn't have any idea who 22 was, but to me it seemed that the gun accidentally exploded in his face. I think that interpretation came to me first because it the lyrics suggest 22 is young, naive, and has never quite been exposed to this before (The Powers That Be left me here to do the thinkin', as if he's never had to do this thinkin' before).
There's a lot in the last verse, I think. For starters, in Rust Never Sleeps, the line is "Cover me with the thought that *I* pulled the trigger", not the way the lyrics page suggests and the way people seemed to be quoting it, "Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger." Note these are vastly different.
If the line is "Cover me with the thought that I pulled the trigger", there's two ways this could be taken, and I think should be taken together. One is 22 is asking for people to cover his dead body not only with the Earth, but with this thought that he pulled the trigger. The other is that this is a plea, in his own mind. He's wants to think of himself as having pulled the trigger, as he's dying. This lyric is not suggestive either way of whether he actually did pull the trigger. Only that he wants to think he did and he wants it to be remembered that way.
If the lyric is "Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger", then we know he did actually pull the trigger. He's asking to be immersed in the feeling that forced him to pull the trigger. Every now and then in my life I get an intense feeling for or about something or someone, but the intensity is short lived and I soon almost forget the thought, am left reaching for threads. If the lyric *were* "Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger" (which I claim it isn't), this is how I would interpret it.
I love this song, and I only discovered it today. Fantastic.
said...
The cool thing about Powderfinger is that the exact meaning of the events being narrated by "22" remain so visceral and impressionistic. We want to know more about the context but are thwarted by 22 himself, who gives us only his desperate thoughts and emotions in the moments leading up to and following his violent death. It's really interesting to read all of the different ideas about what is actually taking place and why. I'm not going to give my line-by-line interpretation, but have a few thoughts to offer from the point of view that a song really "lives" in the imagination of its listeners: I don't purport to have special insight into Neil's intentions when he wrote it.
For me the song has always evoked images from the film Deliverance (1972). The river and wild terrain (i.e. brother out hunting in the mountains) remind me of the fictional Cahulawassee River in the back woods of Georgia, which is the setting of that film. I am not suggesting that 22's family is composed of a bunch of toothless rapists as the "mountain men" in Deliverance are, but what I take away from the film and the song is that there are people in the South who continue (or until fairly recently continued) to live by their own rules, off the grid. They remain very hostile to outsiders while making a living in some kind of black market economy (in Deliverance it is assumed to be a whiskey still).
In other words, these families don't have social security numbers, they don't send their kids to school and they don't pay taxes. Their whole existence, not just their livelihood, runs counter to the established social order. Hence the bitter irony that the official looking boat "don't look like it's here to deliver the mail." 22's family is essentially living a bandit lifestyle (for me "Big John" conjures up Little John from Robinhood's merry men, but in this case he is a broken man, ruined by drink.)
Yet this bandit lifestyle is actually what makes the community vulnerable. People without an official existence can be disposed of without consequences. I definitely think the white boat represents official law enforcement intent on raiding an isolated community. Perhaps the policemen shoot 22 because they see he has a rifle (thus making his death preventable), but we know that he has not yet raised it when the first shot hits the dock. My sense is that the police have come to "take-out a few hillbillies," because they know they can get away with it. Clearly, this family has been targeted before.
As for 22, I have always read ambiguity into the line "I had just turned 22; I was wondering what to do." I don't think he was wondering what to do about the boat, rather he was more generally seeking purpose in his life and was on the brink of a decision. He seems to be a victim of circumstances, both in terms of the abuse of official power (the lawmen) and of a violent and disenfranchised life he did not choose. He has been left alone, a sitting duck and the only able-bodied man present when the boat comes. He must protect his mother.
I definitely agree that the line where he sees black and his face splashes in the sky describes his last moments of consciousness as he is shot in the face or head or as his eyes roll back into his head.
I will also add that the red beacon on the boat seems to me to be anachronistic for the Civil War. I have a more modern, institutional impression of the boat.
Finally, I don't think that 22 is entirely honest with us or with himself. The last lines of the song sound like an epitaph for someone who's death will never be marked with a headstone. He speaks to us posthumously and asks that we think of him as one we never figured would fade away so young, with so much left undone. In fact, he was on the wrong side of the law from birth. His description of his life (centred around a rifle and a river, wondering what to do in an abandoned outpost) does not suggest limitless possibilities. I am of the opinion that the last line is more of an expression of regret for a great love affair he hoped to have, rather than actually had, although he is probably referring to a real girl that he had a crush on.
For me, the anger and the anguish of the song is that 22 is mourning his life as well as his death. He wants to be remembered as he was not, a boy whose world was his oyster. The line "cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger" has been much explored in this forum. Suffice to say that I don't think 22 wants to be remembered in death as he was in life. When faced with the law, he is compelled to protect his mother, take up his father's gun and act as he was raised to act. He refers repeatedly to family members and is directed by the words of his absent father. But his last thought is of his love, an external figure which suggests that 22's loyalties are divided (first line refers to mother / last line to lover). He is torn between the world he knows and one that he has just begun to sense.
There is something incongruent and conflicted about 22 that makes me think that he was thinking about abandoning the lonliness and the possum stew (like Paul Simon's Duncan left the bordom and the chowder of his maritime childhood) when death made his decision for him. He stayed and died with his family.
Ok, so I have read a lot into the song, but really, most of us do it because it is fun and stimulating to analyse Neil's lyrics, to explore and develop a theory. If you have not seen Deliverance or heard Duncan, I recommend both (with a warning that Deliverance is quite graphic).
Finally, the main themes that I think clearly emerge from the song are police (or establishment) brutality, coming of age and separating from childhood/family.
- Meg
said...
in "the needle and the damage done" ive been listening to the part over and over again that many people always dwell on, "i sing this song becuase i love the man" i can't tell if hes refering to the man that the needle took or "the man" in relation to the drug, supposing the man supplied it maybe or "the man" knows how to stay away from it, and i geuse thats why he says "some of you wont understand." i picture the man as the enemy, cooperate pig. why would he love that man?
pluto said...
Great to find the interesting stuff about Powderfinger. I often cite Powderfinger as the model for my own songwriting. It's so concrete, you feel the immediacy of emotion, yet it the details of identity are omitted, enabling each and every one of us to identify. In any case, the numbers on the boat tell you that it's military/gov't. And the red light I think pretty much tells you that it's modern era, not Civil War as some have supposed. Boats in the Civil War era didn't have running lights, AFAIK. I certainly don't think they had "big red beacons".
I always guessed that this song was about the conflicts on Native American reservations in the U.S. in the late 60's and early 70's. No real basis for this other than Neil's identification with the Native American independence movement.
I guess I have always thought that "Powderfinger" was the name of the protagonist. LIke "Sitting Bull" or what have you. In my interpretation, he is Powderfinger, because his rifle jams. That's what I always thought of the lyric:
"raised my rifle to my eye, never thought to wonder why, and then I saw black, and my face splashed in the sky".
When he sees the shot coming, he fires back, but the rifle jams, and the powder and the shell explode in his face. His youth and inexperience led him to not prepare his rifle well, and it literally backfired. He was ill prepared. But we sympathize, because it was simple youth. Not ignorance, or incompetence.
This, to me, is a great metaphor for the futility of taking on a heavily armed and backed oppressor. You can fire away at them, but it's gonna come back and get you in the end. And the naivety of the protagonist works as a possible metaphor, too, symbolizing the naive optimism of the "hippie" anti-establishment.
There's my .02.
Thanks for having this forum.
Best regards,
Dan Cohn
said...
Powderfinger is simply an old interpretation of how the state tries to control it's citizens. In my slightly romantic view, its almost the American civil wars anthem, written in the knowledge of countless occasions where control is not wnated! rather like the Highland clearances, which could heve led to the existence of the characters in the song.
His heritage is Scottish,
c'mon the Neil and all who hear.
said...
Doesn't the phrase "Powers That Be" refer to a higher power? So I think the suicide theory of the song is the correct one if there is a correct one."don't look like their here to deliver the mail" I think means that they are there to harm or take away.I don't believe there were any white boats in the revolutionary war or the civil war. But white boats did deliver mail to hard to reach locations in the swamps near mountain based villages. My thought on "Powderfinger" when I first heard the song at about 12 years old I was sure it mean't something about cocaine use and its affects but I think now it means suicide. Thats the nice thing about a great song, it could mean something maybe you can relate to at any stage of your life and really has no specific meaning at all.
said...
Intro:
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B|------6--6--6--6--|---6---6--6--6--6--|
G|----0h5--5--5--5--|-0h5-0h5--5--5--5--|
D|--0---------------|-------------------|
A|------------------|-------------------|
E|------------------|-------------------|
D
E|-----0h2--------|--2--3p2-----0h2-----|
B|----------3--3--|----------3-------3--|
G|----------2--2--|----------2-------2--|
D|--0-------------|---------------------|
A|----------------|---------------------|
E|----------------|---------------------|
(Repeat above)
Dm7/add2
Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like
D
you were.
Dm7/add2
Old man look at my life I'm a lot like
D F C G
you were.
D F C F
Verse:
D F C G
Old man look at my life, twenty four and there's so much more.
D F C F
Live alone in a paradise that makes me think of two.
D F C G
Love lost, such a cost, give me things that won't get lost.
D C F G
Like a coin that won't get tossed rolling home to you
(base run from G into D of Chorus, notes: G A B C D)
Chorus:
D D Dsus4 D Am7 Em7
D Am7 Em7
Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you.
D Am7 Em7
I need someone to love me the whole day through.
D Am7 Em7
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true.
D F C G
D F C F
2nd Verse:
Lullabys, look in your eyes, run around the same old town.
Doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you.
I've been first and last, look at how the time goes past.
But I'm all alone alone at last, rolling home to you.
(repeat chorus and go immediately into intro again
but on the last "you were" finish as below...)
D F C G D
you were.
A very detailed intro tab:
Legend:
h : hammer on
( ): 'play it or not, as you feel it'
p : pull off
/ : slide up
Dm9: xx0560
(some notes are more or less muted -- listen to the tape.)
Dm9
e:---------|---0--------|---------0--|------0--0--|------------|
B:---6-----|6--------6--|6--------6--|---6--6--6--|6--6-----6--|
G:5--0-h5--|5-----5-----|0-h5--5-(5)-|------------|0-h5--5--5--|
D:0--------|------0-----|------0-----|0-----------|------0-----|
A:---------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
E:---------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
D Dm9
e:---0--------|---0-h2--|---------|3-p2--------|---0--------|----0--|
B:6--6--6--6--|---------|---------|------------|---3--------|/6--6--|
G:5--5--5--0--|2--------|2--2--2--|------2--2--|2-----2--0--|-------|
D:------------|0--------|------0--|------0-----|0-----------|-------|
A:------------|---------|---------|------------|------------|-------|
E:------------|---------|---------|------------|------------|-------|
e:---0--0--0--|------------|---0--0--0--|------------|---0-----0--|
B:---6--6--6--|6--6-----6--|---6--6--6--|6--6-----6--|6--6--6-----|
G:5-----------|0-h5--5--5--|5-----------|0-h5-----5--|5-----5-----|
D:0-----------|------------|------------|------0-----|------------|
A:------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
E:------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
D Dm9
e:---0-h2--|---------|3-p2-----2--|---0---------|-0--0--0--0---|
B:---------|---------|3--------3--|3--3--3--/6--|(6)-----------|
G:2--------|2--2--2--|------2-----|2-----2------|(5)-----------|
D:0--------|------0--|------------|-------------|(0)-----------|
A:---------|---------|------------|-------------|--------------|
E:---------|---------|------------|-------------|--------------|
old
e:--(0)-0--0--|-------0--0--|------0--0--|------0--0--|------0--0--|
B:6-(6)(6)----|----6-(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)-|---6-(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)-|
G:0-h5--5-----|-------------|0-h5--------|------------|0-h5--------|
D:------------|0------------|------------|0-----------|------------|
A:------------|-------------|------------|------------|------------|
E:------------|-------------|------------|------------|------------|
man look at my life I' m lot like
D Dm9
e:---0-h2--|---------|3-p2--------|---0---------|-0--0--0--0---|
B:---------|3--3-----|3--------3--|---3-----/6--|(6)-----------|
G:---------|---------|------2-----|2-----2------|(5)-----------|
D:0--------|------0--|------------|-------------|(0)-----------|
A:---------|---------|------------|-------------|--------------|
E:---------|---------|------------|-------------|--------------|
you were old...
e:-------0--0--|------0--0--|------0--0--|------0--0--|------0--0---|
B:------(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)-|-----(6)(6)--|
G:-0-h5--------|---5--------|0-h5--------|---5--------|0-h5---------|
D:(0)----------|0-----------|------------|0-----------|-------------|
A:-------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|
E:-------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|
D F C ...etc
e:----------------|
B:----------------|
G:----------------|
D:----------------|
A:----------------|
E:----------------|
you were
said...
I read many years ago that the "Big Birds" in the song "Helpless" were "B52s." I see someone else posted that idea. Can anyone confirm that from the wYoung's own words?
Barry said...
Ok, I know this post has been around for a while but I love Powderfinger, even though I don't get it. This coupled with the fact it is very quiet around here with Christmas looming. So here is my 2 cents:
These are rural people for sure. I don’t know who is in the white boat but certainly some sort of authority and I’m guessing they have a grudge to settle. I think “Daddy” is dead, otherwise why would the narrator have his gun? Maybe Daddy died by the hand of the people in the white boat. His growing feelings must be fear and loathing. Clearly Big John is useless and should have been in charge, people who live near rivers have all had some sort of loss to the river in a lifetime.
I think “red means run” is a guerrilla tactic, take a shot draw blood and fall back, don’t just try to get more notches on your gun. Never stopped to wonder why, maybe he was sure of the family’s side of the story and felt justified. He was certainly struck down as he raised his rifle; I think he may have gotten off a shot or two first, at least I'd like to think so. Regardless, the white boat was coming in fast with bad intentions. “Shelter me from the thought that pulled the trigger”, may mean that even though he felt justified he was intending on taking someone’s life and felt some guilt. “Think of me as one you’d never figured would fade away so young with so much left undone”, maybe this would not be the first guy the people in the area would think of as making such a stand. I don’t think he was protecting anything or people, since he seemed to be all alone. He was making a stand and would not surrender.
planoBarryB
said...
Don't you all have anything better to do than to pick a song apart? It is what it is man! An artist creates something from an experience, an observation, whatever...That's our point of view. If we express it, it's left up for interpretation, for you all. We write stories that are half true to us, and who knows what otherwise. Quit trying to be interpretive people and just take it for what it does for you. Enjoy the story, gather what you can that relates to you, inspire from it if you can, dig the beat...There is no good reason to tear a song apart like that. I'm a huge Neil Young fan, but come on people...Lyrics Analysis? Get a life...
said...
How many of you have actually seen "Rust"? Just curious for discussion sake...
said...
Wow Joejoe, don't you have anything better to do than be a hater? Everyone here loves the song and all music by NY. It just happens to be fun for us, much like you having fun finding ways to critisize people.
Long may you run.
said...
Powder finger. A 'Beacon' doesn't have to be an electric light. A beacon is a navigational aide. Light houses are beacons and they didn't rely on electricity. I have no idea about this song. I think theorizing about Neil's songs is kind of pointless as they always have some kind of deeply personal meaning, but this song has a feeling to it that it is set in another time. I get the impression that 22 lives in a frontier like setting. The family portrait kind of sets that tone. The fact that Elliot R oberts believes it was intended for L S kind of gives it that ring too. Funny, I didn't get the impression it's at night, but it doesn't really say anyway.
Neil-Is-Great said...
Firstly to JoeJoe: A lot of folks (myself included) are perplexed by the lyrics of Powderfinger and find it enjoyable to enter into dialogue with equally rabid Young fans about the song's meaning. Providing interpretations about such a provocative song doesn't undermine Neil's creative genius, it affirms it.
OK, I too think the song is set in the civil war. A gun ship approaches on the river but despite his late father's admonition to run in this situation, he's not sure what he should do (he's only 22). The bigger part of him grabs Daddy's rifle and prepares to defend his home and Mama. When the first shot from the gun boat hits the dock (not a warning shot, the shooter simply misses his target the first time), he knows this is the end. Nevertheless, he raises his rifle anyway and takes aim at the gun boat, choosing to stand and die like a man rather than flee. He sees black and his face splashes in the sky when the evitable takes place and he his slain by the gunship. "Shelter me from the powder and the finger" is a young man's posthumous plea to be spared from what has already happened (to me this is reminiscent of the cry of young soliders who lay dying on the battlefield will commonly call out for their mother's to help them). "Just think of me as one you'll never figure" is him saying to his survivor's "Ya, I know I was supposed to run - but hey, I guess you'll never figure me out." So the only think I remain totally baffled about is 'Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger'.
Well, that's my $0.02 worth.
said...
I've always been a Neil Young fan but was just turned on to the 1971 Massey Hall album after seeing "Old Man" from that show on YouTube. The first song, "On the Way Home" has a familiar guitar lick and, after wracking my brain and using Google, I remebered that it sounded identical to the guitar lick from Todd Rungren's "Hello It's Me". I then did some more research and found that Young's song came out in '68, while Rundgren's song came out in '72 so it looks like Rundgren royally ripped Neil Young off on that one. I'm curious if plagerism was ever pursued.
said...
My first thought when I heard "Powderfinger" was that it was about a draft dodger, given the time that it was written (during the Vietnam War) and the military is coming to get him to force "22" into service. Any thoughts on that?
L
planobarryb said...
Draft dodger?......hmmmm. Interesting theory. Hey is this Neil?
said...
America-pls wake up!! pls VOTE, watch 'ZEITGEIST' avail on inet, then rent alex jones' ENDGAME' B4 U VOTE-IS OUR FATE THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT DADDY BUSH SAID IN CONGRESS? Find out what their agenda speaks of, which is a return to FEUDALISM. woke this morning hearing the eerie 'for what it's worth' by buffalo springfield, then found 'ohio' by Neil young. At 55 yr old it hit me so hard i shivered and cried. Heard it a million times, but the line 'what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground' held a new meaning for me. Pls educate yourselves, become a peaceful activist-question authority-ask why the presidential candidates have 'lost their virginity' to the NEW WORLD ORDER. Do it now. i'm a degreed profesional who forgot her roots in activism-it works if you work it!!!
said...
My humble opinion is the song is about a young man, very suspicious of strong-armed government due to brain-washing perhaps by his father, attempting to defend he and his dad's presumably illegal bootlegging or perhaps marijuana operation from gov't agents.
Or perhaps the agents are IRS sent to shake the protagonist and family down for unpaid taxes.
Given that they came equipped with gun(s) they anticipated resistance. Given that his dad cautioned him - "red means run son, numbers add up to nothing", he raises his gun to defend against the agents in a boat with flashing red light (police or similar) and numbers on the side. red light and numbers = gov't agents (out to get protagonist).
I don't think that the subject is necessarily those prone to gov't conspiracy theories but I do think the subject is very distrustful/anti-gov't but moreso due to illegal livelihood he is defending or unpaid taxes.
The Ruby Ridge tragedy seems similar to the song but I do not think that that type of situation was necessarily what Neil Young had in mind but maybe it was.
Anyway I perceive it as individual very distrustful and antagonistic toward gov't agents with prior actions culminating in this showdown and the individual's life is extinguished way too early.
My humble thoughts.
said...
Ahhh... Neil Young.. I discovered Neil Young, as a young adult. The lyrics of many of Neil Young's songs, have carried me, when I felt lost & helpless.. Many of his lyrics have opened my eyes, when I was blind from grief or troubles... "OLD MAN", "HEART OF GOLD", "AFTER THE GOLDRUSH".. There's more, of course..
I've always felt a connection to him.. As if I know him.. I'm sure, others feel the same... My life has been enriched by Neil Young.. In my opinion, no other possesses the talent of Neil Young.. His wisdom is deep & a treasure to those who take the time to listen & understand.. In a sense, he makes one see, what we are all missing, as if we live in a dream, being taught the importance of the "real world" before we are awaken, to face reality.. I'm forever loyal to his wisdom & ways & honesty.. Peace to my brother, NEIL YOUNG for he has filled my life with PEACE & HARMONY.. & led me through the tangled path, with his lyrics when I thought I'd never get to the other side, to start over again....
rl said...
Powderfinger is so beautiful. Typical Neil. As discussed here over the years its themes are typical NY - youth, and the angst of leaving youth, assuming responsibilities. Our protagonist, 22 as he's been dubbed, fits the bill.
There's been so many ideas put forth - I agree with the general feeling: rural folk in danger from the approaching authorities.
Second verse relays this deep reluctance of leaving childhood and the comforts of allowing others take charge and having responsibility put on you. We've all experienced that apprehension, that sorrow. I started listening to this song on Live Rust in 1979 when I was 13 and that whole album had (has) such a profound effect on getting me through it all. As mentioned in earlier posts the guitar solo at the end of this second verse takes this apprehensive feeling and conveys it like no words ever could. You feel what 22 is facing. Neil may not have the technical guitar prowess of the greats - Hendrix, Beck, or Page - but I have always felt his playing like no others. So 22 bravely and naively accepts and is ready to defend his Mama and his home.
Third verse, 22 tragically dies and the second guitar solo takes us into the air where 22 is experiencing his own death. Once again, just feel it.
Now the fourth and final verse that has us a little perplexed, The first three lines start with: Shelter me, Cover me, and Think of me - all are 22's thoughts or requests as to how this incident (of him dying in defense of their home) is remembered.
Now this is always open to your own interpretation, but here's mine: 22 died when his rifle backfired in his face possibly due to 22 carelessly having gunpowder all over his hand (finger) while loading the gun in haste - a rookie mistake that cost him his life and certainly a lesson his Pa would have instructed him on previously. After having taken on the ultimate "responsibility" of defending the family by fighting the authority, in the end it was his careless mistake that cost him. He is humiliated by this fact and so his first thoughts are when you tell the story of how I died put a spin on it: not talking of my fatal rookie mistake (Shelter me from the powder and the finger) but rather accentuating the part of my bravery and me taking on the responsibility (Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger). who knows?
Whatever Neil's thoughts were when writing it, Powderfinger stands as one of our the all-time Neil favourites.
said...
I think, it's no coincidence, that "cortez, the killer" follows "powderfinger" on 'live rust' and and that both songs do form a triptych with "sedan delivery", the song before "powderfinger". i think, all three songs are about the numinous, strange feelings (ny said, "powderfinger" has something to do with "anger/angst") we/others are sometimes driven by, because there are things out there in/beside reality, we can't cope with. cause we are only human beings after all. a linguistic perspective on songs like "powderfinger" will form a perpetual discussion about nothing and all (just let your phantasy roll, everything is in one song if you're willing to see it in it)), but won't lead to "the truth behind the song". i think neil young means that, when he says that it was atype of unconscious process writing the lyrics of "powderfinger". and this is why "powderfinger" is as well enigmatic as simple; simple in the way, that it touches so many people so deep and disturbing: neil young is great man.
malte, germany
said...
an addition to my recent post:
on 'weld', disc two we find "cortez the killer" first, followed by "powderfinger". the situation in both song is similiar: someone's coming across the water. as killer/as a salvator?: ironic, that the aztecs thought, cortez is the promised salvator "kukulkan"/"quetzalcoatl" (="feathered serpent") from one of their archaic myths. think, one should follow that trace. "powderfinger" and "cortez the killer" is more than "some lyrics". it's great poetry. neil young is a poet. poets are hard to "understand". read, listen, think. don't analyse to much. adding numbers leads to nothing. 1+1 isn't 2 in terms of poetry.
malte
said...
cortez and powderfinger
(oh my god, i hope, ny will never read our/mine comments)
... you can even transplant verse 7 from "cortez" to the end of "powderfinger" ... i still believe that there is a relationship between both songs ... and not to forget "sedan delivry" as third "tableau" of the triptych
an abstract and relaxed approach is all we need. it's important to not understand ny lyrics (you'll loose when you're winning an understanding of ny lyrics, it's like tasting the forbidden fruit from the tree in the paradise, it will end in paradise lost)
get a feeling for the unsaid between the lines, play with the lyrics and their ever changing meanings - and the song will talking to you.
malte
said...
I've only just discovered neil young but it strikes me as pretty clear that "ordinary people" is a satirical, political attack on capitalism and the system run by crooks (the government). These are the "patch of ground people". The "ordinary people" on the other hand come in all shapes and sizes but their good old american hardworking values only prop up an evil regime. "they got faith in the regular guy, the patch of ground people". It refers clearly to american foreign policy. It talks about having a backroom full of the guns of war crookedly selling guns to the underground, helping the people to lose their ass for a piece of ground. meanwhile they get the drugs to street alright. witness american foreign policy in afganistan - poppy production has increased after american invasion. this song is bitterly sarcastic about peoples ignorance and faith in this society. It is anything but an ode to the regular guy.
said...
long may you run,R.S.(RIP)
said...
Hi all, first time writing on comments . I am a huge neil fan ,been to many,many shows and have my own personal ideas on his song writing. As i write songs for myself I would never let others read mainly because they would never beleive I wrote such lines. I think as I think Neil does that it comes from somwhere else. Maybe subconsiously I'm not sure. Maybe imagination unlocks a door.But anyhow Neil is brillant at putting you into the middle of somthing then showing you how you got there and never really telling you how it ends (left for you to discover). One of my favorite Neil lines is from "Running Dry" it's the last line " my cruelty has punctured me and now I'm running dry" talk abut painting a picture with words! Well kept up the good work Friends there's a lot more Neil to come I'm sure.
said...
Powderfinger
An overcharged priming pan on a flintlock rifle results in excessive back flash causing burnt face and fingers along with an increased chance of misfire.
The song is actually very simple to decipher.
First off the protagonist is not in control of the situation which could be taking place in any place or time.
He did not make the conditions that lead to the final event but is pressured to take part regardless since those responsible are unwilling or unable.
In other words the song is about the powers that be driving the young into the same pattern of perpetual conflict and the sons paying for the sins of their fathers.
said...
An overcharged priming pan on a flintlock rifle results in excessive back flash causing burnt face and fingers along with an increased chance of misfire.
The song is actually very simple to decipher.
First off the protagonist is not in control of the situation which could be taking place in any place or time.
He did not make the conditions that lead to the final event but is pressured to take part regardless since those responsible are unwilling or unable.
In other words the song is about the powers that be driving the young into the same pattern of perpetual conflict and the sons paying for the sins of their fathers.
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