@ALBUM: DECADE Neil Young Year Released: 1977 Record Company: Reprise this version compiled by Paul Hellander - with the help of many anonymous NY fans corrections to phelland@adam.adelaide.edu.au @SONG:DOWN TO THE WIRE Ev'ry time you touch her sets your hands on fire, And ev'ry thing you've got is all that she requires. And you hang on, hang on, hang on To the words of a lier. You can feel it's getting down to the wire. All the hurt you thought was gone has now returned, And ev'ry thing she's laughing at is all you've learned. And you let go, let go, let go, 'Cause you know you're getting tired. Can you feel it getting down to the wire? Take the time to close your eyes and look around, 'Cause anyone who helped you out can let you down. And look out, look out, look out; The voice is now the choir. Can you feel it getting down to the wire? @SONG:BURNED Been burned and with both feet on the ground, I've learned that it's painful comin' down. No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay; Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin', No time left and I know I'm losin'. Flashed and I think I'm fallin' down, (Flashed and I think I'm falling down.) Crashed, and my ears can't hear a sound. (The sound.) No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay; Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin', No time left and I know I'm losin'. Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin', No time left and I know I'm losin'. Burned and with both feet on the ground. (Burned and with both feet on the ground.) I've learned that it's painful comin' down. No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay; Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin', No time left and I know I'm losin'. @SONG:MR SOUL Oh, hello Mr Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason For the thought that I caught that my head is the event of the season Why in crowds just a trace of my face could seem so pleasin' I'll cop out to the change, but a stranger is putting the tease on. I was down on a frown when the messenger brought me a letter I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her Any girl in the world could have easily known me better She said, "You're strange, but don't change," and I let her In a while will the smile on my face turn to plaster? Stick around while the clown who is sick does the trick of disaster For the race of my head and my face is moving much faster Is is strange I should change? I don't know, why don't you ask her? @SONG:BROKEN ARROW The lights turned on and the curtain fell down, And when it was over it felt like a dream, They stood at the stage door and begged for a scream, The agents had paid for the black limousine that waited outside in the rain. Did you see them, did you see them? Did you see them in the river? They were there to wave to you. Could you tell that the empty-quivered, brown skinned Indian on the banks that were crowded and narrow, held a broken arrow? Eighteen years of American dream, He saw that his brother had sworn on the wall. He hung up his eyelids and ran down the hall, His mother had told him a trip was a fall, And don't mention babies at all. Did you see him, did you see him? Did you see him in the river? He was there to wave to you. Could you tell that the empty-quivered, brown skinned Indian on the banks that were crowded and narrow, held a broken arrow? The streets were lined for the wedding parade, The Queen wore the white gloves, the county of song, The black covered caisson her horses had drawn Protected her King from the sun rays of dawn. They married for peace and were gone. Did you see them, did you see them? Did you see them in the river? They were there to wave to you. Could you tell that the empty-quivered, brown skinned Indian on the banks that were crowded and narrow, held a broken arrow? @SONG:EXPECTING TO FLY There you stood on the edge of your feather, expecting to fly. While I laughed, I wondered whether I could wave goodbye, Knowin' that you'd gone. By the summer it was healing, we had said goodbye. All the years we'd spent with feeling ended with a cry, Babe, ended with a cry, Babe, ended with a cry. I tried so hard to stand as I stumbled and fell to the ground. So hard to laugh as I fumbled and reached for the love I found, Knowin' it was gone. If I never lived without you, now you know I'd die. If I never said I loved you, now you know I'd try, Babe, now you know I'd try. Babe, now you know I'd try, Babe. @SONG:SUGAR MOUNTAIN Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the colored balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon You're leaving there too soon It's so noisy at the fair But all your friends are there And the candy floss you had And your mother and your dad Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the colored balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon You're leaving there too soon There's a girl just down the aisle Oh to turn and see her smile You can hear the words she wrote As you read the hidden note Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the colored balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon You're leaving there too soon Now you're underneath the stairs And you're giving back some glares To the people who you met And it's your first cigarette Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the colored balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon You're leaving there too soon Now you say you're leaving home 'Cause you want to be alone Ain't it funny how you feel When you're finding out it's real Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the colored balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon You're leaving there too soon Oh, to live on sugar mountain With the Barkers and the coloured balloons You can't be twenty on sugar mountain Though you're thinking that You're leaving there too soon @SONG:I AM A CHILD I am a child, I'll last a while You can't conceive of the pleasure in my smile You hold my hand, rough up my hair It's lots of fun to have you there God gave to you now you give to me I'd like to know what you learned The sky is blue now and so is the sea What is the colour, when black is brown? What is the colour? 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. God gave to you now you give to me I'd like to know what you learned The sky is blue now and so is the sea What is the colour, when black is brown? What is the colour? I am a child, I'll last a while You can't conceive of the pleasure in my smile @SONG:THE LONER He's a perfect stranger, Like a cross of himself and a fox. He's a feeling arranger And a changer of the ways he talks. He's the unforseen danger The keeper of the key to the locks. Know when you see him, Nothing can free him. Step aside, open wide, It's the loner. If you see him in the subway, He'll be down at the end of the car. Watching you move Until he knows he knows who you are. When you get off at your station alone, He'll know that you are. Know when you see him, Nothing can free him. Step aside, open wide, It's the loner. There was a woman he knew About a year or so ago. She had something that he needed And he pleaded with her not to go. On the day that she left, He died - but it did not show. Know when you see him, Nothing can free him. Step aside, open wide, It's the loner. @SONG:THE OLD LAUGHING LADY Don't call pretty Peggy She can't hear you no more Don't leave no message 'round her back door. They say the old laughing lady Been here before She don't keep time She don't count score. You can't have a cupboard If there ain't no wall. You got to move There's no time left to stall. They say the old laughing lady Dropped by to call And when she leaves She leaves nothing at all. See the drunkard of the village Falling on the street. Can't tell his ankles From the rest of his feet. He loves his old laughing lady 'cause her taste is so sweet. But his laughing lady's loving Ain't the kind he can keep. There's a fever on the freeway Blacks out the night. There's a slipping on the stairway Just don't feel right And there's a rumbling in the bedroom And a flashing of light There's the old laughing lady Everything is all right. @SONG:CINNAMON GIRL I wanna live with a cinnamon girl I could be happy the rest of my life with a cinnamon girl..... Ten silver saxes, a bass with a bow The drummer relaxes and waits between shows For his Cinnamon girl My mother sent me money now I'm gonna make it somehow I need another chance you see your baby loves to dance yeah...yeah...yeah..... I wanna live with a cinnamon girl I could be happy the rest of my life with a cinnamon girl....... @SONG:DOWN BY THE RIVER Be on my side, I'll be on your side There's no reason for us to hide It's so hard for me staying here all alone When you could be taking me for a ride She could drag me over the rainbow And send me away Down by the river I shot my baby Dead You take my hand, I'll take your hand Together we may get away This much madness is too much sorrow It's impossible to make it today She could drag me over the rainbow And send me away Down by the river I shot my baby Down by the river Dead Be on my side, I'll be on your side There's no reason for us to hide It's so hard for me staying here all alone When you could be taking me for a ride @SONG:COWGIRL IN THE SAND Hello cowgirl in the sand Is this place at your command Can I stay here for a while Can I see your sweet sweet smile Old enough now to change your name When so many love you is it the same? It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game Hello ruby in the dust Has your band begun to rust After all the sin we've had I was hopin' that we turn back Old enough now to change your name When so many love yoou is it the same It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game Hello woman of my dreams This is not the way it seems Purple words on a grey background To be a woman and to be turned down Old enough now to change your name When so many love you is it the same It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game. @SONG:I BELIEVE IN YOU Now that you found yourself losing your mind Are you here again? Finding that what you once thought is real Is gone, and changing? 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? Coming to you at night I see my questions I feel my doubts Wishing that maybe in a year or two We could laugh and let it all out. @SONG:AFTER THE GOLD RUSH Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armour coming, Sayin' something about a queen. There were peasants singin' and drummers drummin' And the archer split the tree. There's a fanfare blowin' to the sun That was floating on the breeze. Look at Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen seventies. Look at Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen seventies. I was lyin' in a burned out basement With the full moon in my eyes. I was hopin' for a replacement When the sun burst through the sky. There was a band playin' in my head And I felt like getting high. I was thinkin' about what a friend had said I was hopin' it was a lie. Thinkin' about what a friend had said I was hopin' it was a lie. Well, I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flyin' In the yellow haze of the sun, There were children cryin' and colours flyin' All around the chosen ones All in a dream, all in a dream the loading had begun. Flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home in the sun. Flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home. @SONG:SOUTHERN MAN Southern man better keep your head. Don't forget what your Good Book said. Southern change gonna come at last. Now your crosses are burning fast. Southern Man. I saw cotton and I saw black, tall white mansions And little shacks. Southern man when will you pay them back. I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking. How long, how long? Southern man better keep your head. Don't forget what your Good Book said. Southern change gonna come at last. Now your crosses are burning fast. Southern Man. Lilly Belle your hair is golden brown. I've seen your black man coming round. Swear by God I'm gonna cut him down. I've heard screaming and bullwhips cracking. How long, how long? @SONG:HELPLESS There is a town in north Ontario, With dream comfort memory to spare, And in my mind I still need a place to go, All my changes were there, Blue, blue windows behind the stars, Yellow moon on the rise, Big birds flying across the sky, Throwing shadows on our eyes. Helpless, helpless, helpless Baby can you hear me now? The chains are locked and tied across the door, Baby, sing with me somehow. Blue, blue windows behind the stars, Yellow moon on the rise, Big birds flying across the sky, Throwing shadows on our eyes. @SONG:OHIO Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming We're finally on our own This summer I hear the drumming Four dead in Ohio Gonna get down to it soldiers are cutting us down Should have been down long ago What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground How can you run when you know? Gonna get down to it soldiers are cutting us down Should have been down long ago What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground How can you run when you know. @SONG:SOLDIER Soldier your eyes, they shine like the sun; I wonder why. Soldier your eyes shine like the sun; I wonder why. Jesus, I saw you walkin' on the river; I don't believe you. You can't deliver right away; I wonder why. Jesus, your eyes shine like the sun; I wonder why. @SONG:OLD MAN Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were Old man look at my life - Twenty four and there's so much more Live alone in a paradise That makes me think of two Love lost, such a cost, Give me things that don't get lost. Like a coin that won't get tossed Rolling home to you. Old man look at my life I'm a lot like you I need someone to love me the whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true. Lullabies, 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 at last. Rolling home to you. @SONG:A MAN NEEDS A MAID I was thinking that maybe I'd get a maid Find a place nearby for her to stay. Just someone to keep my house clean - Fix my meals and go away. A maid - A man needs a maid. To give a love, you gotta live a love. To live a love, you gotta be "part of." When will I see you again? A while ago somewhere I don't know when I was watching a movie with a friend. I fell in love with the actress. She was playing a part that I could understand - A maid - A man needs a maid. When will I see you again? @SONG:HARVEST Did I saw you down in a young girl's town With your mother in so much pain? I was almost there at the top of the stairs With her screamin' in the rain Did she wake you up to tell you that It was only a change of plan? Dream up, Dream up, Let me fill your cup With the promise of a man. Did I see you walking with the boys Though it was not hand in hand? And was some black face in a lonely place When you could understand? Did she wake you up to tell you that It was only a change of plan? Dream up, Dream up, Let me fill your cup With the promise of a man. Will I see you give more than I can take? Will I only harvest some? As the days fly past will we lose our grasp Or fuse it in the sun? Did she wake you up to tell you that It was only a change of plan? Dream up, Dream up, Let me fill your cup With the promise of a man. @SONG:HEART OF GOLD I want to live I want to give I've been a miner for a heart of gold. It's these expressions I never give That keep me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old. I've been to Hollywood I've been to Redwood I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line That keeps me searching for a Heart of Gold And I'm getting old. @SONG:STAR OF BETHLEHEM Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning And you find out those other days are gone? All you have is memories of happiness Lingerin' on. All your dreams and your lovers won't protect you; They're only passing through you in the end. They'll leave you stripped of all that they can get to, And wait for you to come back again. Yet still a light is shining From that lamp on down the hall. Maybe the star of Bethlehem Wasn't a star at all. @SONG:THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE I caught you knockin' at my cellar door "I love you, baby, can I have some more" Ooh, ooh, the damage done. I hit the city and I lost my band I watched the needle take another man Gone, gone, the damage done. I sing the song because I love the man I know that some of you don't understand Milk-blood to keep from running out. I've seen the needle and the damage done A little part of it in everyone But every junkie's like a settin' sun. @SONG:TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (PART 1) Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Bruce Berry was a working man He used to load that Econoline van A sparkle was in his eye But his life was in his hands Well, late at night when the people were gone He used to pick up my guitar And sing a song in a shaky voice That was real as the day was long Tonight's the night (yes it is), Tonight's the night Tonight's the night (yes it is), Tonight's the night Early in the mornin' at the break of day He used to sleep until the afternoon If you never heard him sing I guess you won't too soon 'Cause people let me tell you It sent a chill up and down my spine When I picked up the telephone And heard that he'd died out on the mainline. Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Bruce Berry was a working man He used to load that Econoline van Well, early in the morning at the break of day He used to sleep until the afternoon. Tonight's the night (yes it is), Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night Tonight's the night, Tonight's the night @SONG:TIRED EYES Well he shot four men in a cocaine deal And he left them lyin' in an open field Full of old cars with bullet holes in the mirrors. He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice please take my advice. Open up the tired eyes, open up the tired eyes. Well, it wasn't supposed to go down that way. But they burned his brother, you know, And left him lying in the driveway. They let him down with nothin'. He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice, please take my advice. Open up the tired eyes, open up the tired eyes. Well tell me more, tell me more tell me more; I mean was he a heavy doper or was he just a loser? He was a friend of yours. What do you mean, he had bullet holes in his mirrors? He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice, please take my advice. Open up the tired eyes, open up the tired eyes. Please take my advice, please take my advice, please take my advice. Open up the tired eyes, open up the tired eyes. @SONG:WALK ON I hear some people been talkin' me down, Bring up my name, pass it 'round. They don't mention happy times; They do their thing, I'll do mine. Oo baby, that's hard to change; I can't tell them how to feel. Some get stoned, some get strange, But sooner or later it all gets real. Walk on, walk on, walk on, walk on. I remember the good old days, Stayed up all night gettin' crazed. Then the money was not so good, But we still did the best we could. Oo baby, that's hard to change; I can't tell them how to feel. Some get stoned, some get strange, But sooner or later it all gets real. Walk on, walk on, walk on, walk on. @SONG:FOR THE TURNSTILES All the sailors with their seasick mamas Hear the sirens on the shore, Singin' songs for pimps with tailors Who charge ten dollars at the door. You can really learn a lot that way; It will change you in the middle of the day. Though your confidence may be shattered, It doesn't matter. All the great explorers Are now in Granite Lake, Under white sheets for the great unveiling At the big parade. You can really learn a lot that way; It will change you in the middle of the day. Though your confidence may be shattered, It doesn't matter. All the bushleague batters Are left to die on the diamond. In the stands the home crowd scatters for the turnstiles, for the turnstiles, for the turnstiles. @SONG:WINTERLONG I waited for you winterlong You seem to be where I belong It's all illusion anyway Your things should ever turn out wrong And all the love we have is gone It won't be easy on that day Waiting to follow Through the dreamlight of your way It's not so easy falling down After time is passed away Things we thought of yesterday Come back now, come back now, oooh. I waited for you winterlong You seem to be where I belong @SONG:DEEP FORBIDDEN LAKE On the lake, the deep forbidden lake, The old boats go gliding by, And the leaves are falling from the trees And landing on the logs and I. See the turtles heading for the bog And falling off the log. They make the water splash, And feeling no backlash, They climb the happy banks. On the boats, the old and creaky boats, The shoreline goes gliding by, And the wind, there was a dying breeze, Is making the banners fly. See the colors, floating in the sky, The pride of the captain's eye, As he glides Ais slender craft inside And opens up the door. On the coast, the long and tempting coast, The cards on the table lie, And a speech, so eloquent in reach, Was made by a passerby, Passing by the way between Here and left behind. And it ripples through the crowds Who run and cast their doubts In the deep forbidden lake. Yes, it echoes through the crowds Who run and cast their doubts In the deep forbidden lake. @SONG:LIKE A HURRICANE Once I thought I saw you In a crowded hazy bar, Dancing on the light from star to star. Far across the moonbeam I know that's who you are, I saw your brown eyes Turning once the bar. You are like a hurricane There's harm in your eye. And I'm gettin' blown away somewhere safer where the feeling stays. I want to love you but I'm gettin' blown away I am just a dreamer, But you are just a dream, You could have been anyone to me. Before that moment you touched my lips That perfect feeling when time just slips Away between us on our foggy trip. You are like a hurricane There's harm in your eye. And I'm gettin' blown away Somewhere safer where the feeling stays. I want to love you but I'm gettin' blown away You are just a dreamer, But I am just a dream. You could have been anyone to me. Before that moment you touched my lips That perfect feeling when time just slips Away between us on our foggy trip. You are like a hurricane There's harm in your eye. And I'm gettin' blown away Somewhere safer where the feeling stays. I want to love you but I'm gettin' blown away. @SONG:LOVE IS A ROSE Love is a rose But you'd better not pick it It only grows When it's on the vine Handful of thorns And you'll know you missed it You lose your love When you say the word 'mine' I want to see what's never been seen I want to live that age old dream Come on, lass, we can go together Let's take the best right now I want to go to an old hoedown Long ago in a Western town Pick me up if my feet are draggin' Give me a lift and I'll hay your waggon Love is rose @SONG:CORTEZ THE KILLER He came dancing across the water With his galleons and guns Looking for the new world In that palace in the sun On the shore lay Montezuma With his coca leaves and pearls In his halls he often wandered With the secrets of the worlds. And his subjects gathered 'round him Like the leaves around a tree In their clothes of many colours For the angry gods to see. And the women all were beautiful And the men stood straight and strong They offered life in sacrifice So that others could go on. Hate was just a legend And war was never known The people worked together And they lifted many stones They carried them to the flatlands And they died along the way But they built up with their bare hands What we still can't do today. And I know she's living there And she loves me to this day I still can't remember when Or how I lost my way. He came dancing across the water Cortez, Cortez What a killer. @SONG:CAMPAIGNER I am a lonely visitor. I came to late to cause a stir, Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal. I hardly slept the night you wept; Our secret's safe and still well kept Where even Richard Nixon has got soul. Even Richard Nixon has got soul. Traffic cops are all color blind. People steal from their own kind. Evening comes to early for a stroll. Down neon streets the streaker streaks. The speaker speaks, but the truth still leaks, Where even Richard Nixon has got soul. Even Richard Nixon has got it, soul. Podium rocks in the crowded wawes. The speaker talks of the beautiful saves That went down long before he played this role For the hotel queens and the magazines, Test tube genes and slot machines Where even Richard Nixon has got soul. Even Richard Nixon has got it, soul. Hospitals have made him cry, But there's always a free way in his eye, Though his beach just got to crowded for his stroll. Roads stretch out like healthy veins, And wild gift horses strain the reins, Where even Richard Nixon has got soul. Even Richard Nixon has got soul. I am a lonely visitor. I came to late to cause a stir, Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal. @SONG:LONG MAY YOU RUN We've been through some things together With trunks of memories still to come We found things to do in stormy weather Long may you run. Long may you run. Long may you run. Well, it was back in Blind River When I last saw you alive But we missed that ship on the long decline Long may you run. Maybe the Beach Boys have got you now With those waves singing' "Caroline" Rollin' down that empty road Get into the surf on time.