Neil Young's "Drftin' Back"... dumbest lyrics ever?

That song's like a cute puppy. I just can't get mad at it.

 

Ob-la-di ob-la-da, life goes on, bra

 

Because the world is round, it turns me on
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

 

People who live in thread-title-typo houses shouldn't throw dumbest-lyrics rocks.

 

Neil seems to get a pass for his mostly epic back catalogue. But to look closely to more recent releases, it seems he gets an idea and shoot it out there quality be dammed. Greendale which I like, Living With War, Fork In The Road, Le Noise, Are You Passionate and Psychedilic Pill all could have used some more elbow grease and editing. That said if Neil releases it I buy.

 

It's certainly a cringe-worthy song; no way you can defend the clumsiness of those lyrics. At least when McCartney wrote repetitive lyrics, they were to a catchy tune. Good thing for Neil almost no one can sit through the whole damn thing and pay attention long enough to notice.

 

Unless it has the lyrics "They stabbed it with their steely knives" it cannot be considered the worst.

 

I agree with this. He's stuck on this belief that the first thought is always the best, and he doesn't like to make lyrical revisions. It's a shame, because I think it has marred some otherwise great music in recent years. I love his philosophy on recording, and not doing too many takes for fear of losing the spirit and energy, but I wish he would put a little more effort in the lyric department. Walk Like a Giant is another great song on that album with clumsy lyrics. On the other hand, I think Ramada Inn is brilliant.

 

I love T-Bone as is. There is something hilarious about the repetition of this phrase. With such a large catalog, there is room for occasional humor. I bet they had a good laugh jamming on this the first time. I'm pro T-Bone!

 

He's an odd duck. In the Sampedro interview I posted, he said Neil made the band play and record all the songs from "Ragged Glory" three times a day for a month -- then he and David Briggs sorted through the 90 or so versions of each song to pick the best one.

 

he just needs a better editor, or maybe someone to bounce things off a la briggs. one recent example is "goin' home". the album version is most likely one of the first takes, and it's alright...but listen to some of the live versions from the 2001 crazy horse tour to see how massive and awesome that song can sound.

 

*ahem*

Oh people, get up and dance
The new days comin', it's the end of a chance
No need to worry, no need to hide
Everybody is on the same side
Oh people, get up and dance

The future's ours if we just take a chance
No need to hurry, but no time to waste
The year 2000 is the time of hate
Oh people, get up and dance

Like walkin' along an electric beam
It's the old crystal palace dream
Oh people, get up and dance
The new days comin', it's the end of a chance
The future's ours if we just take a chance
No need to hurry, but no time to waste
So come on people, get up and dance

Yeah, get up and dance
C'mon, lets get up and dance
Golden days
Get up and dance
We'll have diamond nights
Get up and dance
We got sweet light shinin'
Get up and dance
Golden days
Get up and dance
We'll have diamond nights
C'mon people, get up and dance
C'mon, get up and dance
Let's dance
Get up and dance

 

Not to quibble, but I think it's "end of a trance".

 

Heh, that's what I get for cut-and-pasting from a website. Yes, you're right.

I would quite honestly listen to Jim recite poetry about his ***** again than deal with post-Jim lyrics....

 

This makes this song make a lot more sense. That said, now I'm just pissed. This wasn't a cheap LP. The packaging is pretty damn amazing. But apparently the guy who can't stop talking about how the "music matters" thinks it's ok to sell a $50 LP where almost half the recorded material was a ******** take?!?

I get the coolness of recording the first jam with your group in awhile, but that's the kinda stuff that should be B-side supplemental material, not the entire first album of a recording. Or he could have just removed the vocal track or laid down vocals later instead of releasing such utter crap that it detracts from otherwise great music.

I'm a Neil Young fan, but this makes me a bit annoyed.

 

i'd personally take "horse back" over "driftin' back".

 

I happen to love the song and the lyrics. It is not his best lyrically written composition but it does not deserve the insults either.

The songs lyrics make great sense because they are the summary of the his main thoughts from his Memoir Waging Heavy Peace. Both came out at the same time. Each line made me think of more details from the book.

 

Unless you count "Sixty to Zero," which was never released in entirety. But of the released tracks, "Ordinary People" slips to #2. #3 (Ramada Inn) and #4 (Walk Like a Giant) are also on Psychedelic Pill, with "Change Your Mind" at #5.

And yeah, I skipped "Arc" (even though I love it) cause it's not a song.

 

Your opinion. Not mine. A great jam. I would not edit a second out of it.

 

https://twitter.com/80sNeilYoung/status/352160830969749505

 

A social commentary.

 

I don't understand how you can get so cheesed off by a song you like the sound of! Young was only commenting on the tracks length here. He's made long jams throughout his career, esp with Crazy Horse.

I've just listened to the track - I didn't realise it was from Psychedelic Pill, an album I've only heard the once since I bought it, and not particularly attentively either - so it's good to have an opportunity to hear it again. This forum is good for that I find, as I do own a crazy amount of music, including all Neil Young - probably more in total than I'll ever hear again if I was honest. It's good to find a reason to listen to things.

This is done in the style of a long jam, but it's clearly a proper song too, with time taken on the lyrics. The lyrics are partly about the feeling of writing a biography, which is going to be very different than writing and performing a song. "Hey" has been a lyrical motif for Young for years. In the song he addresses the audience, he says is he is concerned with the way things sound now - namely his issues with mp3s, and how they block out the resonance in his music, which he says has taken him his time to produce. The 'sound' of his 'art' is something he wants you to feel. He asks you to 'ride along' with the song as he drifts back and forth.. (jamming in between, as he does..)

The most interesting lyric I think is the idea of his thoughts being the rock rolled in front of Jesus' tomb, which the angel moved away. He says in his mediation (like being in a tomb?) he blocks out his thoughts, then moves them back when they return. It's a really complex few lines, and does reminds me a little of modern American poetry. Religion actually occurs throughout the song, and in the end the idea of being a pagan seems to suggests he'd prefer a more basic (and original?) religion, even if it is heretical. He also says he used to like Picasso, but not as 'wallpaper'. Picasso is an interesting artist to pick for a few reasons - he's prolific and expressionistic, often lyrical but always demanding in some way.

This is one of the most demanding lyrics I've heard by Young - but is it really any worse for that? You need to be able to handle mentions of Jesus and Picasso I suppose, but I have no problems with that personally. I'm glad I got to listen to it properly.

 

Some McCartney scholars debate that the lyrics were about the negative feedback that Paul received over being the one who the public believed broke up the Beatles. Or, negative reviews for the homemade sounding "cherries" LP. Many of these negative comments were from people who were friendly to "Beatle Paul."

 

Noooooo!

Please not a Ram thread, or one about Yoko please.

I've been trying to think of some truly bad song lyrics, like the OP asked for, but am struggling a bit. I think it's quite hard to write bad lyrics in the sense of bad poetry, as the 'song' form is too accommodating. They need to be really cliched or pretentious I think. Or be rhymes that are ugly or flinch-inducing I suppose. Being too preachy or whimsical etc doesn't necessarily make them poor quality.

 

I see what you did there, and it's genius. I hope some one else appreciates it like I do.