Flying On The Ground Is Wrong: perhaps my favorite Springfield song. That sound, that chorus. The end part of the bridge ("since I have changed.."). This is a songwriting achievement. 5/5 Go And Say Goodbye 4/5 Sit Down I Think I Love You 3/5 Leave 3/5 Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing the strongest 3/5 I can muster Hot Dusty Roads 4/5 Everybody's Wrong 4/5 (love these two strong Stills album cuts)
I always thought it was kinda of an anti drug song, or Neil's apology to his girlfriend for doing drugs, or being high. Kind of out of date for those times. Great song though
I've been looking closely at the lyrics and for the first time, wondering if the whole song is referencing Neil's epilepsy: "I'm in pieces on the ground," "crying and holding on," "my eyes aren't open and I'm standing on my knees"... I read Shakey years ago and can't remember if Neil or anyone else ever discusses the significance of the lyrics. He later mentions his occasional onstage seizures in "Mr. Soul": "Stick around while the clown who is sick does the trick of disaster."
Despite his musical virtues, Dewey’s speed and alcohol-fueled obnoxiousness had the others looking for a replacement as early as late summer ‘66. They met with Skip Spence after he left the Airplane, but he turned them down because he wanted to resume playing guitar and was getting Moby Grape together. They also auditioned the drummer from the Grass Roots.
He talks about in an interview. I think it was found on Archives Vol1. He said it’s about dating someone who doesn’t get high but you do get high, and wondering if that person can ever truly know you. Pretty deep for someone who was only starting to experiment with that kind of stuff.
Rankings and ratings usually don’t mean much to me, but this is clearly a 5. The album is a 5. On this and songs like “Sugar Mountain,” Neil evokes the emergence from adolescence to young adulthood as well as anyone I’ve heard. He said “Blue Bayou” inspired the gorgeous melody. “Flying on the Ground” wasn’t written for anybody in particular. It’s about drugs. It’s about bein’ straight and takin’ drugs — mixed in with life. If you want to know me and you don’t wanna get high, you won’t get to know me. That’s kinda what that song’s about. We can’t be together because we’re too different. It’s like “I love you, but you’re not with me.”
This is in line with pretty much everything I’ve read about Dewey. Everyone thought he was a pain in the ass. Boy ... the Springfield had no shortage of conflict.
Flying is a classic. The Springfield version is my favorite, but Neil’s demo an assorted live versions are also excellent. 5/5
Before Neil joined the Springfield he had written two great songs, Clancy and Sugar Mountain. but as soon as the Buffalo Springfield formed everything that came out of Neil Young’s pen was pure gold. This is an important song in Neil’s canon. For one it is the best song he has written up until this point, or at least on par with ‘Clancy’, and more importantly, it is the first of a set of songs that mark his time with the Buffalo Springfield, And what exquisite songs they are. When presented with the challenge of being in a new band and given instant popularity, he instantly rose to the challenge and began writing songs that by far exceeded anything he had previously done. I think the best version is probably the live at The Riverboat version. Flying On The Ground 4/5
I’ve never heard that mentioned before. Interesting thought. I know Neil was doing Birds with the band near the very end. I’m guessing that was a solo spot during the concert? That’s even a bit unusual for the band. Did Richie ever do Sad Memory live in 1967-68?
I doubt that. They were always sitting around, sharing tunes, trying to impress each other. If Joni Mitchell knew it, (and penned "Circle Game" as a response,) then I'm sure Stills was aware. Perhaps it just doesn't lend itself well to a full band arrangement, or Neil regarded it as juvenalia and wanted to move on.
It's possible. I think On the Way Home is another one like Sugar Mountain that is much better with just a voice and guitar--or modest backing vocals like the 4-Way Street version. The whole Buffalo Springfield production is really antithetic to the words and mood of the song. But I may be getting ahead of the thread.
You may be correct though here are a couple things that may or may not support my theory. -He has said he was self-conscious about the lyrics, didn't like some of them. - He didn't demo it for the Springfield when they were asked to lay down any old songs they had. - At The Canterbury House I guess it was he says that "he hasn't played it in 4 0r 5 years". For what that's worth - Stephen may have heard it back in Canada, and I assume at the very beginning that they would have sat around playing tunes and Neil would play that one... but maybe not that one. -Joni had heard it back in Canada. But I'm not sure how much interaction there was between Neil and Joni during the Springfield years? Anyone know? -I sort of thought that he might have played it for Elliot Roberts after the Springfield broke up, who then insisted it be in his solo sets and a b-side single but obviously I have no idea about that.
This is my favorite Stills song on the original lineup album, along with Baby Don't Scold Me. Solid 3 guitar attack on this great composition. The intro is magnificent. Single note guitar at the intro (Young?) that that becomes double tracked at 0:03(!) and serves as a kind of drone along with Stills' lead guitar figures. On the second stanza an acoustic rhythm guitar comes in (Furay?) but the highlight of the song (and of the entire album IMO) comes between 0:13-0:23 where Stills lays down some incredible country licks similar to guitar hero Danny Kalb of Blues Project. Unfortunately it's not repeated again when the intro is reprised later but those 10 seconds are Ear Nirvana. Great catchy melody and another wonderful country and pop hybrid on this album, absolute perfection. 5/5 all the way
I am quite amazed at the maturity of both Young and Stills as songwriters this early on. This song sounds like the work of somebody who's been at it for years. It has a great melody, interesting clever lyrics great hooks that you'd find in a Goffin-King composition. The Springfield's original is great but truth be told this song could have been a monster smash hit for an established singer with a more contemporary arrangement (like the horn section added to the Guess Who's cover version for instance). I only give it a 4 because the arrangement could have been better but songwriting quality is an absolute 5
As great a song and performance as it is, I wonder if by that time he thought it wasn't as musically or lyrically sophisticated as the likes of Clancy and Flying, which have more complex chords, and trickier time changes. By that time he seems inthralld with musically ambitious song suites (guessing The Beatles Day in the Life really hit him), and was turning his focus to Learning to Fly and Broken Arrow, more of that baroque pop rock stuff. The song by that time, lamenting the mysteries of childhood, might have seem dated to him personally, although he would soon return to the subject with "I am a Child"
Great song! I always thought of it as a homage to the Everly Brothers. The Everly Brothers -- Walk Right Back
