Neil Young – Neil Young [1969]
Year Released: 1968
Record Company: Reprise
1. The Emperor of Wyoming (2:14)
2. The Loner (3:55)
3. If I Could Have Her Tonight (2:15)
4. I’ve Been Waiting for You (2:30)
5. The Old Laughing Lady (5:05)
6. String Quartet from Whiskey Boot Hill (1:04)
7. Here We Are in the Years (3:27)
8. What Did You Do to My Life (2:00)
9. I’ve Loved Her So Long (2:40)
10. The Last Trip to Tulsa (9:25)
THE EMPEROR OF WYOMING
[INSTRUMENTAL]
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.
IF I COULD HAVE HER TONIGHT
All of a sudden she was on my mind
I wasn’t ready for her kind
And she was taking her time.
What if she came to me would she be kind?
And if she stayed with me
Do you think that she’d like to do anything
I would, or would she leave me?
Lately I’ve found myself losing my mind
Knowing how badly I need her
It’s something hard to find.
What if she came to me would she be kind?
And if she stayed with me
Do you think that she’d like to do anything
I would, or would she leave me?
If I could have her tonight
Does she want to go?
Look at those eyes
Does she want to?
If I could have her tonight…
If I could have her tonight…
If I could have her tonight.
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU
I’ve been looking
For a woman
To save my life
Not to beg
Or to borrow
A woman
With the feeling of losing
Once or twice
Who knows how could it be tomorrow?
I’ve been waiting for you
And you’ve been coming to me
For such a long time now
Such a long time now. [twice]
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.
QUARTET FROM WHISKEY BOOT HILL
[INSTRUMENTAL]
HERE WE ARE IN THE YEARS
Now that the holidays have come
They can relax and watch the sun
Rise above all of the beautiful things
They’ve done.
Go to the country take the dog
Look at the sky without the smog
See the world laugh at the farmers feeding hogs
Eat hot dogs.
What a pity that the people from the city
Can’t relate to the slower things
That the country brings.
Time itself is bought and sold.
The spreading fear of growing old
Contains a thousand foolish games
That we play.
While people planning trips to stars
Allow another boulevard to claim
A quiet country lane
It’s insane.
So the subtle face is a loser
This time around.
Here we are in the years
Where the showman shifts the gears
Lives become careers Children cry in fear
“Let us out of here!”
WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LIFE?
When we were living together
(I thought that) I knew you would stay.
Still when you left me
I tried to pretend we could make it some way.
I don’t care if all the mountains
Turn to dust in the air.
(What did you do to my life?)
It isn’t fair that I should
Wake up at dawn
And not find you there
(What did you do to my life?)
It’s hard enough losing
Without the confusion of knowing I tried.
But you’ve made your mind up
That I’ll be alone now there’s nothing to hide.
I don’t care if all the mountains
Turn to dust in the air.
(What did you do to my life?)
It isn’t fair that I should
Wake up at dawn
And not find you there
(What did you do to my life?) [thrice til fade]
I’VE LOVED HER SO LONG
She’s a victim of her senses
Do you know her?
Can you see her in the distance
As she tumbles by?
Veteran of a race that should be over
Can you hear her sigh?
With wings to fly
She rolls along
Doing it wrong.
Oh, I’ve loved her so long
Oh, I’ve loved her so long
There’s a place that I know
We could go get away for a while
I can bring her the peace
That she needs
Give her reason to smile.
Oh, I’ve loved her so long
[repeat until fade]
THE LAST TRIP TO TULSA
Well, I used to drive a cab, you know
I heard a siren scream
Pulled over to the corner
And fell into a dream
There were two men eating pennies
And three young girls who cried
“The West coast is falling,
I see rocks in the sky.”
The preacher took his bible
And he laid it on the stone.
He said: “with the congregation running,
Why should I play the fool?”
Well I used to be a woman, you know
I took you for a ride,
I let you fly my airplane
It looked good for your pride.
’cause you’re the kind of man you know
Who likes what he says.
I wonder what’s it’s like
To be so far over my head.
Well, the lady made the wedding
And she brought along the ring.
She got down on her knees
And said: ‘let’s get on with this thing’.
Well I used to be a folk singer
Keeping managers alive,
When you saw me on a corner
And told me I was jive.
So I unlocked your mind, you know
To see what I could see.
If you guarantee the postage,
I’ll mail you back the key.
Well I woke up in the morning
With an arrow through my nose
There was an indian in the corner
Tryin’ on my clothes.
Well I used to be asleep you know
With blankets on my bed.
I stayed there for a while
’til they discovered I was dead.
The coroner was friendly
And I liked him quite a lot.
If I hadn’t ‘ve been a woman
I guess I’d never have been caught.
They gave me back my house and car
And nothing more was said.
Well I was driving down the freeway
When my car ran out of gas.
Pulled over to the station
But I was afraid to ask.
The servicemen were yellow
And the gasoline was green.
Although I knew I couldn’t
I thought I was gonna scream.
That was on my last trip to Tulsa
Just before the snow.
If you ever need a ride there,
Be sure to let me know.
Well I was chopping down a palm tree
When a friend dropped by to ask
If I would feel less lonely
If he helped me swing the axe.
I said ‘no, it’s not a case of being lonely
We’ve had here,
I’ve been working on this palm tree
For eighty seven years.’
He said “go get lost”
And walked towards his Cadillac.
I chopped down the palm tree
And it landed on his back.
———–
Credits
Neil Young: guitar, piano, electric piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, vocal
Jim Messina: bass
George Grantham: drums
and
Ry Cooder: guitar
Jack Nitzsche: electric piano
Merry Clayton: vocal
Brenda Holloway: vocal
Patrice Holloway: vocal
Gloria Richetta Jones: vocal
Sherlie Matthews: vocal
Gracia Nitzsche: vocal
Recorded at Wally Heider Recording, Sunset Sound, Sunwest Recording and TTG Recording, Hollywood, Aug.-Oct., 1968
Produced by David Briggs & Neil Young, except
String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill – Produced by Jack Nitzsche, Ryland Cooder & Neil Young
Partially remixed and fully remastered second version with title printed on cover released in Oct. 1969.
——————————————————-