Neil Young – On The Beach [1974]
Year Released: 1974
Record Company: Reprise
1. Walk On (2:42)
2. See the Sky About to Rain (5:02)
3. Revolution Blues (4:03)
4. For the Turnstiles (3:15)
5. Vampire Blues (4:14)
6. On the Beach (6:59)
7. Motion Pictures (4:23)
8. Ambulance Blues (8:56)
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.
Ooh 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.
Ooh 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.
SEE THE SKY ABOUT TO RAIN
See the sky about to rain, broken clouds and rain.
Locomotive pull the train, whistle blowing through my brain.
Signals curling an open plain, rolling down the track again.
See the sky about to rain.
Some are bound for happiness, some are bound to glory;
some are bound to live with less, who can tell your story?
See the sky about to rain, broken clouds and rain.
Locomotive, pull the train, whistle blowin’ through my brain.
Signals curlin’ on an open plain, rollin’ down the track again.
See the sky about to rain.
I was down in Dixie Land, played a silver fiddle;
Played it loud and then the man broke it in the middle.
See the sky about to rain.
REVOLUTION BLUES
Well, we live in a trailer at the edge of town;
You never see us ’cause we don’t come around.
We got twenty five rifles just to keep the population down.
But we need you now, and that’s why I’m hangin’ ’round.
So you be good to me and I’ll be good to you,
And in this land of conditions I’m not above suspicion;
I won’t attack you, but I won’t back you.
Well, it’s so good to be here, asleep on your lawn.
Remember your guard dog? Well, I’m afraid that he’s gone.
It was such a drag to hear him whining all night long, oo.
Yes, that was me with the doves, setting them free near the factory
Where you built your computer, love.
I hope you get the connection, ’cause I can’t take the rejection;
I won’t deceive you, I just don’t believe you.
Well, I’m a barrel of laughs, with my carbide on;
I keep ‘em hoppin’, till my ammunition’s gone.
But I’m still not happy, I feel like there’s something wrong.
I got the revolution blues; I see bloody fountains,
Ten million dune buggies comin’ down the mountains.
Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars,
But I hate them worse than lepers and I’ll kill them in their cars.
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.
VAMPIRE BLUES
I’m a vampire, babe, suckin’ blood from the earth;
I’m a vampire, baby, suckin’ blood from the earth.
Well, I’m a vampire, babe, sell you twenty barrels worth.
I’m a black bat, babe, bangin’ on your window pane;
I’m a black bat, baby, bangin’ on your window pane;
Well, I’m a black bat, babe, I need my high octane.
Good times are comin’, I hear it ev’rywhere I go;
Good times are comin’, I hear it ev’rywhere I go.
Good times are comin’, but they sure comin’ slow.
[Repeat]
ON THE BEACH
The world is turnin’, I hope it don’t turn away,
The world is turnin’, I hope it don’t turn away.
All my pictures are fallin’ from the wall where I placed them yesterday.
The world is turnin’, I hope it don’t turn away.
I need a crowd of people, but I can’t face them day to day,
I need a crowd of people, but I can’t face them day to day.
Though my problems are meaningless, that don’t make them go away.
I need a crowd of people, but I can’t face them day to day.
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone,
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone.
Now I’m livin’ out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of
reach.
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone.
Get out of town, think I’ll get out of town,
Get out of town, think I’ll get out of town.
I head for the sticks with my bus and friends,
I follow the road, though I don’t know where it ends.
Get out of town, get out of town, think I’ll get out of town.
‘Cause the world is turnin’, I don’t want to see it turn away.
MOTION PICTURES
Motion pictures on my TV screen, a home away from home, livin’ in between;
But I hear some people have got their dream.
I’ve got mine.
I hear the mountains are doin’ fine, mornin’ glory is on the vine,
And the dew is fallin’, the ducks are callin’.
Yes, I’ve got mine.
Well, all those people, they think they got it made;
But I wouldn’t buy, sell, borrow or trade
Anything I have to be like one of them.
I’d rather start all over again.
Well, all those headlines, they just bore me now;
I’m deep inside myself, but I’ll get out somehow,
And I’ll stand before you, and I’ll bring a smile to your eyes.
Motion pictures, motion pictures.
AMBULANCE BLUES
Back in the old folky days
The air was magic when we played.
The riverboat was rockin’ in the rain;
Midnight was the time for the raid.
Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela,
They tore you down and plowed you under.
You’re only real with your make-up on;
How could I see you and stay too long?
All along the Navaho Trail,
Burn-outs stub their toes on garbage pails.
Waitresses are cryin’ in the rain;
Will their boyfriends pass this way again?
Oh, Mother Goose, she’s on the skids;
The shoe ain’t happy, neither are the kids.
She needs someone that she can scream at;
And I’m such a heel for makin’ her feel so bad.
I guess I’ll call it sickness gone;
It’s hard to say the meaning of this song.
An ambulance can only go so fast;
It’s easy to get buried in the past
When you try to make a good thing last.
I saw today in the entertainment section
There’s room at the top for private detection.
To Mom and Dad this just doesn’t matter,
But it’s either that or pay off the kidnapper.
So all you critics sit alone;
You’re no better than me for what you’ve shown.
With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams
We could get together for some scenes.
I never knew a man could tell so many lies;
He had a diff’rent story for ev’ry set of eyes.
How can he remember who he’s talkin’ to?
‘Cause I know it ain’t me, and I hope it isn’t you.
Well, I’m up in T.O. keepin’ jive alive,
And out on the corner it’s half past five.
But the subways are empty
And so are the cafes.
Except for the Farmer’s Market
And I still can hear him say:
You’re all just pissin’ in the wind
You don’t know it but you are.
And there ain’t nothin’ like a friend
Who can tell you you’re just pissin’ in the wind.
I never knew a man could tell so many lies
He had a different story for every set of eyes
How can he remember who he’s talking to?
Cause I know it ain’t me, and hope it isn’t you.
——————————————————-
Credits
Walk On*
See The Sky About To Rain**
Revolution Blues**
For The Turnstiles*
Vampire Blues**
On The Beach***
Motion Pictures (For Carrie)***
Ambulance Blues***
Neil Young: guitar, banjo-guitar, harmonica, piano, vocal
Ben Keith: guitar, dobro, piano, organ, percussion, bass, vocal
and
David Crosby: guitar
Rick Danko: bass
Tim Drummond: bass, percussion
Levon Helm: drums
Rusty Kershaw: slide guitar, fiddle
Ralph Molina: drums, vocal
Graham Nash: electric piano
Billy Talbot: bass
Joe Yankee: harp, electric tambourine
George Whitsell: guitar
Recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, Woodside, CA and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, Nov. 30, 1973-Apr. 7, 1974
*Produced by Neil Young & David Briggs
**Produced by Neil Young & Mark Harman
***Produced by Neil Young & Al Schmitt