Neil Young – Peace Trail [2016]

[Reprise Records]

1. Peace Trail (5:31)
2. Can’t Stop Workin’ (2:45)
3. Indian Givers (5:40)
4. Show Me (4:03)
5. Texas Rangers (2:30)
6. Terrorist Suicide Hang Gliders (3:17)
7. John Oaks (5:11)
8. My Pledge (3:55)
9. Glass Accident (2:52)
10. My New Robot (2:34)

 

Peace Trail

 Up in the rainbow teepee sky
No one’s looking down on you or I
That’s just a mirror in your eye

Ain’t taken my last hit yet
I know that things are different now
(I see the same old signs, but something new is growing)

Don’t think I’ll cash it in yet
Don’t think I’ll put down my last bet
(I’m gonna keep my hand in, because something new is growing)

Think I’ll hit the Peace Trail
Take a trip back home to my old town
‘Cause everyone back there says
Something new is growing

Up in the rainbow teepee sky
No one’s looking down on you or I
It’s just a mirror in our eye

If I believe in someone
I have to believe in myself
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)

The world is full of changes
Sometimes all these changes make me sad
(I have to plant them seeds, till something new is growing)

I think I’ll hit the Peace Trail
I know that treasure takes its time
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)

I think I’ll hit the Peace Trail
I think I like my chances now
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)

I think I’ll hit the Peace Trail
I think I’ll hit the Peace Trail now
Because something new is growing

 

Can’t Stop Workin

Well I can’t stop workin’ cause I like to work
When nothing else is going on
It’s bad for the body but it’s good for the soul
Might even keep you breathing when you lose control

Can’t stop workin’
Can’t stop workin’

Where have I been for all these years
I thought I knew you better
Come down to the edge of the sea today
And write a letter, there in the sand

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

I can’t stop workin’ cause I like to work
When nothing else is going on
It’s bad for the body but it’s good for the soul
Might even keep me breathing when I lose control

Can’t stop workin’
Can’t stop workin’

I might take some time off
I can’t stop workin’
Might take time off
For forgiveness
Forgiveness
Can’t stop workin’
Can’t stop workin’

 

Indian Givers

There’s a battle raging on the sacred land
Our brothers and sisters had to take a stand
Against us now for what we all been doin’
On the sacred land there’s a battle brewin’

I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news

Now it’s been about 500 years
We keep taking what we gave away
Just like what we call Indian givers
It makes you sick and gives you shivers

I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news

Big money going backwards and ripping the soil
Where graves are scattered and blood was boiled
When all who look can see the truth
But they just move on and keep their groove

I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news

Saw Happy locked to the big machine
They had to cut him loose and you know what that means
That’s when Happy went to jail
Behind big money justice always fails

I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news

Bring back the days when good was good
Lose these imposters in our neighborhood
Across our farms and through our waters
All at the cost of our sons and (squaw)* daughters
Yeah our brave sons and daughters
We’re all here together fighting poison waters
Standing against the evil way
That’s what we have at the end of day

I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news
I wish somebody would share the news

* Neil deleted this word

 

Show Me

Do you see people being led by the righteous hand
Taking care of everyone like they’re on a piece of land

 

Show me
Show me
Show me
Show me

Do you see people’s lives being lost on the sacred land
And the battle over water being fought for the baby’s hand

Show me
Show me
Show me
Show me

When the women of the world are free to stand up for themselves
And the promises made stop gathering dust on the shelf

Show me
Show me
Show me
Show me

Well I hear you out there when you say what you have to say
I know how you feel cause that’s what made me this way
When heaven on earth is improved by the hand of man
And people everywhere get together and join their hands

Show me
Show me
Show me
Show me

Show me
Show me

 

Texas Rangers

Look, can you see things, when they show you
What they want you to know
Watch what you don’t see, on the TV
When they hide the truth

Feel, how it hurts you
When the truth hides, in between the scenes
Cry, from the broken-hearted melody
That you hear in your dreams

Wow it’s a runaway
Can you catch it? It’s not in your hands
Slow, easy does it
When you find out, what deception means

Try, try to change it
Cause it hurts you and it holds back your dreams
Dreams of a New World
Evolution of the species to survive, truth that screams

Call, in the darkness
For the moment, of clear thinking joy
Laugh, when you find out
That the story that’s spoken has broken like a toy

Lost, in the sandbox
Just left there, for no one to enjoy
Found, by the police
Who killed it, were filmed on the phone

Texas Rangers, had to ride in
To the rescue of all that’s well and good
Texas Rangers, in pickups
Painted silver with bulldogs on the hood
Texas Rangers, come to save you
Come to rescue the bad and the good
Texas Rangers, (on the backroads) on the freeways
And in your neighborhood

Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers

 

Terrorist Suicide Hang Gliders

Terrorist suicide hang gliders
In the sky above, you can’t see
Hidden there in the darkness
Behind the reasons that you’re free

I got some news along the way
That I bring to you with sorrow
I never knew till yesterday
My life would end tomorrow

I think I know who to blame
It’s all those people with funny names
Moving in to our neighborhood
How can I tell if they’re bad or good

Terrorist suicide hang gliders
In the sky above, you can’t see
Hidden there in the darkness
Behind the reasons that you’re free

 

John Oaks

John Oaks is in the neighborhood
Protecting all the trees
He’s the master of irrigation
And he knows what he sees

Grape farmers watering everywhere
Pipes running where they please
John sees his laws are broken
Trees drowning where they breathe

Now John used to be a mellow man
Drinking Chai and smoking weed
Ain’t no one in the county
Ever see’d whatever he see’d

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

Old John rides in his pickup
With rakes and friends in the back
Workers he takes with him
Then he drives them all back

To protect them from the politicians
Using them to get ahead
Preying on the people
Trying to get inside their heads

John Oaks is really stand-up
He won’t take shit lying down
He calls it like he sees it
And he puts his money down

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

One day at the demonstration
John Oaks was standing up
He arrived there at the location
In his old pickup truck

Took a rake in his hand
And his workers by his side
Stood there waiting for his turn
To speak and turn the tide

When he found himself surrounded
By police everywhere
They tried to take his workers to jail
When he grabbed one by his hair

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

Shots rang out and people yelled
As the police took control
Shot a black man right where he fell
With a sniper on the knoll

John Oaks saw law and order
Was leading him astray
Tried to get back in his pickup
With his workers to get away

That’s when the police moved in
And stood there in his way
John started up his pickup
And that was his last day

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

They said he had a pistol
When the old pickup backfired
And shot him there behind the wheel
And then John Oaks expired

The workers grabbed the rakes
And that’s all that I can say
They went to the cemetery
And they stay there to this day

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

John Oaks, John Oaks
John Oaks, John Oaks

 

My Pledge

If it please the court I’ve had a lot to say
And it’s not always been true
Standing here before you, judge
I make my pledge of truth to you

The waves came over the bowsprit
The decks awash with running green and foam
Back there at the wheel I was terrified
Next day we first saw home

My relatives came over on the Mayflower
Landed on the shore almost alone
No that damn traffic today is terrible
And everywhere I look I see people alone

Alone with their heads looking in their hands
Lost in the conversation stare
Walking with their eyes looking at the screen
Talking like they were really there

I’m lost in this new generation
Left me behind it seems
Listening to the shadow of Jimi Hendrix
“Purple Haze”, sounding like TV

I stepped on someone’s hand laying on the street
Both asleep and dead it may seem
He didn’t even move there on the sidewalk
I stood there staring in a dream

She came along in her uniform
Stood moving me away with a gentle hand
Dressed in white like a nightingale
Her name was Florence, Florence of the Land
(I knew I’d seen her somewhere)

I knew I’d seen her somewhere
But she was busy with him gone
She came with three different brothers
Abraham, Martin and John

I heard a song about that once
And I never knew what it meant
Three stars died in a plane one night
Rock and Roll, the message that was sent

I couldn’t wrap my head around it
Didn’t know what it meant
Standing there on that sandy beach
Watching it turn to cement

Now I don’t see all the colors
And I might miss some of their beauty
But I do see what I see
And I want to do my duty

Enlisted in the Navy at the corner store
They had a recruiting booth
I covered my heart and raised my hand
And swore it was the truth

That’s my pledge
That’s my pledge
That’s my pledge, judge
That’s my pledge

 

Glass Accident

Woke up this morning to a glass accident
Glass fell in love with the floor
Too many pieces there for me to clean up
So I left a warning message by the door

Danger on a scary skull and crossbones
A piece of paper on the floor
Covered broken pieces of a love dream lingering there
That could do some damage for ever more

Just imagine what could go wrong
And how some life’s could change forever
If you’re not careful how you handle delicate things
But now is better than never

There was a lingering hope that made it through the dark night
And threatened everything there after
Hope that was confusing, looking like a bight light
Blinding you forever with its power

Woke up this morning to a glass accident
Glass fell in love with the floor
Too many pieces there for me to clean up
So I left a warning message by the door

 

My New Robot

It’s a lonely cup of coffee
Cause my baby’s gone
Someone has to work
I know that’s true

Carpenters bring ladders
I bring love to you
Their working day begin
Under skies of blue

Is just now getting started
And I’m sitting under a tree
Singing a song
And thinking of you

My life has been so lucky
The package is arrived
I got my new robot
From amazon dot com

Unpacking it now
I have a sense of pride
I’m going online
To program it for you

(Powering on)

Things here have changed
Welcome to: (Your name), House, Home
Swipe your card
When you enter your pin number

My owner is not available
Please enjoy your stay
Leave magnetic articles
In the plastic bin marked Visitor in grey

For color blind visitors
Please refer to parameters
To enter your new 7-digit password
That must contain at least one numeric character
And your mother’s maiden name

Please feel free
It’s just an exercise
Your media is already chosen
Based on your habits

(Powering off)

———————

Johnnie Burik Assistant Engineer
Paul Bushnell Bass
Stephen Ferrera-Grand Technician
John Hanlon Mixing, Producer
Jim Keltner Drums
Eric Lynn Engineer
Bob Rice Technician
Jimmy Sloan Tape
Kevin Smith Assistant Engineer
Neil Young Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals

Released December 9, 2016
Recorded Shangri-La Studios, 2016