3 Songs Neil Young Wrote About Other Artists

Neil Young is a songwriter that looked to his surroundings. He had something to say about the world and the people in it–particularly his fellow musicians. Young has several songs that were written in honor (or in spite) of his musical peers. Find three such songs, below.

3 Songs Neil Young Wrote About Other Artists

1. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

When his bandmate, Graham Nash, was heartbroken over the end of his relationship with Joni Mitchell, Young smoothed things over with this sobering track. If a heart is to break, love is the only culprit. While it’s perhaps not the most comforting thing to hear in the wake of a breakup, this song is an assuage of sorts. It acknowledges the good in a relationship while muddling on with the bad.

But only love can break your heart
Try to be sure right from the start
Yes, only love can break your heart
What if your world should fall apart?

2. “Downtown”

Though you wouldn’t immediately pair Young with Led Zeppelin, the night he got to play with the rockers was a dream come true for the folk icon. Young penned “Downtown” to capture the fateful show in which he performed with the band in the mid-’90s. It was such a thrill that Young had to write it down for prosperity.

There’s a place called Downtown
Where the hippies all go
And they dance the charleston
And they do the limbo
Yeah the hippies all go there
‘Cause they want to be seen
It’s like a room full of pictures
It’s like a psychedelic dream

[RELATED: The Story Behind David Crosby’s Salute to Music, Co-Written With Neil Young and Graham Nash]

3. “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)”

Though this track is a little more coded than the other inclusions on this list, it has been interpreted to be a push back at the young punk artists that were trying to shove artists from Young’s generation into a corner. Young references the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten in the lyrics, keying the audience in to who he is spiting here. It’s better to burn out than fade away / The king is gone but he’s not forgotten, he sings in this assertive track.

Out of the blue and into the black
You pay for this, but they give you that
And once you’re gone, you can’t come back
When you’re out of the blue and into the black

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