In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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 Navajo 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
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
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 I hope it isn't you
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 Navajo 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
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
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 I hope it isn't you
Lyrics submitted by hourafterdark
Ambulance Blues Lyrics as written by Neil Young
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't really know what the overall meaning of the song is - you could analyse it for hours and still be none the wiser. Even Neil Young doesn't seem to know - "hard to say the meaning of this song". All I do know is that it is possibly the best song ever written.
<br /> I think this is about the turning point in his life and his impression of society changing as well at that time. The passing of an era, end of the good old days, end of a certain relationship, further disillusionment with the establishment. <br /> The verses are all about different and diverse topics related to this theme. <br /> <br /> <br /> Back in the old folky days<br /> The air was magic when we played.<br /> The riverboat was rockin'<br /> in the rain<br /> Midnight was the time<br /> for the raid.<br /> => This is about a folk club in Toronto that he played in, it was on a river boat, I guess it was semi-legal etc<br /> <br /> Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela,<br /> They tore you down and<br /> plowed you under.<br /> You're only real<br /> with your make-up on<br /> How could I see you<br /> and stay too long?<br /> => Again reminiscing about Toronto in the old days, Isabella was referring to a place now gone<br /> <br /> All along the Navajo Trail,<br /> Burn-outs stub their toes<br /> on garbage pails.<br /> Waitresses are cryin'<br /> in the rain<br /> Will their boyfriends<br /> pass this way again?<br /> => Description of road-trip type scenes witnessed on travels across US<br /> <br /> Oh, Mother Goose,<br /> she's on the skids<br /> Shoe ain't happy,<br /> neither are the kids.<br /> She needs someone<br /> that she can scream at<br /> And I'm such a heel<br /> for makin' her feel so bad.<br /> => As above but more specifically about a woman he has spent time with…<br /> <br /> <br /> I guess I'll call it<br /> sickness gone<br /> It's hard to say<br /> the meaning of this song.<br /> An ambulance can only<br /> go so fast<br /> It's easy to get buried<br /> in the past<br /> When you try to make<br /> a good thing last.<br /> => This is about an old girlfriend, now lost to him, he refers to it as sickness gone to try to convince himself that he’s ok now, but he isn’t. He says it’s hard to say the meaning of this song because he is unsure what message he really wants to give to the girl — whether he really wants her to come back or to beg, etc. The ambulance signifies the recovery process but it seems slow to him, “it can only go so fast”. The last lines about making a good thing last are about him stretching out the doomed relationship. <br /> The woman may have been Carrie Snodgress (she played the mother in Pale Rider) who he had been living with for several years. <br /> <br /> <br /> I saw today<br /> in the entertainment section<br /> There's room at the top<br /> for private detection.<br /> To Mom and Dad<br /> this just doesn't matter,<br /> But it's either that<br /> or pay off the kidnapper.<br /> => This is a comment about Canadian attitudes to children, he felt that many parents didn’t overly care about their kids — witnessed by typical reaction to a kidnapping, inspired by Patty Hearst. The point he is making is that many parents would stop and make a conscious decision of whether it was worth paying a kidnapper…..harsh but probably reflects state of mind at the time. <br /> <br /> <br /> So all you critics sit alone<br /> You're no better than me<br /> for what you've shown.<br /> With your stomach pump and<br /> your hook and ladder dreams<br /> We could get together<br /> for some scenes.<br /> => This is about the music press. Whilst they may criticize him, he makes the observation that they create nothing. They are/were more interested in drugs (stomach pumps, hook and ladder dreams). He sarcastically adds “we could get together…” although this is the last thing he would want. <br /> <br /> <br /> Well, I'm up in T.O.<br /> keepin' jive alive,<br /> And out on the corner<br /> it's half past five.<br /> But the subways are empty<br /> And so are the cafes.<br /> => Reference to being back in Toronto, still trying to recreate the old days…but now no-one is listening<br /> <br /> <br /> Except for the Farmer's Market<br /> And I still can hear him say:<br /> You're all just pissin'<br /> in the wind<br /> You don't know it but you are.<br /> <br /> And there ain't nothin'<br /> like a friend<br /> Who can tell you<br /> you're just pissin'<br /> in the wind.<br /> => Reference to feeling of being brought back down to earth by normal working people whose attitude may be that he is wasting his time singing about high ideals. He then reflects that maybe they’re right.<br /> <br /> <br /> I never knew a man<br /> could tell so many lies<br /> He had a different story<br /> for every set of eyes<br /> How can he remember<br /> who he's talking to?<br /> Cause I know it ain't me,<br /> and hope it isn't you.<br /> => This is about Nixon, obviously his disillusionment but also confirmation that he is dropping out and hopes we are too. <br /> <br /> <br />