I come down from the misty mountain
I got lost on the human highway
Take my head, refreshing fountain
Take my eyes from what they've seen
Take my head and change my mind
How could people get so unkind?
Oh, and I

I come down from the crooked mansion
And I married the DJ's daughter
Since that day I've heard it mentioned
That my name is on the line
Now, my name is on the line
How could people get so unkind
Oh, and I

I come down from the misty mountain
I got lost on the human highway
Take my head, refreshing fountain
Take my eyes from what they've seen
Take my head and change my mind
How could people get so unkind?
Oh, now


Lyrics submitted by sloop

Human Highway Lyrics as written by Neil Young

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

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Human Highway song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    I don't know what this song means to me. Honestly how is someone supposed to determine what this song is about. The lyrics are very abstract and vague. "Comes a Time" still remains as one of my favourite neil ablums ever.

    cichon123on December 12, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    cichon123, I don't know what you mean. The lyrics are far from vague. It's very easy to pinpoint what this song is about. "I come down from the misty mountain... I got lost on the human highway" and "I come down from the crooked mansion" It's referring to how he is in his own world, away from everyone. Living his own way, not involved in the "human highway" of society (or most likely not a part of the whole rock star/celebrity scene thing). Then some people started talking bad about him. Possibly because he unknowingly screwed up somehow ("I got lost on the human highway"), but that's not for certain. He finds out. He feels hurt. "How could people get so unkind?"

    hammy02on January 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is about how society can make you loose your true self. "I got lost on the human highway." clearly means the impact of the influences society can have on you.

    Big Al Von February 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "I come down from the misty mountain". What a genius way to start a song. To me this means getting high on some good Cali weed, and coming to reality when the high is gone. If you read the book "shakey" or hear some of his old bootlegs, (I suggest every single big Neil fan do this) He used to get high on weed by himself all the time. It was his way of not dealing or socializing with people. On a bootleg i just found the other day from 1976, He goes off for like 5 minutes about "honey slides", putting honey on a joint with bad weed, so it'll taste good. Pretty funny stuff. This man is pure genius.

    justasimpleguyon February 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Disagree if you like, i don’t believe there needs to be ONE, single, solitary meaning to ANY song, whatever it doesn’t you, that’s AWESOME, more power to you…

    Now - I probably should have avoided the prologue cuz my observation isn’t terribly substantial

    • I definitely HEAR (i am not saying Neil had this in the forefront of his mind or intended this in any way), at the beginning of this song, the opening of Sugar Mountain.

    Anyone else hear that?

    force263on August 23, 2021   Link

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