Goodbye cold, goodbye rain
Goodbye sorrow, goodbye shame
I'm headed out west with my headphones on
Boarded a flight with a song in the back of my soul
And no one knows
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down
Hello beauty, hello strange
Hello wonder, what's your name?
Looking for the sun that Neil Young hung
After the gold rush of 1971
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down
If you see her say, "Hello"
Just don't tell me, "I told you so"
Joni wrote Blue in her house by the sea
I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me
To set me free
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down, down
Get down
Goodbye sorrow, goodbye shame
I'm headed out west with my headphones on
Boarded a flight with a song in the back of my soul
And no one knows
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down
Hello beauty, hello strange
Hello wonder, what's your name?
Looking for the sun that Neil Young hung
After the gold rush of 1971
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down
If you see her say, "Hello"
Just don't tell me, "I told you so"
Joni wrote Blue in her house by the sea
I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me
To set me free
I just found out her ghost left town
The Queen of California is stepping down, down, down
Get down
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'Looking for the Sun that Neil Young Hung' refers to Sunset Sound Studios in California where Young himself abandoned (hung) the initial recording process of "After The Goldrush" due to his own difficulties with the pressure of fame and 'the hip scene' that was happening at the time in Hollywood and Laurel Canyon. Mayer obviously identifies with Young's need to 'get back to basics' and to avoid any of the temptations of 'the scene' as it is apparent that this kind of lifestyle is not conducive to writing your best music. Young in fact hid himself away in the basement of his house to record the rest of the album on an old 8 track. The result many believe to be a folk-rock masterpiece.
'Joni wrote Blue is a house by the sea' refers to Joni Mitchell's writing of the 'Blue' album. She did indeed write it in a house by the sea, and when Mayer sings 'I got to believe there's another color waiting on me, to set me free' it is him hoping that when he 'disappears' from the scene he can write his own version of a classic album like "Blue", metaphorically speaking in a different "color" and thus set him free from his demons.
All in all, the song is contains some nice homages to other songs and albums written about heartbreak and California.
"Joni wrote Blue in her house by the sea
I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me
To set me free"
"Looking for the sun that Neil Young hung
after the gold rush of 1971"
is in reference to the Neil Young album, "After the Gold Rush"
The next line I think is still referencing the "sun" that Neil young hung.
"I just found out her ghost left town, the Queen of California is a steppin' down"
Or, in other words, the sun is setting. Perhaps the sun is setting on one chapter of his life as another chapter begins?
In addition, "Joni wrote Blue in a house by the sea" is referencing the Joni Mitchell album, "Blue."
Perhaps John is referencing these two amazing albums of Young and Mitchell to say that he hopes to go out west to make his great album. It sure seems so when he says next (in the studio version), "I gotta believe there's another color waiting on me to set me free," which makes sense because in a lot of ways it's like he made this album to set him free from his past.
Just a thought :)
I'm headed out west with my headphones on (I'm taking a break, exploring new music, heading back to the drawing board)
Boarded a flight with a song in the back of my soul (A song at the back of his soul playlist?)