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The Loner Lyrics
He's a perfect stranger,
Like a cross
Of himself and a fox.
He's a feeling arranger
And a changer
Of the ways he talks.
He's the unforeseen danger
The keeper of
The key to the locks.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
If you see him in the subway,
He'll be down
At the end of the car.
Watching you move
Until he knows
He knows who you are.
When you get off
At your station alone,
He'll know that you are.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
There was a woman he knew
About a year or so ago.
She had something
That he needed
And he pleaded
With her not to go.
On the day that she left,
He died,
But it did not show.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
Like a cross
Of himself and a fox.
He's a feeling arranger
And a changer
Of the ways he talks.
He's the unforeseen danger
The keeper of
The key to the locks.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
He'll be down
At the end of the car.
Watching you move
Until he knows
He knows who you are.
When you get off
At your station alone,
He'll know that you are.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
About a year or so ago.
She had something
That he needed
And he pleaded
With her not to go.
On the day that she left,
He died,
But it did not show.
Know when you see him,
Nothing can free him.
Step aside, open wide,
It's the loner.
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This song is about every true loner ever. You see those strong silent types who don't seem to give a fuck about anything, sometimes ruthless and cutthroat, but always alone and looking out for their own ass. He has an innate ability to read people. He doesn't want to be alone, but he feels like he can't relate. Nothing can free him. This song is about those guys. So when you see one, don't give him any shit, just step aside. That's all he wants from you.
i think maybe he can relate, he just doesn't wanna get hurt again.doesn't wanna waste anymore time on someone who's just gonna screw him over in the end.
i think maybe he can relate, he just doesn't wanna get hurt again.doesn't wanna waste anymore time on someone who's just gonna screw him over in the end.
The user jehosefat is far from intelligent. The loner isn't "angry at women" nor is he a "psycho killer dentist".
The man in this song is described as a someone who isn't fully himself. Like a fox, he operates slightly predatorily, in that he observes and figures out others. Arranging feelings and changing his tone and diction, this man makes sure he stays at a distance from other people.
It's possible that the loner in this song wasn't one until the woman who understood him took off, but the notion that only one person had the ability to tap into his mind makes this seem unlikely.
Don't try to be what this man needs, and don't take pity on him, just leave him alone. He just wants solitude.
Yeh I kinda think neil young is talking about himself. He is the loner and many people can relate with that idea that he expresses. This song has always struck a chord with me anyway, such a classic song
A song about urban alienation.
I don't think this song is difficult to understand at all (but of course everyone is free to make their own interpretation). Go backwards: there was a woman he knew, who had something he needed but she left, and when she left he died. He wasn't always a loner, he lost a girl who he was in love with OR was infatuated with, in any case losing her destroyed him emotionally. Now, regardless of whether he wants to get her back or replace her, dwell on it or move on, the only thing he's capable of is carrying on his life in solitude, looking at other people and judging them. He may merely be projecting his own expectations on them, or it may be that he has developed a knack for seeing who people are underneath their appearance (because he found out the hard way who the woman he loved was underneath). In any case, he is no longer a social person and when you see the loner you should just let him be. He already knows who you are.
this song was on the self titled. which predates 1970, dumbass. but ignoring that fact... i think the loner is neil himself. just a thought.
I thought it was about a kid in school who has no freinds, and whenever is he is walking down the corridor, all the popular kids don't want to be near him so they step aside, and then when it says that it is about a woman - seeing has he was rejected as a kid by everyone, he feels that 'She has something that he needed' which he never had before, and he is so sad and when she leaves him, he becomes the same tormented child all over again.
According to allmusic it's autobiographical.
Storm and Stress nailed it!
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