are both his blooming boyhood in that town and the lasting effects wreaked by the disease.
The specific lines that make me think Polio is a subject are "The chains are locked and tied across the door" and the title and refrain, "Helpless, helpless, helpless."
Less directly, in the previous verse, "Blue, blue windows behind the stars" seem to call to mind an unreachable place of distance and wonder. "Yellow moon on the rise", while still evoking beauty, suggests the onset of a sinister element. The next lines ("Big birds..." and "...shadows...") repeat that duality.
Of course I could be wrong. Both those verses could simply refer to his growing loss of innocence and inability to return to the scenes of his youth.">
Helpless Meanings & Lyrics Discussion by azkm | SongMeanings
are both his blooming boyhood in that town and the lasting effects wreaked by the disease.
The specific lines that make me think Polio is a subject are "The chains are locked and tied across the door" and the title and refrain, "Helpless, helpless, helpless."
Less directly, in the previous verse, "Blue, blue windows behind the stars" seem to call to mind an unreachable place of distance and wonder. "Yellow moon on the rise", while still evoking beauty, suggests the onset of a sinister element. The next lines ("Big birds..." and "...shadows...") repeat that duality.
Of course I could be wrong. Both those verses could simply refer to his growing loss of innocence and inability to return to the scenes of his youth." />
The town is Omemee, Ontario, where Young lived for a few years, as has been stated.
I think the lyrics show both nostalgia for his childhood idyll and sorrow at the effect of the Polio he contracted while he lived there.
Polio leaves its survivors physically weakened for the rest of their lives. The <i>"changes"</i> are both his blooming boyhood in that town and the lasting effects wreaked by the disease.
The specific lines that make me think Polio is a subject are <i>"The chains are locked and tied across the door"</i> and the title and refrain, <i>"Helpless, helpless, helpless."</i>
Less directly, in the previous verse, <i>"Blue, blue windows behind the stars"</i> seem to call to mind an unreachable place of distance and wonder. <i>"Yellow moon on the rise"</i>, while still evoking beauty, suggests the onset of a sinister element. The next lines (<i>"Big birds..."</i> and <i>"...shadows..."</i>) repeat that duality.
Of course I could be wrong. Both those verses could simply refer to his growing loss of innocence and inability to return to the scenes of his youth.
The town is Omemee, Ontario, where Young lived for a few years, as has been stated.
I think the lyrics show both nostalgia for his childhood idyll and sorrow at the effect of the Polio he contracted while he lived there.
Polio leaves its survivors physically weakened for the rest of their lives. The <i>"changes"</i> are both his blooming boyhood in that town and the lasting effects wreaked by the disease.
The specific lines that make me think Polio is a subject are <i>"The chains are locked and tied across the door"</i> and the title and refrain, <i>"Helpless, helpless, helpless."</i>
Less directly, in the previous verse, <i>"Blue, blue windows behind the stars"</i> seem to call to mind an unreachable place of distance and wonder. <i>"Yellow moon on the rise"</i>, while still evoking beauty, suggests the onset of a sinister element. The next lines (<i>"Big birds..."</i> and <i>"...shadows..."</i>) repeat that duality.
Of course I could be wrong. Both those verses could simply refer to his growing loss of innocence and inability to return to the scenes of his youth.