From what I remember its inspired by two events in Neil's early life and references them.
First, the person who is ringing the bells and the Clancy that can't sing references a boy that Neil went to school with that would run around ringing a small bell and singing at the top of his lungs. I don't remember what Neil said the boy had, but he was disabled. Someone took the bell from the boy and it took all the joy out of him and he wouldn't sing anymore.
Second, the lines
"Who's seeing eyes through the crack in the floor,
There it is baby, don't you worry no more.
Who should be sleepin', but is writing this song,
Wishin' and a-hopin' he weren't so damned wrong"
These are about Neil himself. He watched an ex-girlfriend of his with another boy through the cracks in a floor.
The rest is vague, it seems to deal with the pressures of fame, but more likely about being an outcast or a fear of being misunderstood because this song was actually written well before Buffalo Springfield was together. Stephen Stills and Richie Furay they were in a folk singing group called the Au-Go-Go Singers and they first met Neil Young while they were Thunder Bay, ON in Canada. Neil took the around the town in his hearse, the same one he later drove to LA, and Richie first heard the song performed by Neil in one of the folk clubs and Richie began to sing it and cover it himself, which was one of the reasons Richie ended up singing it on the album and not Neil.
In 1966 I had the good fortune to do a recording session at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with a 5 piece pop band, all teenagers. As we entered the studio to set up our instruments, we had to clear out the various items left from the preceding session. The sound engineer was very excited about the group that he had just recorded, a group called something like "buffalo springsomething". In the center of the studio was a music stand with a lyric sheet. A couple of the guys wandered over to the handwritten sheet and...
In 1966 I had the good fortune to do a recording session at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with a 5 piece pop band, all teenagers. As we entered the studio to set up our instruments, we had to clear out the various items left from the preceding session. The sound engineer was very excited about the group that he had just recorded, a group called something like "buffalo springsomething". In the center of the studio was a music stand with a lyric sheet. A couple of the guys wandered over to the handwritten sheet and tried to make sense out of the words on the paper. A few minutes later the studio door opened with a young man making his way to the music stand, taking the lyric sheet, and dashing out the door without a word. It struck me as odd that he didn't bother to even say hi, smile, or explain what he was doing. I remember he had a jet black hair, and was wearing a green turtleneck, and what we called fruit boots. Years later I remember looking at a photo of the band and recognized Neil Young. But since Richie sang the song, I assumed he wrote it. It was not until reading this blog that I finally realized why it was Neil that burst into the studio to retrieve his lyrics.
From what I remember its inspired by two events in Neil's early life and references them.
First, the person who is ringing the bells and the Clancy that can't sing references a boy that Neil went to school with that would run around ringing a small bell and singing at the top of his lungs. I don't remember what Neil said the boy had, but he was disabled. Someone took the bell from the boy and it took all the joy out of him and he wouldn't sing anymore.
Second, the lines "Who's seeing eyes through the crack in the floor, There it is baby, don't you worry no more. Who should be sleepin', but is writing this song, Wishin' and a-hopin' he weren't so damned wrong" These are about Neil himself. He watched an ex-girlfriend of his with another boy through the cracks in a floor.
The rest is vague, it seems to deal with the pressures of fame, but more likely about being an outcast or a fear of being misunderstood because this song was actually written well before Buffalo Springfield was together. Stephen Stills and Richie Furay they were in a folk singing group called the Au-Go-Go Singers and they first met Neil Young while they were Thunder Bay, ON in Canada. Neil took the around the town in his hearse, the same one he later drove to LA, and Richie first heard the song performed by Neil in one of the folk clubs and Richie began to sing it and cover it himself, which was one of the reasons Richie ended up singing it on the album and not Neil.
In 1966 I had the good fortune to do a recording session at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with a 5 piece pop band, all teenagers. As we entered the studio to set up our instruments, we had to clear out the various items left from the preceding session. The sound engineer was very excited about the group that he had just recorded, a group called something like "buffalo springsomething". In the center of the studio was a music stand with a lyric sheet. A couple of the guys wandered over to the handwritten sheet and...
In 1966 I had the good fortune to do a recording session at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with a 5 piece pop band, all teenagers. As we entered the studio to set up our instruments, we had to clear out the various items left from the preceding session. The sound engineer was very excited about the group that he had just recorded, a group called something like "buffalo springsomething". In the center of the studio was a music stand with a lyric sheet. A couple of the guys wandered over to the handwritten sheet and tried to make sense out of the words on the paper. A few minutes later the studio door opened with a young man making his way to the music stand, taking the lyric sheet, and dashing out the door without a word. It struck me as odd that he didn't bother to even say hi, smile, or explain what he was doing. I remember he had a jet black hair, and was wearing a green turtleneck, and what we called fruit boots. Years later I remember looking at a photo of the band and recognized Neil Young. But since Richie sang the song, I assumed he wrote it. It was not until reading this blog that I finally realized why it was Neil that burst into the studio to retrieve his lyrics.
@twarn85 Cool story, thanks
@twarn85 Cool story, thanks