While some of the wording may lead us otherwise, the thrashers that Young is referring to may be the family of birds similar to the hummingbird. There is even a Pearly-eyed Thrasher. The fact that much of the song creates a scene on farmland, you can support this interpretation with the other bird references of eagle and vulture. His contrasts of ascending and descending connected by glide vs the thrashers rolling by does lead me to believe that the ambiguity left by the 3 references to thrashers shows the evolution in his perspective from the natural to the more influenced by experienced perspective.
The first reference to thrashers coming was in a peaceful scene through a night in the fields, where they awoke perhaps in a figurative sense to these peaceful birds who will dig for the seeds that were sowed. The tone is still "light" at this point. It seems he observed these people, as he described them with " they ". The hiding behind hay bales supports the youth and innocence point, and then the "giving all they had for something new" is the stepping out into the unknown. He then moves into more personal experience.
The next reference to the " thrashers rolling by ", as I mentioned before, shows his change in perspective. He has now moved from observing the innocent farmers or youth to modern realities, but the continual references to nature shows his struggles with the changes.. As he watches these new thrashers, likely large transport trucks and the uneasy feeling you would get hiking or driving down a highway with their speed, noise, and appearance to disrupt your thoughts. I trust my thoughts on this one because he does indeed say he hit the road before it's light.
After some of the negative aspects of his experiences with friendship and political struggles, he comes to the conclusion that he is " better off down the road without that load " and he even states " he's got his own row left to hoe. " This demonstrates after his enlightenment that he has come to grips with many of the sad realities, or tragedies, from his perspective. His last reference to thrashers does leave things open for debate. Him being " stuck in the sun, like the dinosaurs in shrines " is a clear reference to inevitable death, and stuck is a feeling of entrapment to the perspective of future light he may never see. This clearly is the reaper perspective. However, he does return to belief in nature with the dinosaur reference after having stated that the pearly gates were chopped. Were they destroyed is a valid question that deserves attention. He is comparing himself to the dinosaurs, so has returned to his youthful beliefs in things like the existence of pre-historic reptile life. He is still open to finding out the answers that extend beyond the security of motels with heated pools and bars. Through learned experience and an overload of times where he questioned his faith, he returns to it to move on. Much of the song is just poetic filler and beautiful lines about society, so I chose to focus my interpretation on the thrashers, real and imaginary.
While some of the wording may lead us otherwise, the thrashers that Young is referring to may be the family of birds similar to the hummingbird. There is even a Pearly-eyed Thrasher. The fact that much of the song creates a scene on farmland, you can support this interpretation with the other bird references of eagle and vulture. His contrasts of ascending and descending connected by glide vs the thrashers rolling by does lead me to believe that the ambiguity left by the 3 references to thrashers shows the evolution in his perspective from the natural to the more influenced by experienced perspective.
The first reference to thrashers coming was in a peaceful scene through a night in the fields, where they awoke perhaps in a figurative sense to these peaceful birds who will dig for the seeds that were sowed. The tone is still "light" at this point. It seems he observed these people, as he described them with " they ". The hiding behind hay bales supports the youth and innocence point, and then the "giving all they had for something new" is the stepping out into the unknown. He then moves into more personal experience.
The next reference to the " thrashers rolling by ", as I mentioned before, shows his change in perspective. He has now moved from observing the innocent farmers or youth to modern realities, but the continual references to nature shows his struggles with the changes.. As he watches these new thrashers, likely large transport trucks and the uneasy feeling you would get hiking or driving down a highway with their speed, noise, and appearance to disrupt your thoughts. I trust my thoughts on this one because he does indeed say he hit the road before it's light.
After some of the negative aspects of his experiences with friendship and political struggles, he comes to the conclusion that he is " better off down the road without that load " and he even states " he's got his own row left to hoe. " This demonstrates after his enlightenment that he has come to grips with many of the sad realities, or tragedies, from his perspective. His last reference to thrashers does leave things open for debate. Him being " stuck in the sun, like the dinosaurs in shrines " is a clear reference to inevitable death, and stuck is a feeling of entrapment to the perspective of future light he may never see. This clearly is the reaper perspective. However, he does return to belief in nature with the dinosaur reference after having stated that the pearly gates were chopped. Were they destroyed is a valid question that deserves attention. He is comparing himself to the dinosaurs, so has returned to his youthful beliefs in things like the existence of pre-historic reptile life. He is still open to finding out the answers that extend beyond the security of motels with heated pools and bars. Through learned experience and an overload of times where he questioned his faith, he returns to it to move on. Much of the song is just poetic filler and beautiful lines about society, so I chose to focus my interpretation on the thrashers, real and imaginary.