After the Gold Rush (song)

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"After the Gold Rush"
Song by Neil Young
from the album After the Gold Rush
ReleasedAugust 31, 1970
RecordedMarch 12, 1970
Genre Folk rock
Length3:45
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Neil Young
Producer(s) Neil Young
David Briggs
Music video
"After the Gold Rush" on YouTube
"After the Gold Rush"
Single by Prelude
from the album After the Gold Rush
B-side "Johnson Boy"
Released1974
Recorded1974
Genre Folk rock
Length2:01
Label Island
Songwriter(s) Neil Young
Producer(s) Neil Young
David Briggs
Prelude singles chronology
"Out There"
(1973)
"After the Gold Rush"
(1974)
"Dear Jesus"
(1974)

"After the Gold Rush" is a song written and performed by Neil Young and is the title song from his 1970 album of the same name. [1] In addition to After the Gold Rush, it also appears on the compilation albums Decade, and Greatest Hits, and on Live Rust.

Contents

An a capella version of the song was a hit in many countries in 1974 for the English vocal group Prelude.

It is ranked number 322 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [2]

Composition

Young has said that he doesn't recall what the song is about. Dolly Parton, recalling a conversation while in the process of recording a cover of the song, along with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, for their 1999 album Trio II , said:

I loved the song on Neil Young's [1970] album and I loved it when Prelude had it out in 1974. But I didn't know what the song meant. Linda and Emmy knew Neil, so we called him and asked him. He said, 'I have no idea.' I thought that was so funny. I think it's about the Second Coming or the invasion of aliens, or both. [3]

However, in his 2012 biography Young reportedly gave a different explanation of the song's origin and meaning, describing the inspiration provided by a screenplay of the same name (never produced), which apocalyptically described the last days of California in a catastrophic flood. The screenplay and song's title referred to what happened in California, a place that took shape due to the Gold Rush. Young eventually concluded that:

After The Gold Rush is an environmental song... I recognize in it now this thread that goes through a lotta my songs that’s this time-travel thing... When I look out the window, the first thing that comes to my mind is the way this place looked a hundred years ago. [4]

"After the Gold Rush" consists of three verses which move forward in time from the past (a medieval celebration), to the present (the singer lying in a burned out basement), and, finally, to the end of humanity's time on Earth (the ascension process in which the "chosen ones" are evacuated from Earth in silver spaceships). On the original recording, in addition to Young's vocals, two instruments are utilized: a piano and a flugelhorn. [5] In the decades since the song was first released, the horn solo in the song has typically been replaced by a harmonica solo by Young in live performances. [6]

The line "Look at Mother Nature on the run / In the 1970s" has been amended by Young in concert over the decades and is currently sung as "Look at Mother Nature on the run / in the 21st century." [7] [8] [9]

Cover versions

The song has been covered numerous times:

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References

  1. Clayton-Lea, Tony. "Neil Young: After the Gold Rush review: 50-year-old treasure still shines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  2. "After the Gold Rush ranked #322 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  3. "Trio II - The Songs". Emmylou.net. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. Hasted, Nick (12 November 2016). "The Story Behind The Song: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush". Louder Sound. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. <https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-after-the-gold-rush-by-neil-young/>
  6. "Song - After The Gold Rush - Choral and Vocal sheet music arrangements". www.singers.com. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  7. Armstrong, Neil. "After the Gold Rush — Neil Young's song has beguiled and bewildered since 1970" . Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  8. Hasted, Nick (12 November 2016). "The Story Behind The Song: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush". Louder Sound. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. "After The Gold Rush by Neil Young". songfacts.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  10. "After the Gold Rush". Official Charts. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  11. "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 16, 1974" (PDF).
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 238. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  13. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 670.
  14. "After The Gold Rush Lyrics - Trio". Absolute Lyrics.
  15. "Dollymania: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine. Your premier resource for Dolly Parton news and information". www.dollymania.net.
  16. Moreau, Jordan (11 February 2019). "Dolly Parton Honored by Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves at Grammys". Variety.
  17. "More Like John Ennui". Vulture. 16 June 2023.