Lyrics and music
The lyrics tell the story of someone who killed his lover by shooting her after feeling unable to continue from the emotional highs of their relationship. [6] Young himself has provided multiple explanations for the lyrics. In an interview with Robert Greenfield in 1970, a year after the song was released, Young claimed that "there's no real murder in it. It's about blowing your thing with a chick. It's a plea, a desperate cry." [5] Later, when introducing the song in New Orleans on September 27, 1984, Young said that the song depicts a man "who had a lot of trouble controlling himself" who catches his woman cheating on him, then meets her down by the river and shoots her. [5] [7] According to Young, the local sheriff comes to the man's house and arrests him a few hours later. [7]
"Down by the River" begins with electric guitars followed by bass guitar and snare drum before the vocals begin. [6] The vocal sections are taken at a slow tempo. [6] There are long instrumental passages after each of the first two refrains, during which Young plays short, staccato notes on his guitar and incorporates distortion. [6] The song is composed in the key of E minor. The verse follows a chord progression of Em7-A while the pre-chorus is Cmajor7-Bm-Cmajor7-Bm-C-Bm-D and the chorus is G-D-D-A.
Upon the single release, Record World said that Young "sparkles in this solo outing which has some 'Hey Joe' influence in it." [8] Cash Box called an "excellent sample of [Young's] soloist strength." [9] Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield called "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" the "key tracks" on Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, calling them "long, violent guitar jams, rambling over the nine-minute mark with no trace of virtuosity at all, just staccato guitar blasts sounding as though Young is parachuting down into the middle of the Hatfield-McCoy feud." [10] In one solo, the same staccato note is repeated 38 times. In 2015, Phish guitarist, Trey Anastasio wrote, "If I was ever going to teach a master class to young guitarists, the first thing I would play them is the first minute of Neil Young's original "Down by the River" solo. It's one note, but it's so melodic, and it just snarls with attitude and anger. It's like he desperately wants to connect." [11] Brett Milano of udiscovermusic.com rated Young's guitar solo as one of the 100 all-time greatest, stating that "it begins with almost nothing – the pure menace of one note played again and again – and builds to a pile of hulking riffs. [12]
Live performances vary from shorter solo acoustic performances, as on the Crosby Stills Nash & Young release 4 Way Street , to twelve minutes long, as on the Live at the Fillmore East release featuring Crazy Horse. At the Rock Am Ring in Germany in 2002, Young, backed by Booker T Jones, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Frank Sampedro, played "Down by the River" for over 27 minutes. [13] At Farm Aid 1998, Young joined Phish—who headlined that year's festival—during the band's jam out of "Runaway Jim", leading them into a 20-minute version of "Down by the River". Neil Young and Promise of the Real played a 20-minute version of this song at Desert Trip. In 2016, Neil Young and Promise of the Real played a 36+ minute version of the song to open their set at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. [14]
A CSNY performance of the song from September 1969 was included in the 1971 documentary Celebration at Big Sur.
Young performed it with CSNY on the ABC TV show the Music Scene in 1969.
Joey Gregorash covered this song in 1971 gaining a lot of airplay in Canada, and reaching #6 on the RPM Magazine charts. [15]
Guitarist Roy Buchanan recorded a cover version of "Down by the River" on his 1971 album Buch and the Snakestretchers, and on his 1978 album You're Not Alone. The Meters, The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews Band, Inner Circle, Low/Dirty Three, Tall Firs, McKendree Spring, Michael McDonald, The Mother Hips, The Sheepdogs, Puss n Boots, Norman Whitfield & The Undisputed Truth, Buddy Miles and Griffin also cover this song. The song appears on the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds 2007 live release Live at Radio City . Robert Plant borrows the line, "Be on my side, I'll be on your side, there is no reason for you to hide," in the live versions of "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times" recorded in 1970 at Royal Albert Hall (from the Led Zeppelin DVD ).
An acoustic version by the Indigo Girls appeared on their 1995 live double CD 1200 Curfews; the song had been a staple of their early 1993 shows and featured a cello and violin solo by Jane Scarpantoni and Scarlet Rivera respectively.
Canadian musician Edwin borrows elements of the song in his 1999 song, "Trippin'".
Low and Dirty Three teamed up to cover "Down by the River" on In the Fishtank 7 .
A cover by Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge charted two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 from 7/11 to 7/18/1970, peaking at position 91.
A cover by Buddy Miles charted seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 from 7/18 to 8/29/1970, peaking at position 68.
American experimental artist Jude the Obscure covered the song for their 2019 album Plastic.
Indie rock musician Car Seat Headrest incorporated elements of "Down by the River" in his 2013 song, "The Gun Song." [16]
Actor Bradley Cooper performed a vivid air-guitar cover of the song on The Tonight Show in 2015.
Singer/musician Norah Jones was joined onstage by Neil Young for an acoustic version of "Down by the River" on Day 2 of the 2014 Bridge Benefit concert. [17] [18]
Norah Jones also performed a cover of "Down by the River" in her online brief concert of November 5, 2020, one of a series that she posted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. [19]
Neil Percival Young is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the beginning of his solo career, often backed by the band Crazy Horse, he released critically acclaimed albums such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After the Gold Rush (1970), Harvest (1972), On the Beach (1974), and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). He was also a part-time member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with whom he recorded the chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu.
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk rock supergroup comprising the American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and the English-American singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, they were known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). They are noted for their intricate vocal harmonies and lasting influence on American music and culture, their political activism and their tumultuous relationships.
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Manassas. As both a solo act and member of three successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to Neil Young, "Stephen is a genius".
Freedom is the 19th studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on October 2, 1989. Freedom relaunched Young's career after a largely unsuccessful decade. After many arguments and a lawsuit, Young left Geffen Records in 1988 and returned to his original label, Reprise, with This Note's for You. Freedom brought about a new, critical and commercially successful album. It was released as an LP record, cassette tape, and CD.
After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records. It is one of four high-profile solo albums released by the members of folk rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu. Young's album consists mainly of country folk music along with several rock tracks, including "Southern Man". The material was inspired by the unproduced Dean Stockwell-Herb Bermann screenplay After the Gold Rush.
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for their association with the musician Neil Young. Since 1969, fifteen studio albums and eight live albums have been billed as being by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. They have also released six studio albums of their own between 1971 and 2009.
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in May 1969 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6349. His first with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, it emerged as a sleeper hit amid Young's contemporaneous success with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ultimately peaking at number 34 on the US Billboard 200 in August 1970 during a 98-week chart stay. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
Puss n Boots is an American alternative country band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2008 that consists of members Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper. Their debut full-length album, No Fools, No Fun, was released on July 15, 2014, through Blue Note Records.
Neil Young is the debut studio album by Canadian/American musician Neil Young following his departure from Buffalo Springfield in 1968, issued on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6317. The album was first released on November 12, 1968, in the so-called 'CSG mix'. It was then partially remixed and re-released in late summer 1969, but at no time has the album ever charted on the Billboard 200.
"Helpless" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) on their 1970 album Déjà Vu. Young played the song with The Band in the group's final concert with its original lineup, The Last Waltz, on American Thanksgiving Day 1976 at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, with Joni Mitchell providing backing vocals offstage.
"Cinnamon Girl" is a song by Neil Young. It debuted on the 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was also Young's first album with backing band Crazy Horse.
"Danger Bird" is a song written by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1975 album with Crazy Horse, Zuma. A live version was also released on the 1997 album Year of the Horse.
Homegrown is the 42nd studio album by Canadian-American Neil Young. It was released on June 19, 2020, by Reprise Records. The album consists of material recorded between June 1974 and January 1975. The album was recorded after the release of On the Beach and before the sessions for Zuma. Like those two albums, much of the material was inspired by Young's relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress, which was deteriorating in 1974. The album was compiled and prepared for release in 1975. Instead, Tonight's the Night was released, and Homegrown remained unreleased for 45 years. It was finally set for release as part of Record Store Day 2020, amid Neil Young's ongoing Archives campaign. Its release was again delayed by Record Store Day's postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finally seeing release on June 19.
Stephen Stills is the debut solo album by American musician Stephen Stills released on Atlantic Records in 1970. It is one of four high-profile albums released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their 1970 chart-topping album Déjà Vu, along with After the Gold Rush, If I Could Only Remember My Name and Songs for Beginners. It was primarily recorded between CSNY tours in London and Los Angeles. It was released in the United States on November 16, 1970, and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 1970.
Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse featuring guitarist Danny Whitten, released in 2006. It also has the distinction of being the first album released as part of the Neil Young Archives series of archival recordings.
"Tell Me Why" is the opening track on Neil Young's album After the Gold Rush. Written by Young, it was first introduced during the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young shows of 1970 prior to the release of Déjà Vu. The song also appears on Live at Massey Hall 1971.
"Cowgirl in the Sand" is a song written by Neil Young and first released on his 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young has included live versions of the song on several albums and on the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album 4 Way Street. It has also been covered by The Byrds on their self-titled album. Like three other songs from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, "Cinnamon Girl", "Down by the River" and the title track, Young wrote "Cowgirl in the Sand" while he was suffering from the flu with a high fever at his home in Topanga, California.
"The Loner" is a song by Neil Young, his first solo single. It was released on his solo debut album in November 1968, and then an edited version as his debut solo single three months later on Reprise Records. It missed the Billboard Hot 100 chart completely, but over time has become a staple of his performance repertoire. Both it and "Sugar Mountain", its B-side recorded live at the Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were released on album together for his 1977 compilation, Decade.
CSNY 1974 is a live album by Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and their seventh in the CSNY quartet configuration. Issued on Rhino Records in 2014, it consists of concert material recorded in 1974 on the band's tour during the summer of that year. It was issued in several formats: a standard compact disc box set consisting of three audio discs and a standard DVD; as one pure audio Blu-ray disc and a Blu-ray DVD; and a more expensively packaged limited deluxe edition consisting of the material on six vinyl records along with the Blu-ray discs and a coffee table book. Three single disc samplers were also issued: one of the acoustic material exclusively available at Starbucks in the United States and Canada; a second at normal retail outlets; and a third included as a covermount disc to the 250th anniversary issue of the UK music magazine Mojo issued as "an exclusive audio-visual sampler of the new CSNY 1974 box set." Each of the non-sampler sets also contained a 188-page booklet, and all formats were released the same day, with the Mojo sampler arriving with the September 2014 publication of that edition. The three-disc and DVD package peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, while the Starbucks sampler peaked at No. 37 and the selections sampler at No. 81.
"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is a song written by Neil Young that was originally released as the title track of his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The song was written earlier, and a different version was originally considered for Young's 1968 solo debut album Neil Young.
