I always took that line to mean that, because each sunset is unique, it burns out and is never seen again-- just like every person is unique and can never be replaced by anyone else. Even though a person's essence is beautiful, once he or she dies, they are gone from our earthly lives forever.
Yes, and also with the added part that you see how beautiful and unique it is while knowing it’s fading away. You watch as it slowly disappears and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Helplessly watching the beauty die.
"The Needle & The Damage Done" is a 1972 song written by Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend & Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die of an overdose the same year the song was released.
Yeah, I came here to say this - "every junkie's like a setting sun" is a lyric centred on the musicians who were addicts. ie, it seemed that so many of the brilliant musicians were addicts, going out in a blaze.
In addition to Danny Whitten, Neil would lose a good friend in roadie Bruce Berry (brother of Jan Berry of Jan & Dean) and that death inspired the song "Tonight's the Night". There have been times when Neil has openly marveled at the mere fact that he has survived those years.
A woman raised her hand. “Both my sons are junkies and one of them killed himself… overdosed at 24 years old,” she said. “And my older son is struggling with it now. But I’ve played that song since I was 14 years old and I killed my fingers on every note. I’ve always wondered what you meant by ‘every junkie’s like a setting sun.’” Young answered: “The song’s pretty straightforward. When I said every junkie’s like a setting sun, it’s like, if that’s what you’re gonna do, you’re not gonna… you’re gonna go down,” Young said. “You can’t do that. Very few people have been able to hold on to that for their whole lives. And their lives have been affected, and even the most successful ones have ended up dying suddenly…” “It’s such a sad thing, and I totally feel for you,” he told her. “But it’s going to be all right. There’s nothing you can do. You’re you and they’re them, and that’s the thing to remember, is that we’re all different, and we’re not responsible for the decisions that each other make. We can only try to guide, but we can’t take the blame.” Peace out
Great song! The setting sun, dying slowly because of addiction. My friends brother came back from Vietnam so messed up. He ended up dead from an overdose of heroin. So sad😔. Love your channel✌️
Enjoyed your commentary at the end.💪 Yes, a sad song but musically it's very soothing, imo. Clean, crisp guitar work matched with his nasally monotone voice sounds so good together. That's why they erupted as soon as he hit the first 2 notes. Extremely popular song - still to this day gets air time on classic rock stations.
His voice is like an instrument that conveys so much. Many times he has happy songs like the one about the Bluejay and the one called Hank about his dog.
This song means a lot to me. I love Neil Young. But I also lost my love to heroin, first when he was addicted and then when he OD’d. He left behind his broken hearted daughter. 10 years and we still miss him so much.
To get away from Neil's voice being melancholic try some of his rocking songs - Like A Hurricane , Cowgirl In The Sand , Tonights The Night , Powderfinger , Cortez The Killer.
Yep, can't wait until he starts hitting the electric stuff (my absolute favourite stuff is the acoustic material, but I can't wait for him to get to the contrast)
Yeah.. every junkie fades away, and those beautiful people fade away, and you can only watch this beautiful person fade away and marvel that it was even here...
I find it incredibly hard to decide which Neil Young song's my favourite. Needle's become the answer I default to, if someone insists. ❤️ I personally feel Neil's voice isn't depressing - I find it so incredibly beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes. *And* he sings a lot of sad material, lol.
The way I took that line, is he's saying every day the junkie is close to the end. It can happen any time they use. Eventually, it will happen. His voice is so hauntingly beautiful and so perfect for this song. He's a genius.❤ I think I recommended this song to you and alot of other people. It's just too good not to know about. 😊❤
I found an interview and Neil said this is what that line meant "“The song’s pretty straightforward. When I said every junkie’s like a setting sun, it’s like, if that’s what you’re gonna do, you’re not gonna… you’re gonna go down,” Young said. “You can’t do that. Very few people have been able to hold on to that for their whole lives. And their lives have been affected, and even the most successful ones have ended up dying suddenly…”
"Don't Let It Bring You down" by him would fit right in. Studio version since the guitar work is important. The chords are dark and very interesting (tuned his guitar differently) . And so are the lyrics. Pure poetry.
He doesn't only have sad songs.... try the song Rockin' In The Free World... It's a rocking banger. Don't do an acoustic version but do the original recording.
I just found you today and you're doing great reactions. It really shows that your putting in the effort to give some feedback. Have a feeling you will quickly become my favorite. Great Work. Artie was the best.
Yeah, he can be depressing, but he’s also a great songwriter, takes on subjects other people won’t touch, and is a master of sound and texture. I’ve seen him play a country show at a Willie Nelson picnic, an acoustic show, and a couple of LOUD, electric feedback shows with Crazy Horse, and the two songs he’s played every time are “Powderfinger” and this song, which was inspired by Danny Whitten, who played the other guitar on his ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’ album and guitar and co-lead vocal on “Cinnamon Girl”.
this is one of my favorites by Neil. I don't know what hits me harder, his line " every junkie is like a setting sun" or just how the song just sort of fades off and ends abruptly.....
MMB.. Howard Stern? (okay, then...).. this is a beautiful tribute to a close friend and the struggles that are gone through because of addiction... hard to hear, but I'm glad you did...
Thanks for the reaction!!! A lot of the times when he intros this song in concert. He speaks about there is a place somewhere , where all of the art that didn't get made exists but didn't actually get made because of overdoses. My thoughts are irrelevant on what to take from the verse" Every Junkie is like a setting Sun"... depending on your mindset a sunset is beautiful, inevitable ,sorrowful, or hopeful . As far as more upbeat tunes...Cinnamon Girl (I would suggest from the 1991 tour it shows the crowds reaction to the tune)...When You Dance( I can really Love) full title not my take on said song... Sedan Delivery... Prisoners of Rock and Roll...Blue Notes or Buffalo Springfield versions of " On the Way home" I personally dig the Blue notes version gotta love a brass and horn section.
Neil is now 78 & is still touring. Heart of Gold is my fav. I grew up on his stuff, being 70 myself. He 'lost his band' Crosby, Still, Nash & Young. Lots of infighting apparently, so it became Crosby, Still & Nash. No Young, He is better off solo, doing his folk type rock music, his way. He writes his stuff too.
Wow, If Artie's your "golden age" Howard Stern in-studio comedian, Jackie "Joke Man" Martling (1983-2001) has got to be STONE age! (Jeez, I am SO doxxing myself here! 😅) Seriously, tho, yeah, Neil always kept things 💯 with his music, even if people didn't appreciate such honesty. See "Ohio" and "Southern Man" for those controversies.
Neil lost two close friends, roadie Bruce Berry and rhythm guitarist (with Crazy Horse) Danny Whitten in a short time. Danny was part of his band recording the Harvest album and couldn't hold it together. Young have him $50 to get a ride home. Whitten used the money to score some dope that very day and died from it. His album Tonight's the Night is kind of a eulogy for these guys and one of the darker efforts of Neil's career. He mentions Berry by name in both versions of the title track.
Tonight's the Night is a rough album to listen to, at first. On repeated listenings, there is a raw beauty to it that just blows me away. Most people dismiss it after one listen but if you stick with it, it is an extraordinary collection and one of the deepest dives for anyone studying Neil's poetry.
I love the song and it’s a great performance, but the audience is irritating. It’s cool to get loud and vocal on many songs, but there were a handful of idiots in this audience who couldn’t read the room and felt it this song was a good time to try and clap along to the beat and yell “woo!” Not trying to be the concert police, but holding your applause until the end of quiet acoustic songs isn’t some obscure custom.
Those were the days when artists wrote songs about real things. No dancers, no shaking booties, etc. Just a real song.
I always took that line to mean that, because each sunset is unique, it burns out and is never seen again-- just like every person is unique and can never be replaced by anyone else. Even though a person's essence is beautiful, once he or she dies, they are gone from our earthly lives forever.
That’s exactly how I interpret that line. No two are the same,wether it be the sunset,or the junkie. Great line!
Yes, and also with the added part that you see how beautiful and unique it is while knowing it’s fading away. You watch as it slowly disappears and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Helplessly watching the beauty die.
Pfff never realized that aspect of the lyric.. thank you friend
"The Needle & The Damage Done" is a 1972 song written by Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend & Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die of an overdose the same year the song was released.
Yeah, I came here to say this - "every junkie's like a setting sun" is a lyric centred on the musicians who were addicts. ie, it seemed that so many of the brilliant musicians were addicts, going out in a blaze.
In addition to Danny Whitten, Neil would lose a good friend in roadie Bruce Berry (brother of Jan Berry of Jan & Dean) and that death inspired the song "Tonight's the Night". There have been times when Neil has openly marveled at the mere fact that he has survived those years.
Neil is just awesome . Love his voice and his guitar playing is so satisfying!
John Prine’s song Sam Stone is another good one.
A woman raised her hand.
“Both my sons are junkies and one of them killed himself… overdosed at 24 years old,” she said. “And my older son is struggling with it now. But I’ve played that song since I was 14 years old and I killed my fingers on every note. I’ve always wondered what you meant by ‘every junkie’s like a setting sun.’” Young answered:
“The song’s pretty straightforward. When I said every junkie’s like a setting sun, it’s like, if that’s what you’re gonna do, you’re not gonna… you’re gonna go down,” Young said. “You can’t do that. Very few people have been able to hold on to that for their whole lives. And their lives have been affected, and even the most successful ones have ended up dying suddenly…”
“It’s such a sad thing, and I totally feel for you,” he told her. “But it’s going to be all right. There’s nothing you can do. You’re you and they’re them, and that’s the thing to remember, is that we’re all different, and we’re not responsible for the decisions that each other make. We can only try to guide, but we can’t take the blame.”
Peace out
Great song! The setting sun, dying slowly because of addiction. My friends brother came back from Vietnam so messed up. He ended up dead from an overdose of heroin. So sad😔. Love your channel✌️
So sorry to hear that 😢 but thank you!
Such a tender song too.
Yep. Check out the 27 club. So many musicians that died at that age because of heroin!
Enjoyed your commentary at the end.💪 Yes, a sad song but musically it's very soothing, imo. Clean, crisp guitar work matched with his nasally monotone voice sounds so good together. That's why they erupted as soon as he hit the first 2 notes. Extremely popular song - still to this day gets air time on classic rock stations.
His voice is like an instrument that conveys so much. Many times he has happy songs like the one about the Bluejay and the one called Hank about his dog.
Setting sun... what goes up, must come down...and fade away
One of the most powerful songs ever written imho
This song gives me chills. Thank God that many do recover.
Amazing! If you haven't already, "Powderfinger", and "Cortez the Killer", with Crazy Horse, are a must!!!
Preferably live!!! 😃
This song means a lot to me. I love Neil Young. But I also lost my love to heroin, first when he was addicted and then when he OD’d. He left behind his broken hearted daughter. 10 years and we still miss him so much.
To get away from Neil's voice being melancholic try some of his rocking songs - Like A Hurricane , Cowgirl In The Sand , Tonights The Night , Powderfinger , Cortez The Killer.
Yep, can't wait until he starts hitting the electric stuff (my absolute favourite stuff is the acoustic material, but I can't wait for him to get to the contrast)
@@rebeccaburnell9319 He'll find out why Neil is called the Godfather of Grunge
A sunset is a beautiful thing but it slowly goes down and is forever gone
First song I learned on the guitar. As it is simple with just a few chords.
Love your honest and vulnerable reactions. So glad I found your channel!
Yeah.. every junkie fades away, and those beautiful people fade away, and you can only watch this beautiful person fade away and marvel that it was even here...
I find it incredibly hard to decide which Neil Young song's my favourite. Needle's become the answer I default to, if someone insists. ❤️
I personally feel Neil's voice isn't depressing - I find it so incredibly beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes.
*And* he sings a lot of sad material, lol.
Setting sun, to me is about light disappearing
The sun sets, it’s inevitable, and when it’s over the lights go out.
The way I took that line, is he's saying every day the junkie is close to the end. It can happen any time they use. Eventually, it will happen. His voice is so hauntingly beautiful and so perfect for this song. He's a genius.❤ I think I recommended this song to you and alot of other people. It's just too good not to know about. 😊❤
he is a master , one the greats
"I sing this song because I loved the man, I know that some of you don't understand".
I found an interview and Neil said this is what that line meant "“The song’s pretty straightforward. When I said every junkie’s like a setting sun, it’s like, if that’s what you’re gonna do, you’re not gonna… you’re gonna go down,” Young said. “You can’t do that. Very few people have been able to hold on to that for their whole lives. And their lives have been affected, and even the most successful ones have ended up dying suddenly…”
Brilliant songwriter. You should do a reaction to the acoustic opening of the Live Rust album
"Don't Let It Bring You down" by him would fit right in. Studio version since the guitar work is important. The chords are dark and very interesting (tuned his guitar differently) . And so are the lyrics. Pure poetry.
got you, thank you dude, good guy, it hurts
How does he do that? It sounds like 2 acoustic guitars playing!
❤❤❤❤❤
He doesn't only have sad songs.... try the song Rockin' In The Free World... It's a rocking banger. Don't do an acoustic version but do the original recording.
I just found you today and you're doing great reactions. It really shows that your putting in the effort to give some feedback. Have a feeling you will quickly become my favorite. Great Work. Artie was the best.
Yeah, he can be depressing, but he’s also a great songwriter, takes on subjects other people won’t touch, and is a master of sound and texture. I’ve seen him play a country show at a Willie Nelson picnic, an acoustic show, and a couple of LOUD, electric feedback shows with Crazy Horse, and the two songs he’s played every time are “Powderfinger” and this song, which was inspired by Danny Whitten, who played the other guitar on his ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’ album and guitar and co-lead vocal on “Cinnamon Girl”.
Some of my favourite music from anywhere, ever. 💔
this is one of my favorites by Neil. I don't know what hits me harder, his line " every junkie is like a setting sun" or just how the song just sort of fades off and ends abruptly.....
I suggest “Powderfinger” for a completely different sound from Neil Young. It’s a fantastic song. 🌺✌️
The sorrow of understanding the heroin is going to kill your loved one. Perfectly captured
Try Harvest moon. A nice love song
MMB.. Howard Stern? (okay, then...).. this is a beautiful tribute to a close friend and the struggles that are gone through because of addiction... hard to hear, but I'm glad you did...
Every junkie is like a setting son to me means they have to eventually go down, like the sun
Thanks for the reaction!!! A lot of the times when he intros this song in concert. He speaks about there is a place somewhere , where all of the art that didn't get made exists but didn't actually get made because of overdoses.
My thoughts are irrelevant on what to take from the verse" Every Junkie is like a setting Sun"... depending on your mindset a sunset is beautiful, inevitable ,sorrowful, or hopeful .
As far as more upbeat tunes...Cinnamon Girl (I would suggest from the 1991 tour it shows the crowds reaction to the tune)...When You Dance( I can really Love) full title not my take on said song... Sedan Delivery... Prisoners of Rock and Roll...Blue Notes or Buffalo Springfield versions of " On the Way home" I personally dig the Blue notes version gotta love a brass and horn section.
You have to listen to Harvest Moon ,my friend....................Neil has an upbeat side man...........give it a listen .
You should check out Cold Turkey by John Lennon, about withdrawal symptoms while trying to kick a heroin habit.
John Prine!!!
Many times Neil’s voice does seem like a downer though try doing Like a Hurricane which is more of a rocker and is a bit different!
Neil is now 78 & is still touring. Heart of Gold is my fav. I grew up on his stuff, being 70 myself. He 'lost his band' Crosby, Still, Nash & Young. Lots of infighting apparently, so it became Crosby, Still & Nash. No Young, He is better off solo, doing his folk type rock music, his way. He writes his stuff too.
Wow, If Artie's your "golden age" Howard Stern in-studio comedian, Jackie "Joke Man" Martling (1983-2001) has got to be STONE age! (Jeez, I am SO doxxing myself here! 😅) Seriously, tho, yeah, Neil always kept things 💯 with his music, even if people didn't appreciate such honesty. See "Ohio" and "Southern Man" for those controversies.
The BRILLANT ,Mr. Neil Young ! Oh Canada ! :)
It's real because he watched his beloved friends die from heroin. This song is 40 years old and TRUTH.
For some, the sun doesn't rise again.
What has two thumbs and the first comment? This guuuuuuuy 👍👍
LOL thanks so much!!!
Every junky is going down no matter what. Sad but true.
Neil lost two close friends, roadie Bruce Berry and rhythm guitarist (with Crazy Horse) Danny Whitten in a short time. Danny was part of his band recording the Harvest album and couldn't hold it together. Young have him $50 to get a ride home. Whitten used the money to score some dope that very day and died from it.
His album Tonight's the Night is kind of a eulogy for these guys and one of the darker efforts of Neil's career. He mentions Berry by name in both versions of the title track.
Tonight's the Night is a rough album to listen to, at first. On repeated listenings, there is a raw beauty to it that just blows me away. Most people dismiss it after one listen but if you stick with it, it is an extraordinary collection and one of the deepest dives for anyone studying Neil's poetry.
I lost two cousins to the needle. They both overdosed on heroin.
I’m so sorry! I hope you keep them in your heart on your journey through life friend! Peace and Love!!!
I love the song and it’s a great performance, but the audience is irritating. It’s cool to get loud and vocal on many songs, but there were a handful of idiots in this audience who couldn’t read the room and felt it this song was a good time to try and clap along to the beat and yell “woo!” Not trying to be the concert police, but holding your applause until the end of quiet acoustic songs isn’t some obscure custom.
Artie was the only reason i listened to Howard, Howard was must listen radio in the 80's, he's unlistenable now
Agree!
❤❤❤