Powderfinger by Neil Young

[schmidlin]

For some reason, woke up this morning with this song in my head & very sad. I wept for this story about man's timeless struggle against...
Anyone sense this?? Such a powerful song, yet a bit under the radar.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/powderfinger-lyrics-neil-young.html

 

[Rumblefish]

Well, I do love Neil Young but,that story leaves a lot to the imagination as to who and what. Not worth crying over to me.But knock yourself out.These days things get me all emotional that wouldn't have before.Probably age related for me.

 

[iamdavea]

LOVE the last verse:

Shelter me from the powder and the finger/
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger/
Just think of me as one you'd never figure/
Would fade away so young/
With so much left undone/
Remember me to my love, I know I'll miss her.

I only know the Live Rust version. It's a legitimately great song. After it's finished, you think, "Only Neil could have written that."

 

[Full Monty]

There are a few good cover versions out there, The Cowboy Junkies interpret the song in a very haunting fashion. No-one holds a candle to any of Neil's versions though.

 

[bgl]

my favorite neil song. i've always loved the way you're simply set down into the narrative as it's unfolding. great, novelistic imagery, but everything isn't spelled out for the listener. it's all implication. THAT, to me, is great writing...

 

[GrungeMan]

Love the guitar work!

Grungy

 

[speedtaco]

My favorite by Neil, such a great song.

 

[mrbungel]

Powerful song, killer lyrics and guitar parts.
Supposedly, it's about the American Civil war.
Awesome live version on Arc Weld.

 

[Tripower455]

Definitely one of my favorite Neil songs.......

 

[Victor R]

Look out, Mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river...

 

[vulture]

There are a few good cover versions out there, The Cowboy Junkies interpret the song in a very haunting fashion. No-one holds a candle to any of Neil's versions though.

The Beat Farmers do a great cover.

 

[mrbungel]

Lookout mama there's a dead rat floatin in the river...

 

[Powderfinger]

Powerful song, killer lyrics and guitar parts.
Supposedly, it's about the American Civil war.
Awesome live version on Arc Weld.

I always heard Vietnam from the vietnamese's standpoint. But who really knows. Great song.

 

[mrbungel]

http://wesclark.com/jw/powderfinger.html

 

[TimD]

My band does this song from time to time, it's one of my favorites to play.
I love Neil and this tune. Another recent fav is Cowgirl in the Sand. I'd like to add that to the setlist.

Tim

 

[Powderfinger]

http://wesclark.com/jw/powderfinger.html

Not much of a source there. Just says Neil said it, with no cite. May be right. There's a lot of fascinating discussion online about what this song means.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=65

http://metachat.org/index.php/2005/10/18/powderfinger_by_neil_young

http://www.jstor.org/pss/853572

http://www.thrasherswheat.org/fot/powderfinger.html

 

[JDW3]

I was just reintroduced to that song as we watched the Rust Never Sleeps movie. I was blown away. The entire movie is amongst the best concert documents ever, but Powderfinger really stands out.

 

[sanhozay]

my favorite neil song. i've always loved the way you're simply set down into the narrative as it's unfolding. great, novelistic imagery, but everything isn't spelled out for the listener. it's all implication. THAT, to me, is great writing...

Well stated!

 

[Victor R]

 

[Plague Dog]

There's an Australian band that took the name Powderfinger because of that song.

There is so much Neil Young material I would have a hard time choosing one as my favorite... it would change day to day, week to week. But that one would always be in my top 6-7