Helpless

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Helpless
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
publication March 11, 1970
length 3:33
Genre (s) Folk music
Author (s) Neil Young
Label Atlantic Records
album Déjà-vu

Helpless is a song by Neil Young , the 1970 by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) on their album Déjà Vu was released.

Emergence

The song had already been recorded with Young's band Crazy Horse in early 1969 when his CSNY bandmates convinced him that the song would suit them better. Young had been a member of the band since mid-1969.

The composition is very simple, repeating a melody over a descending DAG chord progression . Different versions of the song were recorded before finally settling on the slow version. In this final version, Young sang the verses, his bandmates starting in the chorus.

In 1951, there was a polio epidemic in Canada and Neil Young developed polio when he was five. His left half of his body was permanently damaged, which has resulted in a slightly limping gait to this day. He later processed the memories of this time in the song Helpless .

The "northern Ontario city" mentioned on the first line of the song has often been adopted as the hometown of Young of Ontario. Young said of this in a 1995 interview with Mojo (magazine) Mojo:

“Well, it's literally not so much a city as a feeling. Actually, it's a couple of cities. Omemee in Ontario is one of them. I went to elementary school there and spent my 'formative' years. "

- Neil Young

reception

The song became a cherished song on the Déjà Vu album. Peter Doggett of Q magazine saw it as "one of the album's showpieces".

"Neil Young contributes this breathtaking nostalgic lament on his debut as a member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, one of the best three-chord songs of all time."

- Bill Janovitz

Musician

  • Neil Young - vocals, guitar
  • David Crosby - harmony vocals
  • Stephen Stills - harmony vocals, guitar , keyboard
  • Graham Nash - harmony vocals

Additional musicians

  • Dallas Taylor - drums , percussion
  • Greg Reeves - bass
  • Tiffany Palmer - vocals

Cover versions

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matthias Schütt: Society: teething problems of rock'n'roll | svz.de. Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
  2. Neil Young Interview MOJO Magazine Pt # 2. Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
  3. ^ Helpless - Neil Young | Song info. Retrieved December 21, 2019 (American English).
  4. ^ Helpless (the last waltz). Accessed December 21, 2019 (German).