Song of the Day: Neil Young - Don't Let it Bring You Down (Live '71)

Old man lying by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by,
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
And the building scrape the sky,
Cold wind ripping down the allay at dawn
And the morning paper flies,
Dead man lying by the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes.
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

Blind man running through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand,
Come on down to the river of sight
And you can really understand,
Red lights flashing through the window in the rain,
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying in a gutter in the lane,
If you're walking home alone.

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

"Don't Let It Bring You Down" is the seventh track on Neil Young [1]'s album After the Gold Rush [2]. It was written by Young. It also appears on the 1971 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young [3] live album Four Way Street [4] as well as Young's 2007 album Live at Massey Hall 1971 [5], which was recorded in 1971. John Reed wrote an arrangement of this for The Hampton String Quartet [6] in 2006.

On the CSNY Live Album Four Way Street [4], Young says, "Here is a new song, it's guaranteed to bring you right down, it's called 'Don't Let It Bring You Down'. It sorta starts off real slow and then fizzles out altogether." The crowd then roars with laughter.