Helpless

by Neil Young

There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless.

Comment: Whenever I hear this beautiful, mournful song I can't help but listen to the words. Isn't it funny how there are some songs where you never notice the words and others you can't help but? Maybe it's that certain words in the poem really catch a listener's attention like "north Ontario". How often do you hear that part of the world referenced? I also love "And in my mind/I still need a place to go,/All my changes were there." It's unexplainable how certain places live within a person's poetic memory. I haven't been to my childhood home in Pennsylvania for over five years now, but still whenever I dream of "home" I dream of my bedroom there. It's so locked within my psyche, that when I have a dream about seeing my parents again I never dream about their home in Boulder, I always dream about our house in Pennsylvania. It's strange how the details of my childhood bedroom are so vivid and second-hand.

I still wonder about the dirge-like chorus. What does he mean that he is left "helpless, helpless, helpless", in the face of these memories of nature and place? I'm not quite sure what it all means. Thoughts?

I love this song so much I've thought about trying to learn it on guitar, but there is a part of me that does not think I could do it a shred of justice. I'm sure countless people have tried to describe the unique nature of Neil Young's voice, but there is something about his delicate and fragile, falsetto-like warble combined with the lyrics that make this song poignant. Needless to say, my voice is nowhere near as expressive. It might be one of those songs that's better left to someone else to sing. And I'm just meant to listen.

If you actually want to hear the song, it was first recorded on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu. I first heard it on a greatest hits album called So Far. I wish I knew how to upload sound files to the blog, but alas I do not. Also, we don't yet have this album downloaded. But you might be able to hear a sample free on amazon or elsewhere or you can always buy it from itunes.