Shelter me from the powder and the finger
“Neil Young ” by Per Ole Hagen
As we saw earlier in the week, there’s great controversy about “Powderfinger” and what story it is trying to tell us. What always gets to me about this song are the two things that I know it’s about for sure. First, that boat is coming down the river and it’s officially, authoritatively not good. The details tell me so: big red beacon, a flag, a man on the rail, numbers on the side, and a gun.
Second, this is a love song to and about what is already lost. That is, the friends, family, and loved ones that this young man is going to raise his rifle to defend are almost all already gone to him in one way or another. In addition to the boat, this is the second thing that the song’s details tell me: John – not there; Daddy – “gone”; brother – out in the mountains; Big John – incapacitated with drink; Emmy Lou – taken by the river; and, finally, his love – she’s somewhere, but not there for him to say goodbye to. This young man is left alone to carry on and defend what he’s already essentially lost.
As we also saw earlier, as much as everyone else has to say about this song, Young himself has very little to say, except to underline the notion that a proper focus on the song reveals its inherent anger and angst.
But when I hear this song, I often think about something else that Young said – not about this song but, rather, about the death of his Crazy Horse bandmate, Danny Whitten, who died of a heroin overdose in 1972.
As the story goes, despite having let him go from the band a few times before because of his heroin use, Young had asked Whitten to play on his upcoming tour promoting Harvest. He had to fire him again, though, sending him away in protest with some cash and a plane ticket. Later that same night, Whitten died. In an interview, Young recalled that night as follows:
We were rehearsing with him and he just couldn’t cut it. He couldn’t remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. ‘It’s not happening, man. You’re not together enough.’ He just said, ‘I’ve got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?’ And he split. That night the coroner called me and told me he’d ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and…insecure.
The sentiment sounds familiar — again, it reminds me of the young man in “Powderfinger.” Even worse for Young, just a few months later band roadie Bruce Berry also died of an overdose. Young has stated numerous times that he felt directly responsible for Whitten’s death for years, and indirectly for Berry’s. It’s not like he didn’t see it all coming. Prior to Whitten’s death, Young had already memorialized his drug use in the soul-searing “Needle and the Damage Done.” There is no doubt, no uncertainty, no ambiguity, no debate as to what this song is about:
“The Needle and the Damage Done,” Neil Young
performing on the Johnny Cash show
After Whitten and Berry died, Young memorialized them both not just with a song, but with a whole album — 1975’s Tonight’s the Night, a direct expression of death, disaster, and accompanying feelings of loss, guilt, and anger. The album has been called Young’s only “conceptually cohesive record.” And, again, there is no doubt, no uncertainty, no ambiguity, no debate as to what the title track is about:
“Tonight’s the Night,” Neil Young
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Also in 1975, a few months after the release of Tonight’s the Night, Young recorded the solo acoustic version of “Powderfinger,” later sending it to his friend Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynrd. We already know that story.
Every junkie’s like a setting sun. The sun has set before, and it’s going to set again, tonight. Tonight’s the night. There’s a boat coming up the river. The river has taken many before, and it’s going to take someone again, today. Today’s the day. Sometimes it’s just that we help the setting and the taking move along.
In the face of such inevitable loss, and our role in it, we can stand on the bank and raise a temporarily reassuring rifle, or we can pick up and play an angry, sad, consoling guitar. In this song they both provide temporary shelter. Otherwise, we’re just standing there alone, looking out, helpless.I’m a sap; you knew I was going to go there:
“Helpless,” Neil Young, Massey Hall, 1971
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What is “Powderfinger” about? Is it about Young’s lost family members and fallen friends? No. Yes. Is it about someone else’s lost family members and fallen friends? No. Yes. Is about some other specific tragedy? No. Yes. Is it about you and yours? No. Yes. It’s about what they are all about about, as Ken has explained: survival by ballad. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thanks for reading.
“Powderfinger,” Neil Young, acoustic demo