Down by the River (Neil Young song)
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- "The Losing End" (US)
- "Cinnamon Girl" (Alternate version) (UK)
| "Down by the River" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Young and Crazy Horse | ||||
| from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | May 14, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | January 17, 1969 | |||
| Studio | Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 9:13 (Album version) 3:35 (Single version) | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter | Neil Young | |||
| Producers |
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| Neil Young and Crazy Horse singles chronology | ||||
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"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young explained the context of the story in the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade, stating that he wrote "Down by the River", "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever.[3][4][5]
The lyrics tell the story of someone who killed his lover by shooting her after feeling unable to continue from the emotional highs of their relationship.[6] Young himself has provided multiple explanations for the lyrics. In an interview with Robert Greenfield in 1970, a year after the song was released, Young claimed that "there's no real murder in it. It's about blowing your thing with a chick. It's a plea, a desperate cry."[5] Later, when introducing the song in New Orleans on September 27, 1984, Young said that the song depicts a man "who had a lot of trouble controlling himself" who catches his woman cheating on him, then meets her down by the river and shoots her.[5][7] According to Young, the local sheriff comes to the man's house and arrests him a few hours later.[7]
"Down by the River" begins with electric guitars followed by bass guitar and snare drum before the vocals begin.[6] The vocal sections are taken at a slow tempo.[6] There are long instrumental passages after each of the first two refrains, during which Young plays short, staccato notes on his guitar and incorporates distortion.[6] The song is composed in the key of E minor. The verse follows a chord progression of Em7-A while the pre-chorus is Cmajor7-Bm-Cmajor7-Bm-C-Bm-D and the chorus is G-D-D-A.
Upon the single release, Record World said that Young "sparkles in this solo outing which has some 'Hey Joe' influence in it."[8] Cash Box called it an "excellent sample of [Young's] soloist strength."[9] Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield called "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" the "key tracks" on Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, calling them "long, violent guitar jams, rambling over the nine-minute mark with no trace of virtuosity at all, just staccato guitar blasts sounding as though Young is parachuting down into the middle of the Hatfield-McCoy feud."[10] In one solo, the same staccato note is repeated 38 times. In 2015, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio wrote, "If I was ever going to teach a master class to young guitarists, the first thing I would play them is the first minute of Neil Young's original "Down by the River" solo. It's one note, but it's so melodic, and it just snarls with attitude and anger. It's like he desperately wants to connect."[11] Brett Milano of uDiscoverMusic rated Young's guitar solo as one of the 100 all-time greatest, stating that "it begins with almost nothing – the pure menace of one note played again and again – and builds to a pile of hulking riffs.[12]
Personnel
- Neil Young – electric guitar, vocal
- Danny Whitten – electric guitar, backing vocal
- Billy Talbot – bass
- Ralph Molina – drums, backing vocal
