NightTimeConcealmentX91 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu fhtagn Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Neil couldn't think of anything that rhymes with "Vicious"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightTimeConcealmentX91 Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Still why doesn't it make sense? For real this time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMac Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 A lot of Happy Neil's lyrics only make sense to him. One of my favorites though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The "king" is Elvis. ARTIST: Neil Young TITLE: My My, Hey Hey Lyrics and Chords My my, hey hey Rock and roll is here to stay It's better to burn out than to fade away My my, hey hey / Am G F - / / C G Am F / 1st / Out of the blue and into the black They give you this, but you pay for that And once you're gone, you can never come back When you're out of the blue and into the black The king is gone but he's not forgotten This is the story of Johnny Rotten It's better to burn out than it is to rust The king is gone but he's not forgotten Hey hey, my my Rock and roll can never die There's more to the picture Than meets the eye Hey hey, my my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think you'll find the line is actually; "Is this the story of Johnny Rotten?" EDIT : Here's a cut'n'paste from a lyric site; The king is gone but he's not forgotten Is this the story of johnny rotten? It's better to burn out 'cause rust never sleeps The king is gone but he's not forgotten. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightTimeConcealmentX91 Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 What Neil is saying is that it is better for a rocker to die relatively young (like Elvis) and be remembered as a RnR god, than to rust like Johnny Rotten or Mick Jagger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The song was released in 1979 and was Young's reflection on the music industry turning away from his type of old school rock and roll to embrace the new sounds of Punk and New Wave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 What Neil is saying is that it is better for a rocker to die relatively young (like Elvis) and be remembered as a RnR god, than to rust like Johnny Rotten or Mick Jagger. Jagger, with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps; but considering 'Rust Never Sleeps' was recorded at various venues between '76 and '78 - the exact same time-frame when the Pistols were at their peak - I suspect Mr. Young is more likely to be musing on whether J.R. is going to 'burn out' rather than describing him as an old has-been... I could, of course, be wrong! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Good work Searcy. So the king IS Elvis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmonics101 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 NO ONE does lyrics better than Neil. And even after 30 years, he's coming up with awesome lyrics, like on the Harvest Moon album. "I used to watch her float across the floor. She grew up in a small down. Never put her roots down. Her momma kept movin' so she did too" "Somewhere on a dessert Island, she rides a Harley Davidson. Her long blonde hair flyin' in the wind" Yep, he's the KING of lyrics that's fer sure :) Harmonics101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 NO ONE does lyrics better than Neil. Harmonics101 I agree. And I love Harvest Moon, too. He also has some great melodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The only lyrics I listen to are Neil Fallon's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMac Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The only lyrics I listen to are Neil Fallon's! Not my fav comedian but he sure does great musical impersonations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Not my fav comedian but he sure does great musical impersonations. Thats Jimmy Fallon. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Maybe there's nothing to understand with the lyric. Maybe the rhyme was right for what was in Neil's mind at the time. We humans tend to have a need to fret over things like lyrics. I can still hear the dirty words in "Louie Louie," even though the actual words have been produced by The Kingsmen over and over. I can still swear it's a dirty song, even though it was an old sea shanty. "Whiter Shade of Pale" is another song that has many trying to give the so-called "right" interpretation of the lyrics. Most lean toward the song being about drugs, others claim it's drugs and prostitution. Keith Reid, the songwriter, says it's about the relationship between a man and woman and has nothing to do with drugs or hookers, etc. He says that when the song was written, he was a very innocent young man and had very little knowledge of the seedy side of life. He says that the lyrics were simply a bunch of words formed into a story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windmills Optional Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I was lucky enough to be at the first show of the Rust Never Sleeps tour in September 1978 and my sense then (and now) is that Neil was referring to Johnny & the Sex Pistols rather spectacular burn out earlier in the year when they broke up after playing in San Francisco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 . This is Neil in the late 70s writing about his own falling popularity/relevance/rusting in the changing rock scene, especially against the growing popularity of punk. Should he chuck it like Johnny Rotten? No, he goes for it and embraces punk a bit, and releases a killer album. It's a great song, with two popular performances by Neil - album/electric version and an acoustic version - so there's a bit of confusion on the lyrics. From the Rust Never Sleeps album .............................. Acoustic version lyric changes Hey hey, my my Rock and roll can never die There's more to the picture Than meets the eye Hey hey, my my Out of the blue and into the black You pay for this, but they give you that ...................... They give you this, but you pay for that And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black The king is gone but he's not forgotten Is this the story of Johnny Rotten It's better to burn out, rust never sleeps .................... It's better to burn out than to fade away The king is gone but he's not forgotten Hey hey, my my ................................................ My my, hey hey Rock and roll can never die ................................... Rock and roll is here to stay There's more to the picture than meets the eye ................ It's better to burn out than to fade away Hey hey, my my ............................................... My my, hey hey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The ultimate irony. For a time Johnny Rotten had a television show doing weird things, and in one episode tried to get in to see and talk to Young about this very song. He never made it past security. A PR person finally came out and told him to basically get lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMac Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I've always loved the sound and "feel" Neil's music. I'm not a very skilled player or singer but some of his stuff is simple enough for even me to lean. But when I sing them the lyrics often seem meaningless and I feel silly singing them. Same with covers that I've heard. Neil "owns" those songs and it seems that only he can make sound right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 "Lyric's....the time wasted, between guitar solos!" (Just kidding!) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 NO ONE does lyrics better than Neil. And even after 30 years, he's coming up with awesome lyrics, like on the Harvest Moon album. "I used to watch her float across the floor. She grew up in a small down. Never put her roots down. Her momma kept movin' so she did too" "Somewhere on a dessert Island, she rides a Harley Davidson. Her long blonde hair flyin' in the wind" Yep, he's the KING of lyrics that's fer sure :) Harmonics101 Not to be a jerk, but it's Somewhere on a desert highway . I know because Unknown Legend is my favorite song on Harvest Moon. So you get a nod from me for having excellent taste. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 . This is Neil in the late 70s writing about his own falling popularity/relevance/rusting in the changing rock scene, especially against the growing popularity of punk. Should he chuck it like Johnny Rotten? No, he goes for it and embraces punk a bit, and releases a killer album. This is the meaning behind the song. Great post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmonics101 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hey EVOL, no offense taken, glad you corrected me :) That sounds MUCH better. Must have had Gilligan on my mind LOL Harmonics101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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