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FIRST TIME REACTING TO | Neil Young "Southern Man"
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Out of the Blue. Cinnamon Girl the Needle and the Damage Done. Cowgirl in the Sand. Neil Young has alot of great stuff
All best heard in live versions
Love Cinnamon Girl!! 💕
Cinnamon Girl and Cowgirl In the Sand are two fantastic, underrated songs. Those two might be my favorite of his, with Southern Man third.
Ohio is another one. He was great when it came to protest songs.
This is early 70s right on the heels of the Civil Rights movement. Neil was calling it out. He did that about a lot of things. Listen to Needle and the Damage Done. He is the "Young" in CSN&Y. He played with Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield who also did socially conscious songs.
Oh yeah!! Very great choices
Yeah, he wrote the song in early 70s, this performance is early 90s, his tour with Booker T and the MGs as his band
Your perception of Neil Young leaving his soul while performing is spot on . He does that in all his performances.
Neil Young is from Canada and it’s wild to think when he was young he was once in a band with Rick James.
The Mynah Birds!
Neil took the drop "D" tuning he worked with in the 60's along with Steven Stills, then electrified it. The sound he came up with has forever nicknamed him the "Godfather of Grunge" Thus another musical chapter began thanks to Neil.
Drop D tuning was popular in so many tunes and electrified before this...
@@tommack9395 he didn't say this was the first one.
Yeah, he was the beginning of grunge wasn't he.
Freakin best Neil solo ive seen!.. Love ourLegend. I saw him back in70s... 🇨🇦🙏.
@@pamhunter-to4xs Agree very talented NOT always agree with his Political views, but musically he is near genius status. Lucky you to have those memories. I lived the 70's during the sex, drugs, rock & roll era, played in bands and everyone that knew me back then tells me I had a GREAT time. (LOL) JK
Neil Young is one of the only musician who started playing in the sixties, who never sold out to commercialism. Neil Young will always be a legion.
Unfortunately he did sell out in 2021. If you know you know.
@@TheRandian1Yes he did
@@TheRandian1 Big time!
True, however, given his age he wanted to have at least some say in how his legacy is addressed after his death as opposed to letting who knows who dictate and profit after he's gone.
@@TheRandian1 He has equal say in how his music is used, 50 percent of the rights of some songs were sold
The civil Rights act was passed in 1964. This is from "after The Gold Rush" 1970. Neil was calling out the southern man, because so little had changed. If you look at Neil's Catalog, you might find that Neil produces what might be considered "A State Of The Union" review, for lack of a better description of the previous decade. Try "Rockin' In The Free World" 1990. Neil can be very passionate, but at the same time he's also written some beautiful ballads.
Yes Definitely calling out the Southern Man , plantation’s, slavery , segregation, racism, KKK , and right and wrong don’t forget what the good book said
Don't get me wrong because I always loved this song and covered it, but it comes from one perspective, and is why Skynryd replied. Simply you really can't place everyone in a collective group or a box. Slavery was abolished, Jim crow laws were non-existent and segregation was more of a sundown instance at the time this song was written.
I was born in Pennsylvania where none of those things were ever used or prevalent (slavery abolished in Pa. before the U.S. was even a nation)... however being my grand-parents were born in Poland I understand how communities are and were segregated.
@@tommack9395Being a current resident of PA, FYI, the KKK and other extreme racist groups are alive and kickin here - unfortunately
Just because a song is written in a time period doesn't mean it's about that time. I'm sure the protagonist didn't see bullwhips cracking in 1970.@@tommack9395
@@tommack9395 So you can only write songs about current events?
It was hardly about slavery. The Klan, police repression and segregation were current events.
This is a scathing rebuke of injustice in the south.
No. its just Commie Propaganda in song format...
It's stereotyping millions of people. FYI, more Southerners fought in WWII then from Canada. That generation gave him his soft life.
@@HBFTimmahh If equal rights is commie propaganda, sign me up.
Neil is legend and ahead of his time
@@fittrad3r687 Of course more Southern boys joined, Canada has less than one tenth of the people in the U.S. How does going to war make someone less racist? They also went to war to protect slavery in the South in the Civil War.
Neil is the most passionate vocalist and performer. It’s why we love him dearly.
Neil Young one of the great singer songwriters of my generation thank you ❤❤❤❤
He ain't croaked.
Neil Young is brilliant. If you’re gonna listen to him again, OLD MAN is a MUST if you haven’t already.
Neil himself thought he could not sing. Then he said he hears Bob Dylan and his hits and said I can sing my own songs. He would not have been in CSNY if he could NOT sing. Check out Harvest Moon you should find this a delight.
Whenever I hear someone say that Dylan “can’t sing” I say that neither can a lot of rock stars like Springsteen, Neil Young, etc.
i have angered people saying Springsteen cannot sing. As a musician and other musicians have agreed. Glad you see it that way as well.@@billfelsher5159
Neil is Canadian he stood up for all wrongs.
Canadian boys new how to rock in the 60,s and 70's
Neil Young jammed with Pearl Jam at the MTV Video Awards back in 1993 doing Keep On Rockin' In The Free World. The best live performance on MTV followed by Nirvana Unplugged. Definitely worth checking out.
Alice In Chains says hello
I grew up in Oklahoma, saw terrible racism. I was 15 years old when this song came out.
I was a Neil Young fan and so grateful when he came out with this.
Music like this helped me develop my awareness of injustice and inequalities to this day.
I remember listening to his music on my 8 track on the way to the Catholic school I went to.
Powerful.
Given the choice, I think Young would have foregone writing this song. At least that's the impression I got. It was harsh for people who happened to be "southern men" I wouldn't have felt this was necessary for a reaction on this channel. Very awkward. It is history, but not great entertainment.
When you say terrible racism, most people under 40 won't know how terrible. My Great Grandfather was one of the white men who participated in the famous Tulsa Massacre over 100 years ago. My father (dead 30 years ago) was a violent racist too. He was proud that my Great Grandfather killed 11 black men in 1 night in that Tulsa massacre. I'm aware of the continued VIOLENT racism in the '60s you are referring to. But I bet Britt doesn't get it because she's only 35 - which is why she doesn't fully understand the revolutionary nature of this song when a third of the country was against The Civil Rights Act.
I was born in Tulsa and lived there for 35 years.
I had never heard of the Tulsa Massacre until my son was in college in the late 90s. He was shocked I didn't know.
I was shocked, too, angry that it was never talked about, never taught.
I watch in horror as parts of our history, in some southern states and others, are being eliminated in schools. The book bannings, too.
Every American needs to be educated in all our history, good and bad.
Keeping people ignorant is a form of control. Eventually, they will find out, though.
I had 10 brothers and sisters, 8 now. None of us discussed what happened in our hometown, our parents, either.
I don't even know if some of my family still doesn't know, except our president did go down to Tulsa on the 100th anniversary. I was grateful he did that.
I don't live in that part of the country anymore, but my family, except for my son, does.
@@wanderer0617 I went to school in CA. Not once was the Tulsa Massacre mentioned. Americans are the most propagandized people in any developed country. We have to be to go along with never-ending warfare.
@@chrisjamieson3452that's the impression you want to have. Young has never stated regret for writing this song. When you look at the rest of his body of work it's ridiculous to think he would regret this song. This reaction is as much entertainment as any other song. Perhaps you can request that Britt insert trigger warnings for southern snowflakes into the beginning of her videos.
Check out "Ohio". He saw a news broadcast of the Kent Stae massacre and went for a walk in the woods. He came back 15 minutes later with the song written.
Neal Young was very much an activist in the 60s and 70s. He is calling out the southern man.
Southern Man is definitely talking bad about the racism in the south of the time because at the time they were still fighting to stop segregation. Neil Young has this and Alabama about the same things and Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote the song Sweet Home Alabama as a clap back too.
I like Muhammad Ali's take on forced integration. it's absolutely spot on. czcams.com/video/HqiWFLsgVi4/video.html
Yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" in response, then Ronnie Van Zant became good friends with Neil afterwards.
1.27.24. 🎸I can’t help but notice how quick people will use the good book to judge other people, but not utilize it for looking at themselves! Especially people who are atheist or agnostic⚠️. By the time this song was written, Jim crow laws already had a Morty bound wound.
Neil is legend and ahead of his time
@@stevensapyak7971 That rather oversimplifies things. By 1970 Jim Crow may have received a mortal wound, but it was very much over the objection (sometimes violent) of the Southern Man. It was the federal government that ended Jim Crow. After this song came out Alabama voted in George Wallace of segregation now, segregation forever fame. He would later renounce those views. (And there is some reason to believe he only adopted them in the first place because it was the only way to win elections in the South at the time). But this was a period when the South was very much embracing the Confederacy, the good old days when black people were property and not equal.
I don't know if Young was responding to some specific incident (as he did with Ohio). But it could well be the displays of confederate flags that flew when he played in the South. That is a flag that always became more popular in the South when the country as a whole forced civil rights on the South.
this is a song released in 1970. the civil rights movement is front of mind. Young is excoriating the 'southern man' telling him (them) that their time has come and gone.
I grew up listening to this, wonderful song and artist.
The original was on the After The Gold Rush (1970) lp. The whole lp is worth a listen.
Neil wrote the song, he is Canadian, his Mom's side had Americans in the family, they would often travel down south on road trips to FLA. I think he is pumped to be playing here with Booker T and the MGs, his backing band on this tour
I was very priviledged to watch Neil play in a small theater in Saarbruken, then West Germany, in 1978, while I was stationed there. It was an astounding show! All of this drama which you had pointed out and more. A very satisfying demonstration of guitar prowess!
"Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Swet Home Alabama. In response to this song and the song Neil did called 'Alabama'
This was Neil's commentary on what, as a Canadian. Written in early 70's as a response to the brutality that was happening to those fighting for their rights.
Neils acoustic and electric is as fine as you can get🤘❤️
Yea, this was Neil’s admonishment of the South…great tune! Neil Young is a rocker…and yes, does have a distinctive voice! Check out “After The Gold Rush”, pleeease!
Also try listening to the album version for better clarity. It is powerful.
Classic Neil Young❤
I am so glad to see you respect honest and truly passionate music and songwriting! Neil Young is one of the very best and you got every bit of his incredible point about injustice in his words and the amazing guitar work, which totally rocks and shows the pain he is trying to showcase. Excellent reaction video! Will watch more of your work!
Neil and Skynyrd (sweet home Alabama) definitely had one of the first and most famous rap battles of all time. History proves that Neil won this one in all fronts. Thank you uncle Neil.
A southern man doesn't need you around anyhow
Skynyrd had black musicians in the band...did Neil? (I'm in no way defending the problems in the South/US)
@@rexeverything1163Young had Rick James in his band back in Canada, also CSNY had a black bass player.
Correct, musically Young slayed Skynyrd, though racist aholes misinterpret Skynyrd's response all the time.
Skynyrd got defensive.
Some of us have been with the program since the start.
Britt your channel is awesome ,. Thank you - we are all as one on this floating ball in space .
Neil Young w Devo playing Rocking the Free World is the most bizarre collaboration videos .. If you want to check that out 😊
They did a movie together as well. Human Highway. It has Dennis Hopper, Russ Tamblyn, and Dean Stockwell in it. It is a very weird movie.
He's def calling out the southern man, about injustice and such. He's basically saying that shits going to change whether they are ready for it or not.
This is an older version of Neil Young. His voice was much clearer when he was younger. Cinnamon Girl and When You Dance are two classics. Love your reactions! : )
The sixties and early seventies ...music was used as social commentary. People were not afraid to speak out about wrong or right. An extremely creative time. I wish it was more like that now.. This is America...I think! I wish the youth would fully wake up.
Neil arrived in the USA from Canada in the 60's. He observations were quickly appearing in song lyrics that Nixon HATED. He wrote MANY songs anti-war, racism, The Ohio state shootings, etc Many other Canadian artists also wrote such great songs over the years too. "Universal Soldier" has a softer listen but important statement.
Neil Young , and to a certain extent CSN, made their early careers writing about social issues of the day. Late 60s, early 70s
Watching Neil young convinces me that he is definitely the father of grunge
Yes, Neil Young wrote it... and he's damning the southern man...
He's calling out the southern man .. through the eyes of an outside observer, the victims, God, etc .... ❤ from 🇨🇦
Neil Young is also known as the 'Godfather of Grunge'. ❤
Had the pleasure of seeing him in Abilene TX way back in the early 90s. One of the local news stations was talking to people leaving the show, and while most were positive reviews, there was one extraordinarily dense MF'er who said, "I like his music, I just wish he wasn't so political and just play his songs." My only thought was, it is Neil Young, what did you f*cking expect expect! Looking back, it was a sign of things to come.
Young is a Canadian by birth.
This is definitely a critique and condemnation of the historical South.
Neil and others from Canada arrived in the USA to a whole new attitude, new domain with the same electric lights and fast food stops. Many anti-war songs etc were from Canadian artists like Joni, Guess Who, The Band. Buffy wrote "Universal Soldier" and it was covered by a hundred other artists in the world.
There was also “The Patriot’s Dream” by Gordon Lightfoot
I believe the Southern rock band Lynard Skynard answered Neil’s call out of southern racism with Sweet Hone Alabama…one of The greatest rock songs ever. Neil and the leader of Lynard Skynard had a lot of respect for each other and were good friends throughout the exchange of lyrics and feelings about this period.
Definitely his original writing and his legitimate soul. Encouraged to speak up and effect change.
Neil Young, a Canadian treasure.
The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1970. Neil Young put this song out on his 1970 album After The Gold Rush. This was a time fraught with social activism and racial strife, race riots, protest marches.... The South did not give up Jim Crow easily during this era. Leonard Skynyrd's Alabama answered back, "Southern Man don't need him (Neil Young) around anyhow." He joined Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in a supergroup that gave voice to a generation of social revolution.
" The Godfather of Grunge " Can't really go wrong with good ol' Neil . He was never afraid of calling out wrongs. Very down to earth Canadian artist with a few decades behind him.
Young put his career at risk with this song, respect.
Love Neil Young. There was a southern reply song. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama.
"Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow"
Lynrd Skynrd wrote a big hit called "Sweet Home Alabama" in which they call out Neil Young due to his singing this anti-slavery, Jim crow Laws, song. It's most certainly worth a listen. and Neil is one of the Gods in rock in history.
Neil Young falls into the Tom Petty/Bob Dylan realm of guys with bad (but unique) vocals; but that don't matter. For these guys it's a PLUS! They are passionate and energetic and know how to make a statement with their music - both instrumentally and vocally. Neil is a bada** in the pop music world - Rock, Folk, Country, Techno, Rockabilly, you name it - electrically and acoustically. His 1979 "Rust Never Sleeps" album is a must listen. He ain't called the Godfather of Grunge for nothin'!
There were many Leonard Cohan, Steve Goodman, John Prine and many other that fit that class. But all were such brilliant writers, some of the best we had. Jim
He was calling out the southern man. I think he was telling them, your time is drawing to a close, better change your ways. I seem to recall that after this song came out, Lynyrd Skynyrd said, "Who the hell needs Neil Young, anyway,"
The first Grunge artist
I first heard this song on the album After the
Gold Rush in 1971 n thought the vocals were clean n powerful...the guitar seemed to evoke the lyrics
Oh, it was positively calling out the horrific racism in the south. This was still during a time of massive change in the south, and people were fighting it tooth and nail (still are!).
The South revolted by Lynyrd Skynyrd coming out with Sweet Home Alabama. “Well I heard Mr Young sing about her, I heard old Neil put her down.
Well I hope Neil Young will remember a Southern Man don’t need him around anyhow” …
Neil is a phenomenal singer with a phenomenal voice. He's an Icon and National Treasure. You should listen to some Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Neil young, a Canadian by the way, has been a human rights activist, an environmentalist and very political throughout his career. He is indeed calling out the "southern man" for their racism. Britt, you are correct that Neil is not the best vocalist of all time, but he is one of the best musicians and indeed an amazing song writer. This is his song and he has written many more fabulous songs. Check out his work with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Eg: "Teach your Children Well" , you won't be disappointed.
Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote Sweet Home Alabama in response to this . They even called out Neil in the song . You should listen to it .
The great thing about Neil is that he can do some Heavy Rock, then he can do the acoustic stuff as well and he does it all very well!!!
Neil Young did a number of songs with social comment Cortez the Killer, Ohio, The Needle and the Damage Done, Keep On Rockin' in the Free World... the list goes on...
Neil Young like Bob Dylan had an unusual vocal style and voice so most of their songs were about the message🎶🎶🎶🎶
"Sweet Home Alabama" was Lynyrd Skynyrd's response to this song by Neil Young.
I assumed it was a response to "Alabama", which was specifically aimed at the people of Alabama. "Southern Man" was a more general indictment of the South.
Yup Ronnie didn’t like calling them out! Did ya know Ronnie and Steven Van Zandt are brothers
@@ColetteMalette1 no they are not brothers
Sweet Home Alabama by Skynyrd is the response to this song and Alabama by Young. Skynyrd didn't believe in racism but it wasn't up to some Canadian to stick his nose into the happenings. And if the Sweet Home Alabama song you will hear them singing about the Governor (he believed in equal but separate by race) and Skynyrd background singers sing Boo Boo Boo as in they didn't believe in his policies
"I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern man don't need him around anyhow". Not exactly ambiguous. Drive-by Truckers "Ronnie and Neil" tells the story.
I loved his foray into electronic music, too, with songs like "Sample And Hold", "Computer Cowboy", and "Transformer Man".
Great song
And Lynyrd Skynyrd had the gall in "Sweet Home Alabama," which is a great song, BTW, to say:
"I miss Alabamy once again, and I think it's a sin, I said
Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow"
Yup --- nothin' to see here, we don't need to change no matter how much wrong we've done....
This is where the moniker "Grandfather of Grunge" comes from...amazing performance. I had thought the song was in response to another famous southern song...but could be wrong.
Neil Young has never been a great singer a guitarist, but he plays with such emotion that we feel as much as hear his music. At the same time, he's one of the top songwriters of all time.
When he says he's "gonna cut him down", it's a condemnation of the lynchings that were inflicted. At no time does Neil take the side of the racists who murdered so many. The same racists who would appear in Sunday church and have their terrible sins absolved.
In a way, have the day we all deserve.
Cinnamon Girl Southern Man and Down by the River is worth your time to listen to, thank you for sharing this with us.
Crosby ,stills, Nash and young… the kings of protest songs through the 60’s
He is definitely calling the Southern Man Out
This song PO'd Lynrd Skynyrd & they responded with "Sweet Home Alabama" and called out Neil Young,,,interesting note: Neil Young was Canadian
Neil would later walk back on this song saying he regretted painting all southern men with a broad brush.
The performances I like by him is when he's sitting on a stool playing a box guitar. One of my favorites is called "Od Man." Some of the lyrics are: 🎵 Old man... take a look at my life... I'm a lot like you were/are. 🎵 Edit.. also "Heart of Gold."
Mainly, your reaction and comments of the eras of old songs is genuine and golden. Your reactions to live versions of classic songs should, ideally, be coupled with the studio version, at some point. We who grew up with these songs on the radio (the AM dial, in fact) have deep connections to these dj played singles. Deep and primal, and this is the experience I think old timers love. I certainly do!
This was fantastic. Real rock and roll. Great reaction. Oh please play more Neil.
Hey Hartlor, you know how much I love Neil, but I am not a fan at all of this live performance. The audio isn't great, not his best guitar playing, and very far from his best vocal performance. I know Britt likes to do live performances, and there are much better ones out there. But surprisingly not as many good live ones as you find with some of his other songs. For this one I would have gone with the studio. Britt probably needs a reset with the 1971 BBC Live Old Man so she can see that he actually has a good voice. Of course some just don't like his high tenor tone.
@@LeeKennison I agree there is much better stuff. Hope she plays some more
This song is why Lynyrd Skynyrd said " Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her (Southern Man). Well, I heard Ol' Neil put her down. Well, I hope Neil Young will remember a southern man don't need him around, anyhow." in Sweet Home Alabama.
Stop
Britt you are officially an honorary Canadian. Neil Young, Norm Macdonald and Gordon Lightfoot!! Welcome to Canada!!! If you want to see a musical reaction, listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet home Alabama”
A living legend. He's not afraid of tackling important issues that most people want to stay away from. The subject here is
obviously about race. Specifically about how the blacks were treated when slavery was legal. Young has a strange style
of playing lead guitar. Yes, he plays and sings passionately and that's what makes him unique.
I have been a Neil young fan for 50 years. I think you did a good job analyzing the song. I also perform his work. Please listen to Cortez the Killer. Take care 16:21
Oh, yes, calling out the "Southern Man"!
Beautiful reaction. The 70 the best.
Remember the time period this song was written. Watch In the Heat of the Night.
such a good song and it is calling out or pointing out behavior and the emotion attached is amazing.
Great voice.... no... great singer..... yes
Neil Young, a true legend. Speaking the truth to ignorance and power
Neil Young "Southern Man"... This is the song mentioned in Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1st hit ... "Sweet Home Alabama"...
He once had a brilliant voice. He was a genius.
Listen to his earlier work.
Uncle NEIL...Thanks Britt!...(is a nickname many fans use for him)
Some of us just call him the Godfather of Grunge
this song prompted lynard skynard to write sweet home alabama, where they called him out by name in the song. Neil followed up with the song Alabama
This is a protest song by all means. Neil Young is from the generation that wrote all kinds of protest songs about the Vietnam war. The “Lilly belle” part I believe is from Neil’s perspective saying Noel say the black man while Noel was coming ‘round and that he was going to cut him down meaning stopping a lynching. Not in the more modern way meaning he was going to cut him down for coming around.
Just discovered You on the “Old Man” clip. You have the best reacts I’ve ever seen. I live for your face during the guitar solos haha. 0ff to watch more of your content.
Neil young addressed the issue of colonial genocide in Cortez the killer, another great song that demonstrates his commitment to human rights
Edit to add that cortez the killer also has a very long intro that conjures up images of a boat on a long journey and centuries passing by in an idyllic civiiization before impending, and catastrophic, contact
Cortex The Killer is so factually wrong it's ridiculous. I love Neil but he fucked up with that particular song.
@@shaynewest8757 I agree on the factual inaccuracies of the song, Neil really leaned into the “noble savage” trope here, as well as the idea that pre-columbian North America was some sort of garden of Eden. As Tahiti’ was for Rousseau, so was the Aztec Empire for Young, or at least in the imaginarium of Neil Young.
However, he wasn’t wrong about the genocidal ideology of the Spanish colonial project, or the disastrous consequences wrought by the likes of the conquistadores.
He's calling em out.
In response to this song, Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" in witch they replied:
"Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow"
one of the few guitars with it's own Wikipedia page - see the Old Black entry there.