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Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)

"Helpless"
A single sleeve with the text "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young" printed at the top. Immediately below is an image of all 4 members performing live. Beneath that image, in the bottom left, are the names of the 2 songs on the single: 'WOODSTOCK', in all-caps and larger font (to signify it is the A-Side), and 'Helpless', in title-case and smaller font. In the bottom right, there is the Atlantic Records logo as well as the text 'Stereo-Mono' and 'Atl. 70.430' (its catalog number). The entire sleeve is printed in monochrome black-and-white.
Swedish single cover
Single by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
from the album Déjà Vu
A-side"Woodstock"
ReleasedMarch 11, 1970
RecordedNovember 7, 1969
StudioWally Heider
Genre
Length3:33
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young singles chronology
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
(1969)
"Helpless"
(1970)
"Teach Your Children"
(1970)

"Helpless" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) on their 1970 album Déjà Vu. Young played the song with The Band in the group's final concert with its original lineup, The Last Waltz, on American Thanksgiving Day 1976 at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, with Joni Mitchell providing backing vocals offstage.[2]

Composition and lyrics

In 1951, there was a polio epidemic in Canada and Neil Young contracted polio at the age of five. The left side of his body was permanently damaged, leaving him with a slight limp to this day. He later processed his memories of this time in the song Helpless.[3]

The "northern Ontario town" mentioned in the first line of the song has often been assumed to be Young's Ontario hometown. Young said in a 1995 interview in Mojo magazine:

Well, it's literally not so much a specific city as a feeling. It's actually a couple of towns. Omemee, Ontario, is one of them. That's where I went to primary school and spent my "formative" years.[4]

The song had already been recorded with Young's band Crazy Horse in early 1969. After Young joined the band CSNY in mid-1969, his new bandmates convinced him that the song would suit them better. Different versions of the song were recorded before they finally decided on the slow version. In this final version, Young sang the verses and his bandmates joined in on the chorus.[5]

Reception

Peter Doggett from Q magazine saw it as "one of the album's flagship tracks". Meanwhile, Bill Janovitz from All Music called the song a "stunning nostalgic lament" and "one of the best three-chord songs of all time".[6]

Personnel

CSNY

Additional personnel

References

  1. ^ "The 100 Greatest Neil Young Songs". Rolling Stone. 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ Kinos-Goodin, Jesse (November 24, 2016). "10 things you should know about the Band's Last Waltz". CBC.ca.
  3. ^ Schütt, Matthias (11 May 2022). "Kinderkrankheiten des Rock'n'Roll | SVZ". SVZ.de.
  4. ^ "Neil Young Interview MOJO Magazine Pt#2".
  5. ^ "100 Greatest Neil Young Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Helpless - Neil Young | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Sugar Mountain Neil Young Set Lists www.sugarmtn.org/sm_song2.php?song=251
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