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Neil Young
"Long May You Run"
Vancouver Olympics Closing Ceremony: Winter Games 2010
PHOTO by Getty
Neil Young performed "Long May You Run" for the Vancouver Olympics Closing Ceremony: Winter Games 2010. Snow drifted down from ceiling as Neil strolled about with harmonica rack and Hank Williams' Martin D-28 guitar.
Following Young's performance, the cauldrons were extinguished and the torch arms retracted.
Many, many 1000's of instant mini-reviews on Twitter indicated that Young's performance was highlight of closing ceremonies. Many felt that what followed Young's performance was a travesty and embarrassment to music fans and Canada's heritage.
A brief video clip of Neil Young Olympics.
Somewhat surprising poll results of what song Neil Young would play at Olympics.
"Long May You Run" -- which was played -- came in 5th with 8%.
"Oh Canada" was voted #1 with 19%, followed by "Four Strong Winds" with 16%. next -- our vote "Rockin' in the Free World" with 8%
The surprise was "This Note's For You" in 3rd with 15%. Can't figure that one? Probably the result of the f'n Freepers cramming the poll. Get a life.
Official Neil Young Tour Page
It is official! Neil Young will play the Olympics Closing ceremonies tonight.
Neil Young's Official Tour Page has just been updated with tonight's date.
So how about all of those rumors we've been hearing about all week?! In the immortal words of Pete Townshend, "We won't get punk'd again."
So what will Neil Young will play the Olympics Closing ceremonies tonight?
I'm a dreamin' man, guess that's my problem.
UPDATE: Massive Twitter traffic on Neil @ Olympics. See right sidebar for live tweets.
UPDATE: Full Video of Neil Young at Olympics Closing Ceremonies
Q up the DVR!
ReplyDeleteThanks Thrasher!
Neil at Vancouver 2010 : what a joke. I hope Neil will surprise me, because right now he disappoints me ... and a lot ! I thought Neil was not as Bono, Elton John or Celine Dion.Maybe I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteOnly Crazy Horse can save him now. Get back to the roots of the gawdamn thing. SHIT
are you kidding me?! Neil is Everywhere so why not at the olympics!
ReplyDeleteOh simply because Neil is a god of garage rock and roll and not of merchandising, and because Vancouver 2010, clearly, is not a ecological event. Remember This note's for you ? Been a long time.
ReplyDeleteI'd like RITFW but I think it's going to be hoG.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you for T-man?
joey p
JP:
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Rockin in Free World. T-ette's says HoG.
I can envision an all-star Canadian blow-out finale with RITFW cranked up to 11 followed by massive fireworks, confetti, balloons, lasers, etc.
Maybe be the debut of a re-formed Crazy Horse for a bonus?
But what the f do we know? We're just a dreamin man...
If you click the link to Neil's tour page right now you see...nothing
ReplyDeleteJust Singing A Song
ReplyDeletecortez
ReplyDeleteYou know what would be the most Neil-esque thing to do? Play a new song no one has ever heard before.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought. :)
He'll present a new song.
ReplyDeleteAndrea."So Tired"
Thrash, I'd love it to be RITFW too
ReplyDeletecoz that would epitomize what it's all about
Depends... if he's gunna whip out ol black and go full on electric?... or...Solo acoustic?!
For the sheer anthemic value, what about ...Neil with "surprise Equines"...YEP YOU GUESSED IT....
THE HORSE! ..doin' ORDINARY PEOPLE!!....
in all their ragged glory!..with all the other guest artists backing on the chorus.... now that would be...
GOLD!!! GOLD!! GOLD!!!
excited doc
Give the guy a break. He's a hockey fan! If I could get tickets to the gold medal game this afternoon, just by playing a song or two, I'd be doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteYou're all still beating the Horse dead. It ain't gonna happen. This is about Neil Young the Canadian, not Neil Young the jockey horse rider.
ReplyDelete....he's probably gonna write a long letter...........all the way to his Canadian Prairie Home..
I'll be tuned in for ANYHTING
- Not Rotten Johnny
(anon 12:04-this jokes for YOU)
Not RITFW, it's too American.
ReplyDeleteSo, Neil's tour page is empty.
ReplyDeleteNot FSW, Lightfoot and Tyson played Alberta Bound and Four Strong Winds in Calgary in '88.
ReplyDeleteNeil's tour page is not empty. It has become interactive... When you arrive there you see nothing. Simply refresh the page and you will see were NY play.
ReplyDeleteWord has it that the son of one of Canada's famous hockey writers will play at closing ceremonies.
ReplyDeleteHeart of Gold + Rockin' in the Free World
ReplyDeleteI tried refreshing the page but still nothing.
ReplyDeleteNever mind. Firefox doesn't show anything but explorer does. Weird.
ReplyDeleteIn Firefox, go to the tour page, right click, and then select "Play".
ReplyDeleteThe tour dates will now show.
God knows why this happens, I discovered it last week.
:-)
Canada scores!
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? Will Neil sign up for a month long engagement at a casino in Las Vegas like his hero Elvis "The King" Presley? I'm Wonderin..
ReplyDeleteNext time Neil will play for Coca Cola ! Neil, this time you lose.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between a Las Vegas casino and a Crazy Horse fan?
Answer:
There's no difference. They both want NY to play some old tricks for them.
Too bad there is no one named 'Stills' on Team Canada, with Crosby and Nash in the Game and Neil Young in the audience!
ReplyDeleteI think Comes a Time.
ReplyDelete-tell me lies later
Journey Through the Past
ReplyDeleteBoy, again with Neil Young the sell out. It's probably not worth commenting on, except to say that if that's your take, you obviously don't know WTF you're talking about. I'm thinking RITFW, but who knows? I'd love something from the new album, too, but then we'd have to listen to more braying that he's just promoting his new album, or some other asinine thing from people who can't think past their belly button. Whatever it is, I'll be glad to hear it, that is if I can somehow remember one of the central things that defines Neil: "Just do what you want. Don't listen to anyone else."
ReplyDeleteGreg M (A Friend Of Yours)
Goin' Back.
ReplyDeletetj
In Firefox, go to the tour page, right click, and then select "Play".
ReplyDeleteThe tour dates will now show.
Where is Firefox?
if not HofG, I"m guessing 'helpless'
ReplyDeleteold sound man
NEWSFLASH!!!..VANCOUVER DAILY HEADLINE...
ReplyDelete"CROSBY SCORES..WHILE YOUNG WATCHES!"
IF YA MISSED THE VIDEO...
JUST WAIT FOR THE STILLS...don't be killed in the NASH to get'm!
doc
the answer to what he plays is in here :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Second+wave+Canadian+stars+perform+closing+ceremony+spoilers/2625140/story.html
Neil Rocks! No matter what.
ReplyDeleteblind river, 1963? I thought it was '62...
ReplyDeleteasg
Well, before the link...Who picked it?
ReplyDeleteLike every other 'Neiler',I didn't really care what he played!
The fact that he was invited to play as a born Canadian is such an honour to his heritage...and...a testament to his legend status, reflected at such a prestigous
event.
Personally, I would have thought a grand finale on electric, doin' some more 'anthemic', iconic number would have had a bigger impact, although I do see the significance of the tune he selected.
Hey...a bigger audience than the days playin' the coffee shops in Ontario just the same!
LONG MAY YOU RUN NEIL!!..long may you run.
doc
I used to tell Neil about the apple trees and the nice house and the beautiful life that would await us in Omemee. I must have made the point rather strongly.
ReplyDeleteScott Young
from "Where We Came From"
Neil and Me
Thanks Neil for giving such a warm and human performance to close out the best Winter Olympics ever. You are the master.
Thanks for all the amazing athletes and their families and friends. Especially thanks to the Canada and USA hockey teams for playing a game for the ages. God bless Brendan Burke. Favorite single scene...when they showed Joanie Rochette. Time fades away....
So AVERAGE LAVIGNE gets to sing two songs..and Neil one?..go figure!!
ReplyDeleteDoc
P.s. AVRIL FANS if your readin this
What are you doin' here on the wheat? lol
CANADA - 3
ReplyDeleteUSA - 2
NEIL - LONG MAY YOU RUN
Well, it was
ReplyDeleteback in Blind River in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift
on the long decline
Long may you run.
1963?
Yeah Anonymous, this ALWAYS happens when ya get a "Neil" impersonator tryin' to sing Neil.
ReplyDeleteFallon, I thought you'd KNOW the lyrics to LMYR..otherwise a good impression! lol
dic
I just saw Neil on German TV and I'm deeply moved. Scott and Rassy would have been so proud of their son.
ReplyDeleteWhy 1963? I don't know either...
Love, Liza
I must be the only one who thinks not playing After the Gold Rush was a huge missed opportunity. The song is beautiful, nostalgic, Canadian - and it would have fit the occasion in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteA few: Canada - all-time Gold Medal champs.
Kim Yu-Na - the new "Queen" of ladies figure skating.
Plus, Young already played "Long May You Run" weeks earlier - and more fittingly - at Conan's last show.
The citizen of the planet playing to his audience, now that's cool! How big was that audience across the globe?
ReplyDeleteI think he said a few years back, "it's a solo gig" so when I saw him with the floor to himself it made perfect sense to me. Can you imagine how he felt?
Has there been any bigger? or as big? Elvis, Lennon, Dylan?
Everybody's alone! He's in a league of his own.
Happy = being a Neil Young fan!
(ps., Doc, was that you I saw outside the Sydney Opera House in Full Moon?.....just wondering)
ReplyDeleteSONY
I'm guessing that's the largest world-wide audience Neil has ever played in front of.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine anything being close.
He did LiveAid, he did the Oscars, he did a 9-11 tribute........but i doubt any come close to last night.
What do you think?
Neil Young is truly a National Treasure, and I was thrilled to hear him sing last night at the close of the Olympics!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLong may you run!
Marian M.
Alone, in black, under the torch that died out as he ended? That was unbelievably cool! The funny thing is, how many of the athletes, let alone audience in general, had any idea about the song. A beautiful elegy..... to a car.
ReplyDeleteThe Olympics were cool, but how about that new BD-Live download that showed up over the weekend??
ReplyDeleteGot to love this Archives set on Blu-ray!!
Fuckin' Shakey. He did it again.
ReplyDeleteJust when people mistakenly assume the eco-friendly car is out of gas, he revs it up and with a whisper, roars over the entire Olympic closing ceremonies. After the hours of phoniness, the children lip-syncing to auto-tuned tracks (all of whom will be forgotten in a matter of months, or perhaps a few years if they're really lucky), Neil fires up the ultimate number for the road. I feel bad about not expecting him to fly. I should have known better.
What's something every athlete has in common? They run. From snowboarders to ice skaters to bobsled team leaders, they run, and the longer they run, the longer they live their dreams. While "Long May you Run" may seem on the surface to be a simple homage to a long-dead hearse, in our hearts we know what it really means.
Forget all the extraneous stuff. Forget the merchandising, the corporate sponsors. Instead, keep in mind the young people who are wrapping up the dreams that they've been preparing for as long as they can remember. Keep in mind that due to the very nature of athleticism, the skill will diminish long before they're ready. The knees will inevitably be injured, the muscle tone will diminish. And the desire to win, so strong in youth, will eventually give way to more mundane hopes and wishes.
What can you hope for such a person? What can you offer that applies to each of them on an equal level? Only Neil Young has the answer: "Long May You Run". Neil wasn't singing to the prime minister, nor the head of the IOC. He wasn't singing to you or me, watching on TV at home. He was singing to every one of those athletes who made it to the culmination of the dream, and yet have so long to continue on. All they want to do is to be able to keep running. Watch their reaction as Old Neil strums his even older Martin guitar. Watch as the message sinks in and hits home. And then acknowledge Neil Young, not only as the greatest singer or songwriter of our time, but as the ultimate communicator spanning multiple generations, one who chooses a message that's perfect for the occasion. We all should have known he'd come through, and that his very choice to appear at such an event was done for a reason that was much bigger than being on the world's biggest stage. He sang to those who most deserved to hear him, and imbued all of them with something they can take home that in some ways is more vital that the shiny medals round their necks.
Long may he run.
One word sums up Canada's invitation
ReplyDeleteto Neil Young appearing at the Olympics..."Appreciated". No "sorry" or "oops", we didn't invite you.
The performance was all it should have been.
I'm just glad he wasn't wearing a mountie uniform!
Canada put on a great Olympics! Right up there with Lillehammer (which was fantastic). The Canadians have such great self-depricating humor. They are like Minnesotans in that way - a nation of witty Garrison Keilors, but with their own brand of experiences. Very quirky and real. In that context, Neil Young is the quinessential Canadian, even after all those years in California.
ReplyDeleteIs it any wonder that the north country has produced such people as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan?
But, okay, now. I have had my full serving of Long May You Run. I'm ready for the next thing.
You made us canucks proud Neil, very fitting song, after the gold rush would not have been canadian, we know we swept the gold podium, no need to bloat about it in song. LMYR was perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil
dug
I would have enjoyed "Four Strong Winds" more (and think it would have fit the situation better), but it was a good performance by Neil and I'm glad he did it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the song he chose, as any as he would, as always so appropiate, I put my mobile to wake me up, (in the middle of the night in Europe) to see him again live, but now I can't see the video again as I'm not from the Usa...sad! I liked him perform solo on the ground, not on the stage as the other "stars"... he's the Universe all toghether!
ReplyDeleteIsa
Yep, That was me Sony!...but it was OK.....It was a Harvest Moon! lol
ReplyDeletedoc
Neil really deserves all these acknowledgments. It's also a good publicity for Neil and naturally I'm happy for him.I know that these performances, tv shows and so on have a big emotional impact on many people. Not on me, anyway.I'm not a big fan of these great things. I don't think that there is much art in these exhibitions. Anyway, I don't even watch the television.I have found more passion on the Neil heartfelt words in the last BD live, dedicated to the dead companions(dated 21 january, meaningfully).I think that LMYR is also for all these people and Johnson in particular. Just an opinion, anyway.
ReplyDeleteAndrea."So Tired"
Anonymous 6:58,
ReplyDelete"After the Gold Rush"...hmmm that's inneresting you bring that song up.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you got me thinking.(no,don't correct me yet!)...
I've never really heard Neil do this at any of his "live" recent concerts.
Is it that Neil's "early seventies Neil" voice...high beautiful and piercing on ATGR, is not as reachable today?
Like a red wine maturing with age, his voice's taste and texture are changing.
Dreamin man, HOG... beautiful sounds end emotions conveyed through Neil's voice in song....
Sugar Mountain, Massey Hall..that touch of innocence in his voice that sadly might never be reached today ,live, as Neil ages gracefully and sings with a maturity and contentment, that we too, as fans, are aging with ourselves.
Yeah, After the Goldrush (the song) IS from another era ,another time.
I love nostalga, I love that period from the seventies, and I'm glad I experienced these days first hand....but I also love, with anticipation, the unpredictibility and spontaneity of Neil's musical direction today.
As I've said on a previous post..what other artist with such an incredible and changing musical career spanning some 50 yrs, is producing and inspiring us with music that spans every generation?
line'm up baby..coz I can't think of any like Neil!
doc
After The Gold Rush last played live 2008-03-14 - 718 days
ReplyDeleteLast night I saw Jonathan Demme's new movie on Neil -- Neil Young Trunk Show. I went from Hartford to Boston to see it. I cannot wait for everyone to see it. It will knock your socks off. Absolutely amazing. A bookend to Prairie Wind, but an opposite, not a matching one. It is raw and visceral and full of the power (I don't know what other word to use) of N.Y.'s music.
ReplyDeletePower and soulfulness.
His voice is in great shape. His "reading," his inflections and changes in phrasing are masterful. His guitar playing is unworldly. He's totally at home and in the groove and at the peak of his powers. And the concert shows the range of his emotion and vision. There is so much there that most people just grab bits of it. I'm a huge fan and I came away thinking, "Is it possible I have underestimated this man?"
The genius of Demme is that he puts you right in Young's world. If someone says, "why do you love Neil Young?" you can just hand them this DVD. They will either watch with mouth agape and join us or be totally befuddled.
Last but not least: The SOUND quality is 4 stars. You hear the best versions of those songs you will ever hear, unless you were at the concert. I heard substantially the same concert in Boston a few days later in 2007 and I felt I was taken back to that place .
Magic, magic music making. This film is a gift from above.
--Keith C. Burris
Well, there you go Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know or never heard this!..
although that doesn't surprise me..I'll rescind everything I just said..coz after reading Keith's comments which I fully endorse,
I too am loving this quality of Neil's voice.
My only point I was making was these songs, with his voice changing, take on a new interpretation which is never really a bad thing when it comes to Neil..
Although its a bit of a worry when he forgets his own lyrics! lol, tic
thanks doc
That was not Hank Williams' Martin D-28 guitar. It was a Martin D-18.
ReplyDelete