![](http://www.thrasherswheat.org/gifs/ttn-liner.jpg)
"Tonight's the Night" Album Liner Notes w/ "Florida" Story
w/ "On The Beach" Overlay + Roy Orbison Photo
Now, with the recent release of Neil Young's "lost '70's" album "Homegrown", one of the biggest mysteries of it's replacement -- "Tonight's the Night" -- is beginning to finally be resolved with the "Florida" track.
"Homegrown: Never Known to Fail" by Neil Young
(See reviews @ 1st THOUGHTS: Neil Young's New Album 'Homegrown')
Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy -- consisting of the mid 1970's albums
"Time Fades Away", "Tonight’s the Night" & "On the Beach" -- is well documented as
containing the "missing link" to the Rosetta Stone of understanding his entire body of work over the decades.
And now -- at long last -- Neil Young's unreleased album
"Homegrown" -- which was recorded in 1974 and 1975 -- is the
"one that got away", Neil writes on
NYA. At the time, Neil considered
"Homegrown" to be "too personal and frank" to be released and chose to release the album
"Tonight's The Night", instead.
"Florida" Lyrics by Neil Young
First, one of the most bizarre aspects of the "Tonight's the Night" album is the liner insert (see top image). The cryptically strange "On The Beach" album overlay has the story of a Florida town - presumably Miami Beach - and some odd happenings. Along with a photo of Roy Orbison, the meaning and significance of the story has long remained a mystery to Neil fans -- and the subject of much idle speculation. (Here is a transcription of the "Tonight's The Night" album liner notes.)
1st Edition of Tonight's the Night
Photo from Bill White Collection
"Florida" is like a stream of consciousness fever dream/nightmare. And after reading the TTN liner notes for 45 years now, we had no idea what was going on other than "Man, Neil must've been really stoned. Or he's a very vivid dreamer. Or both."
Gliders?
Tall buildings?
A couple?
A baby in a red blanket?
A photo of Roy Orbinson?
Roy Orbinson
Detail of "Tonight's the Night" Album Liner Notes w/ "Florida" Story
But "Florida" all now makes sense in the context of its placement between the songs "Mexico" and "Kansas" on the album
"Homegrown". Essentially, the song's lyrics analysis of "Florida" is that the song/poem/spoken word track is indirectly about Neil,
Carrie Snodgress, and their son Zeke.
![carrie snodgress](http://www.thrasherswheat.org/gifs/snodgress.jpg)
Carrie Snodgress
(See more on Carrie & Neil)
Snodgress was perhaps best-known for her role as a frustrated homemaker caught between a domineering husband and a self-absorbed lover in 1970's "Diary of a Mad Housewife." She was nominated for an Academy Award and won two Golden Globe awards for best leading actress and new star of the year.
Despite critical acclaim for her role in "Housewife," Snodgress turned her back on Hollywood in 1971 to live with boyfriend Neil Young on his northern California 15,000-acre ranch called "Broken Arrow" and care for their son, Zeke, who was born with cerebral palsy.
Neil Young recorded several songs which reference Snodgress. The most well song is "A Man Needs A Maid" from the album
"Harvest" containing the lines:
"I fell in love with the actress She was playing a part I could understand"
Back to the "Florida"/"Tonight's the Night" album liner notes mystery. Again, the couple with the baby are Carrie and Neil with Zeke. And Carrie wants custody of Zeke so she takes the baby and says "he's mine". And Neil protests.
In the context of "Florida"'s placement between the songs "Mexico" and "Kansas" on the album
"Homegrown", Neil sings "Daddy is a travelin' man" as the coda on song "Mexico" as a response to Zeke being better off with his mother rather than a musician on the road.
Then we look at the lyrics for the song "Kansas":
Kansas
"I feel like I just woke up
From a bad dream
...
Hold on, baby, hold on
We can go gliding through the air
Far from the tears you've cried"
In "Kansas", Neil wakes up from a "bad dream". Then, the lyrics of "gliding" references back to the glider soaring around between buildings, plus the 'baby'.
So, we'll stop here without digging any deeper in the symbolism and metaphors and leave that for another day.
Also, see the Dutch translation of the other
liner notes on the "Tonight's The Night" album.
UPDATE
In yet another one of those
stunning synchronicities that have followed us all our lifetimes, no sooner than we posted this analysis last night then a comment appears below letting us know that the above letter was just published on "Florida" where Neil confirms our dream thesis analysis. (Thanks Greyrider!)
boom, drop the mic. well,
future proves past, yet again ... just sayin' ...
Labels: albums, analysis, ditch trilogy, lyrics, neil young