Once Again, Neil Young Takes A "Stand For Peace"
(Frame from Official Music Video)
UPDATED
Neil Young released an official music video on Thanksgiving Day titled "Stand For Peace".
"Stand For Peace" is an instrumental of the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" on electric guitar, similar to Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. The video is directed by Young's wife Daryl Hannah.
Before moving into some background onto background on Neil Young's longtime position on war and peace, a comment earlier by Dan:
@ The Metamorphic Rocker : You are not alone in your thinking. The words you have written are logical, and well thought out. [See comment here by Meta Rocker] I just wanted you to know that I understand your position completely, and support your views wholeheartedly.
If we could all somehow just get past the ’Us Against Them’ mentality, and see each other as the same species, then perhaps we could make this world a better place. Until then we are sadly doomed to repeat history time and time again.
If the human race could finally understand just how much better off ‘everyone’ would be if we were able to consolidate our efforts together, then there would be no one going hungry, or homeless. Or die because they can’t afford health insurance. Everyone could be free to express themselves without judgment, or persecution. Instead of ‘don’t tread on me’ we could embrace ‘don’t tread on anyone’. Then maybe life on earth wouldn’t be so damn dangerous.
We are one of the only species on earth that hunts itself….for their own gain.
Greed kills, and as Dylan once sang…. Money doesn’t talk, it swears.
But sadly, here we are in 2023 and we're still living with war.
If there was ever an artist to which the label "anti-war" sticks, it would be Neil Young.
Over 50 years since "Ohio" and Kent State, the tin soldiers are still marching onwards toward war.
Except this time, not just some random regional conflict to keep the
War Machine primed, but full on discussion and encouragement to get a
full blown World War #3 going.
Military madness, indeed.
In 2022, as the war drums started beating in Ukraine, Neil Young penned an editorial on Neil Young Archives: VIEWPOINT: The Apotheosis of War.
In 2022, as the war drums started beating in Ukraine, Neil Young penned an editorial on Neil Young Archives: VIEWPOINT: The Apotheosis of War.
With military madness continuing to kill our countries, what's the average citizen of the world to do?
Obviously, we're Still Living With War -- both in our minds and hearts -- because it's all just deja vu, all over again and again and again ...In a 2008 article on Who Got Iraq Right? by Greg Mitchell and Tom Engelhardt, they include Neil Young and his album Living With War as an alternative voice for:
"... exposing the criminal nature of, and the many costs of, the Iraq war that have emerged from an "alternative" universe that includes former war correspondents, reporters for small newspapers or news services, comedians, aging rock 'n rollers, and bloggers, among others. "As Neil Young has stated: "History is a cruel judge of overconfidence."
Neil Young Signs "PEACE"
So more "Shock And Awe" coming everyone's way again?
Once completing the album Living With War in 2007, Neil Young played the album for his label Reprise and than immediately gave a live interview to CNN. For many fans, this was Neil at his finest -- speaking truth to power.
So did "Living With War" become the rock equivalent to the film "Fahrenheit 9/11"? For critics, it seemed to be the case.
"CSNY DEJA VU" Film Poster - 2008
Part performance, part documentary and commentary, the film CSNY Déjà Vu is a call to peace and remains relevant today. Because if we
ignore the lessons of history, we do so at our peril.
From album "Living With War", the title track's lyrics continue their prescient revelations on today's times.
From album "Living With War", the title track's lyrics continue their prescient revelations on today's times.
Neil Young - 2016
[ Try to remember peace (visualize) ]
"I join the multitudes
I raise my hand in peace
I never bow to the laws of the thought police
I take a holy vow
To never kill again
To never kill again
I'm living with war in my heart
I'm living with war in my heart and my mind
I'm living with war right now"
I raise my hand in peace
I never bow to the laws of the thought police
I take a holy vow
To never kill again
To never kill again
I'm living with war in my heart
I'm living with war in my heart and my mind
I'm living with war right now"
Despite what the critics wrote negatively about the album -- if nothing else -- Living With War was the most courageous album of 2006.
In 2016, Neil Young released the album "Peace Trail".
Even though when Neil Young sings about peace and love and war he admits that he doesn't "really know what I'm saying" and while "Just singing a song won't change the world", it certainly has proven to be a good starting point at least.
Neil Young:
peace
No War
Greendale Film still
Labels: living with war, music, neil young, peace, song, video
by thrasher@PermaLink: 11/26/2023 05:19:00 PM
20 comments
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20 Comments:
Thank you Thrasher! Thank you Neil Young! Warriors for Peace & Free Speech!
Lots of folks don’t give a rip as long as the 401k is looking good. “If the USA is bombing them, the bad guys had it coming.” The News calls this protest a “Hate March.” In reality, these are just humans asking that we not condemn their loved ones and countrymen to death.
Neil gets it right on pollution, human rights, War, Earth, sees justice. He is not just a great rock and roller!
But he is one of a very small group of rockers who are still relevant due to their expanding body of work, including new albums. I am not sure who else is on the list. Dylan still has something to say. “Murder Most Foul.” JFK gunned down for threatening to end Vietnam war in its early years.
The world is fucked up by power and corruption, hate & War, and Disinformation in “The News.” But I hold onto hope because I have children (now grown) & my favorite music Artist never gave up or sold out. He still has something to say!
Jimi Hendrix would be very proud of Neil Young’s relentless heart for Peace. Jimi and Neil have now both done the only relevant versions of the national anthem to come out. We need it now more than ever!
TW holds the torch of independent media for Peace. Big Corporations won’t be pushing for peace. Not unless we lead them.
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Thanks Brother Alan as always.
So we know the answer to who's going to stand up and save the EARTH, right?
A lot of the same folks who are standing up for PEACE.
This was a great video. Ol Black's nasty tone suits the Spangled Banner.
above should read “seed” justice but “seed” also works.
Blue Biden now angling to give Israel easy access to ALL the weapons in the US stockpile in Israel, an unprecedented gift of weapons and munitions. Because Gaza hasn’t been COMPLETELY DESTROYED yet. The American Way.
I will remind the reader that I have some Israeli blood. But Genocide is Genocide. “Guilt by Association” means Israel has every right to wipe out all the Palestinians in Gaza.
And as I alluded to above, when anyone protests to protect the humans in Gaza, they are labeled “Hate Marches” by UK & world media. The game is rigged. They are (all) “Terrorists” and everyone else are the “good guys.”
Everyone in the “West” loses their mind when Israel is questioned about what the rest of the world calls War Crimes, crimes against humanity.
In the US, there has been a broad political effort to make it ILLEGAL to boycott Israel for human rights abuses.
Your Cousin - Brother Alan in Seattle
“Sees Justice” -sorry!
Alan, as a U.K citizen I have to take issue with you over your comment that it was the UK media who labelled the protests as "hate marches". It was in fact our (now fired thankfully) former Home Secretary Suella Braverman. She is an absolute right wing lunatic who politically sits somewhere to the right of Ghengis Khan and has finally been fired by our right wing clueless zombie government for voicing inflammatory opinions that even they had to distance themselves from. She said, amongst other things, that being homeless was a "lifestyle choice" and wanted to impose fines upon charities who gave out tents to homeless people. That should give you an idea of her character.
The right wing media picked up on her comments that pro-Palestinian demonstrators were thugs intent on violence and ran with them, but the outcry from most of the U.K. population over her comments and the fact that we have had many peaceful demonstrations I hope paints a better picture of us brits. A couple of weekends ago we had the largest demonstration in U.K. history, with, depending on who you believe, between 300 - 800,000 people peacefully marching through London in support of peace. There were a handful of arrests, as there are always idiots intent on trouble but the number was tiny in comparison to the turn out.
Our media are as bad as yours, and in places no doubt as good as yours. But a growing number of the British public are getting increasingly concerned about how little is being said about what Israel is indiscriminately doing, and on the face of it getting away with.
Please read "The Guardian". It is the best of our journalism.
@ Ol Black - thank you for your carefully measured words here.
It is most appreciated that everyone here who has weighed in on the most delicate of topics is proceeding in a rational, mature fashion.
As Neil urged us during the "Living With War" times: Try to remember peace (visualize)
The scale of destruction and death is breathtaking and, I think, will be judged accordingly. Not that it matters what most people think. The powerful will protect their own (perceived) interests first, regardless of all else. And lot of the loudest warmongers claim to be the most deeply spiritual people. Truly dispiriting. The ongoing hostage releases give me a tiny glimmer of hope, but it’s really the bare minimum in humanitarian terms.
However, I appreciate Dan’s clear, well-rounded statement. It sends an invaluable message, one that needs to be heard independent of some of the potentially “controversial” nuances of my own comments. Dan successfully condenses and simplifies it into something virtually anyone can understand. That’s a great contribution.
@ Old Black : I am sorry for my shared inaccurate statement about the source of that ugly quote. I envy the UK for its civil protest. Europeans still protest much better than US citizens. My thought was really, any protest group that stands up for Gaza human rights is met with insults and derogatory labels.
We US citizens seem to care most about “football” and shopping, Fentanyl & the Kardashians. Dumbing down young people in the schools, whitewashing “History” and outlawing protest is what we have. Lots of red states have made it legal to kill / injure protestors in the streets by ramming them with cars. These are crazy times, to be certain. My writing was a bit sloppy, I have a nasty cold but no good excuses. I don’t watch “The News” but I read perhaps more of it than. I should(!).
Mark Twain said, “If you don’t read the news, you are uninformed. If you read the news, you are misinformed.”
Send more English & thinking people to the US! We need help!
Again, sorry if that sounded like general criticism of England media. Sloppy logic on my part. Luckily I have some English blood too, in my “Heinz 57” ancestry; my writing would be worse otherwise, perhaps! Dad was an “English” professor and Milton’s who also taught Shakespeare.
I love sitting by the virtual fireside with you all!
Your Brother Alan in Seattle.
My misspelling above, thanks always to spell check!
“Miltonist” - an expert in the study of the writings of John Milton.
@ Metamorphic Rocker : no offense taken, & I probably should not share who I voted for to better appear as a radical protester! 😁
I enjoy and appreciate your writing, same for Old Black & all the rest! ✌️❤️Alan
Alan, of course one should never be required or pressured to reveal whom they voted for, but I do think transparency is helpful for honest dialogue. If I know precisely where the interlocutor is coming from, I will have a better idea of how to engage.
Moreover, I think there needs to be more focusing on determining (and doing) what is right than adhering to purity tests or protecting a certain political identity (e.g. “radical protestor”—which could mean anti-fascist or MAGA elements!). The impulse to demarcate “in” and “out” groups is a key aspect of Us vs. Them thinking. As I’ve been trying to illustrate, I see a human need to grow beyond dualistic thinking. This is a tall order.
“Wise men you won’t be to follow the likes of me, in this world made of stone”—George Harrison.
I am more than happy to move beyond "dualistic thinking" (as in us v. them) if and only if this can be reasonably judged as "possible." Otherwise, as in the case here, I am not compromising with MAGA buffoons and I will not be bullied into being quiet. Instead of thinking of this as "dualistic thinking" we can regard it as groups holding contradictory views about normative issues. I am all for peace and happiness until the very possibility of peace and happiness is threatened. I believe we have reached that point in the US and we need to fight the difficult fight. If, however, the opposing view is willing to admit that they might be wrong or confused (I will admit that about myself or my group, etc..) then I will come to the table. Epistemic authoritarianism is the position of the buffoons on the far right and we cannot accept it in any sense.
I mean what was Neil doing with Living with War? In no uncertain terms he condemned "shock and awe" and this is further premised on the "weapons of mass destruction" LIE. I am not going to deal with election deniers, Qanon idiots, fascist theocracies, and so on. What I have learned in my life is that rights only have meaning insofar as they are enacted, protected, and codified. Meanwhile hypocrite right wing MAGA people work to eliminate reproductive rights? No, no, no.
I just had a bit of a local squabble with Moms for Liberty. We were trying to interview them for a large student driven research project. They refused to be interviewed. We were trying to "come to the table" and have a rational dialogue. This is what I have been teaching college students for 34 years. But they refused when they saw our interview questions. To make a long story short, they refused on the grounds that they are "non-partisan." Meanwhile they endorse candidates for school board and state representative in every election. They also claim not to be "religious" and yet at every meeting they start with scripture and prayer. They are an educational group and they refuse interviews from college students? They won't take the first steps to ration discourse.
Lines in the sand or we will lose our freedoms, such as they are.
Hello
Just go off a NYA Patron’s call. Neil sounds and looks happy and well. Highlights:
Neil was happy to put up a Princeton Landing show and a Harvester’s concert on the timeline.
Neil reads out the Volume three disc list and some content! Its a monster:
Discs 1&2: “Across The Water”. Crazy Horse
Disc 3: “Hitching Judy” - 1976 tour solo then Crazy Horse
Disc 4: “Snapshot in Time” - audio documentary with Linda and Nicolette from ’76 ’77 practising Stars and Bars
Disc 5: “Windward Passage”. Ducks live Santa Cruz!
Disc 6: “Oceanside Countryside” 11 unreleased songs included
Disc 7: “Union Hall” rehearsal for concert with Nicolette. Includes losing end, lady wing shot, please help me I’m falling
Disc 8: “Boarding House” acoustic film
Disc 9: “Boarding House” devo sessions film!
Disc 10: “Sedan Delivery” rust never sleeps period but different tracks - bright sunny day, Cortez
Disc 11: “Coastline” - Summer 1980 - stay in power, winter winds, sunny inside
Disc 12: “Trans EP” of the vocoder only tracks and J”ohnny’s Island”- orig silver gold , raining paradise, big pearl, soul of a woman, love hotel
Disc 13: “Evolution” from 1983 - california sunset, shockingpinks stuff, hard luck stories, I got a problem, your love
Disc 14: “Touch the Night” from 1984. Crazy Horse tracks Violent Side (must be the Catalyst version!!!!), all unreleased, touch the night
Discs 15 & 16: “Grey Riders” International Harvesters from 1984 ’85 San Jose June 6 - soul of a woman , nothing is perfect, time off for good behaviour
Neil mentions that many of the discs have “Original versions” which he explains means they are first time ever recorded and the essence of the song is more pronounced
Disc 16: “Road of Plenty” - drifter, hippy dream, road of plenty (orig Eldorado), when your lonely heart breaks. No mention of 60-0 but fingers crossed
Disc 17: “Summer Songs” 1987
@ Metamorphic Rocker : I don’t mind saying that I am “Radical” to the US Mainstream simply because I was a Bernie fan. I believe in Medical Care for all of the people. The US is the only Western nation that doesn’t have Medical Care for all citizens. I work in the medical field, have for 25 years, so my beliefs are not about wishing I personally had health care; I do. And prices are shooting up rapidly, for myself and everyone else.
The US also needs workers to support its aging population. Who is crossing the border while not on vacation? Workers. It makes zero sense to close the borders if we are drastically short on workers, which in fact we are. US Citizens are not inclined to work in Agriculture, therefore, we need workers.
The Global Warming problem is a huge one. Agriculture will be “under attack” by the new weather and the Superstorms that are becoming commonplace. 1000 year storms every month. The humans of the world are screwed unless we ALL agree to work towards mitigatingit. The coming Hell on Earth from climate change should inspire many to see the truth. But right now, the US Right is still pretending it’s a hoax. Despite over $50 Billion in related damage last year.
But the politicians won’t save us. So, it will take “Radical Protest” to do the job. This will largely fall to the young people to save Earth for the humans.
In light of these facts, there is not time to linger in the middle of the road. Of course we’d like everyone to get along and work for a better world, one that can support human habitation at least.
@ Abner Snopes : isn’t it weird that the Right makes abortion illegal and then they also cut health care for those pregnant mothers & babies? What little medical help can be had, they want nothing to do with it. And when it comes to feeding and housing these babies, that is “Socialism” (“Bad!”). Education? “Cut it.” Earth is overpopulated as it is. I like the ironic use of “line in the sand” since it came from George Bush, most recently. Agh, what a mess!
It’s all very troubling. We could use a Big Shift!
@ Greying Rider : Thanks very much for the update. That NYA3 really IS a monster. Maybe too big. I will very likely buy the CD version at most. Short of winning a lottery, that is a mess load of Blu ray discs. It will be great to have it to listen to. Watching on video is less necessary, to me. I got all the Neil / DEVO I need from human highway already. Of course, later, the video will seem crucial! That’s life for the Restlesss Consumer in my mirror!
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
@ Greying Rider - Excellent update! Many thanks for sharing all the details.
NYA3 shaping up to be a monster, for sure. It seems as if some of "Informed Speculation" on Neil Young Archives Volume #3 that we posted on back in 2022 was pretty accurate. (Thanks LRR!)
posted @ http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2023/11/neil-young-patron-zoom-call-update.html
Abner: without belaboring the point, I do think it’s possible to take firm positions (“lines in the sand”) while still resisting overly binary thinking. And then there’s the difference between resisting and escaping. Even if you can’t make all right with the world, it can be helpful to undermine (deconstruct) absurdity and violence in small ways.
I choose, maybe naively and definitely from my own relatively privileged viewpoint, to believe most people are reachable under the right circumstances. A lot of the work must be done at a microcosmic level rather than macro. A “trickle up” effect, so to speak. In a topsy-turvy world, might as well start by looking at things upside down.
MR- I think I agree. I am not sure we are disagreeing.
What precisely makes your viewpoint "privileged"?
Abner—No intention to be disagreeable, just clearer. What I mean by “dualistic thinking” is nuanced: at the simplest level, I think we can realistically try for pluralistic society, where humans appreciate differences without seeing one another as fundamentally, irreconcilably alien. The difficulty lies with those who are opposed to difference on principle, as if total conformity were essential for a healthy community.
“Privileged” in the sense of having resources to indulge in armchair philosophy. Not everyone gets to spend time reading, thinking, and writing. This should not be taken for granted. Being aspirational and theoretically-minded can come across as out of touch, or “elitist”, because lacking in bold practical solutions.
"privileged" is being overworked. It is becoming tiresome. Yes, some people have the time to do "armchair" philosophy- remember how this phrase was initially used, as a reference to metaphysics with no empirical elements. Being "aspirational"? You mean having ambition? And, someone has to do theory.
Don't forget the people with lots of money and time who fail to read, think, or discuss. They fail to live up to their responsibilities.
Many US citizens are zombies, no ideas, no engagement.
Abner: Yes, “privilege” has become a cliche. Many people tend to shut down or tune out when they hear it. If you hear anything too often, it will get stale. However, my self consciousness about the limited value of theorizing is misplaced or overwrought. Original thought is important—otherwise, we end up parroting each other without learning anything.
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