The Music Video for "Powderfinger" by Neil Young: So Now Do We Finally Know What The Song Is About?
Last month, Neil Young released the Official Music Video for the song "Powderfinger" from his new album 'Hitchhiker'.
So how much has releasing an official video of "Powderfinger" changed our impressions and interpretations of this classic Neil Young song forty years on? A comment on the video from Greg, A Friend Of Yours:
Yes, confirms the images I've always imagined in the song.We've always found the analysis of Neil Young lyrics to be quite fascinating.
"Official" video, meaning the narrative conforms to Neil's lyrical intention? I don't know that I've ever seen this sort of video presentation exactly, a mixture of portrait, still life, and animation? Empty rocking chair? Twenty-two has joined Emmy Lou. "Red men run..."- this is the first time I've ever heard that. A close to original iteration of the lyric that seemingly must give a different nuance to the story than what it became later, or a slip up? It reminds me of the variation of "Afraid, a man feels afraid" in the Massey Hall version of Heart Of Gold, it has to give the song a different nuance. Can you imagine the effect on a stoned Dean Stockwell of these and the other song lyrics? Had to have been mind blowing (no pun intended). Love everything about this video- song, stripped down acoustic, performance, art and format.
I hope there are more on the way, executed the same way.
A Friend Of Yours
And we're not the only ones. Of all the mail and comments that we receive here at Thrasher's Wheat, nothing compares with how frequently the topic of "Powderfinger" comes up.

"Powderfinger" would seem to be near the very top of Neil Young's vast catalog as one of his most enduring and beloved songs.
From the indispensable Sugar Mountain, "Powderfinger" has been played 780 times, the 2nd most played song in concert.
2.Powderfinger - 781
3.Cinnamon Girl - 780
4.After The Gold Rush - 672
5.The Needle And The Damage Done - 623
The first performance was 1978-05-26, Late Show, The Boarding House, San Francisco, California, USA. The last performance was 2016-10-15, Empire Polo Club, Indio, California, USA. This is a span of nearly 40 years.
A quick recap. The definitive lyrics analysis of "Powderfinger" was done by Mark "Powderfinger" Klus way back in 1995 on the rust@fish server. Mark "Powderfinger"'s original analysis was quickly dissected and expanded.
But even today, the question of what does the song "Powderfinger" mean continues to be the source of endless theories.
"Powderfinger" was curiously omitted from his the 2011 album A Treasure since the song was a setlist regular during the 1984-1985 International Harvesters tours.
Also, check the hundreds of theories on 'Powderfinger' on the following TW threads:
- Shelter Us From the Powder in the Finger: Analyzing Neil Young's Classic Song "Powderfinger"
- Shelter me from the Powder in the Finger - 2008
- "Powderfinger": What the Heck is that Song All About, Anyway?
- "Powderfinger": The International Harvesters Era Style
- Comments of the Moment: "Powderfinger" - What the Heck is that Song All About, Anyway?
Got a hunch on what "Powderfinger" is all about? Drop a comment below.
Labels: analysis, neil young, Powderfinger, song