"Big Time" (Official Music Video): Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Neil Young - Big Time (Official Music Video)Neil Young

As we continue the journey through the past, present and future, we're often drawn into songs like "Big Time" from Neil Young and Crazy Horse's 1996 album Broken Arrow.

So here's the official music video which we haven't seen in quite awhile.

And for your amusement, a little lyrical analysis of Neil Young's "Big Time" from The I Magazine by Mike Gee:

"Autobiographical, "Big Time" calls upon the spirit of the past and twists it to now.

In the first verse Young simply unwinds his own beginnings.

'Gonna leave the pain behind,
Gonna leave the fools in line,
Gonna take the magic potion. Gettin' in an old black car,
Gonna take a ride so far,
To the land of suntan lotion.
Gonna take it state by state,
Until I hit the golden gate,
Get my feet wet in the ocean.'

The devout will recognise the setting and the story, but for those who don't ... In 1965, Young recorded an acoustic demo for Elektra Records featuring early versions of Sugar Mountain and Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing but wasn't offered a contract by the label. Returning to Toronto, Young played the same Yorkville district coffeehouse circuit as fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell before he joined The Mynah Birds, a Toronto-based band led by singer Ricky James Matthews (later to be known as Rick James who would go on to have several smash dance hits, in particular Super Freak, a song which would later heavily influence Prince).

So there you go... from Neil to Joni Mitchell to The Mynah Birds & Rick James, to Buffalo Springfield to Crazy Horse to Prince.

As we said, the journey through the past, present and future continues. Over and Over.

More on Broken Arrow - Neil Young Albums In Order.

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