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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
Now that the 1st Leg of Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts' 2025 love earth WORLD Tour is complete, Neil is back to answering letters on NYA.
In particular, Neil answers the immortal question: "What is a Thrasher?" (thanks Road Dawg!)
And more importantly, Neil promises to add the song Thrasher to the setlists for the upcoming North American Leg #2. Obviously, the song resonates deeply with the proprietors of this blog.
Now premiering on Neil Young Archives, a solo acoustic concert by Neil Young from TIMELESS ORPHEUM on the 2019 Polar Vortex Tour.
A collection of songs from the Polar Vortex tour, & the past for you on NYA exclusively through the holidays ❄️ 7PM PST tonight! pic.twitter.com/DbVGbBPoOM
In July, a premier of "Thrasher" by Neil Young was previewed from THE TIMELESS ORPHEUM | NYA, directed by Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife, and filmed by CK Vollick.
PREMIERE: "Thrasher" by Neil Young From THE TIMELESS ORPHEUM | NYA
"Thrasher" by Neil Young From THE TIMELESS ORPHEUM | NYA
Now premiering on Screen #2 on Neil Young Archives, a solo acoustic "Thrasher" by Neil Young from THE TIMELESS ORPHEUM Polar Vortex Tour.
Running a little over 6 minutes, the video is directed by Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife, filmed by CK Vollick, Neil posts on NYA:
The Timeless Orpheum is now in production for our Hearse Theater Subscriber Screen. For me this is a personal film, as you will see when it premieres for you. We have been editing this for two months. ‘Thrasher’ is one of the songs included in the film, a song I wrote in 1978.
ny
More on Polar Vortex Tour/Solo "Big 3M Theater Tour" ...
Here's a bit more on our favorite Neil Young song "Thrasher", which we have had the distinct honor and pleasure of enjoying not once, not twice, but thrice in concert ... are we not blessed?
Original "Thrasher" Lyrics
NEW MANUSCRIPT! : (It was hiding behind hay bales) Neil Young Archives
Thrasher has been in heavy rotation on this year’s setlists, and we’re pretty thrilled about that; if The Archives Team were to make our own featured playlist this tune would probably come first. [emphasis added]
So, to celebrate: we dug up the original (nine page!) manuscript for this delectable tune.
The nine page original lyric manuscripts for Neil Young's epic, immortal and legendary song "Thrasher" reveal several telling lyric changes made during the evolution from writing to 1st performance. While it is quite difficult to determine exactly what Neil may have originally written, might Neil have softened some of "Thrasher"'s harshness?
Original Lyrics Manuscript for "Thrasher", page 5 (1978) Neil Young Archives
Here's what Neil himself had to say about writing the song "Thrasher" on NYA:
"I wrote ‘Thrasher’ in a car on my way to Albuquerque from Taos New Mexico. I was being driven by Carpio, a native American who I was introduced to by Dennis Hopper filming Human Highway. . . . ."
We here at Thrasher's Wheat would be very interested to hear what others might think Neil's original intent and where the song evolved. Why's that you ask? Follow us out to the fields of wheat where we'll be hiding behind hay bales ...
Thrasher has been in heavy rotation on this year’s setlists, and we’re pretty thrilled about that; if The Archives Team were to make our own featured playlist this tune would probably come first. [emphasis added]
So, to celebrate: we dug up the original (nine page!) manuscript for this delectable tune.
The nine page original lyric manuscripts for Neil Young's epic, immortal and legendary song "Thrasher" reveal several telling lyric changes made during the evolution from writing to 1st performance. While it is quite difficult to determine exactly what Neil may have originally written, might Neil have softened some of "Thrasher"'s harshness?
Original Lyrics Manuscript for "Thrasher", page 5 (1978) Neil Young Archives
Here's what Neil himself had to say about writing the song "Thrasher" on NYA:
"I wrote ‘Thrasher’ in a car on my way to Albuquerque from Taos New Mexico. I was being driven by Carpio, a native American who I was introduced to by Dennis Hopper filming Human Highway. . . . ."
UPDATE: NYA update on song "Thrasher":
"After leaving Taos with Carpio, a Native American friend I had met
during the filming of Human Highway, sitting in the front seat of his
car, I wrote this song, Thrasher.
Driving through the magnificent beauty
of New Mexico, the words just kept coming to me. I saw the eagles
circling, the deep canyons, the road ahead, reflecting on my journey
through recent years, and thankful to be where I was."
ny
We here at Thrasher's Wheat would be very interested to hear what others might think Neil's original intent and where the song evolved. Why's that you ask? Follow us out to the fields of wheat where we'll be hiding behind hay bales ...
Four spellbinding nights on March 29, March 30, April 1 & April 2, 2014, Neil Young performed solo at the Dolby Theatre. It truly was Music Heaven On Planet Earth! Sweet music memories with family, friends & Rusties! #neilyoung@DolbyTheatre@NeilYoungNYA@Neilyoungpic.twitter.com/FwUpLY2zj0
Directed by Bernard Shakey, the video of the song "Thrasher" is from the feature film "Rust Never Sleeps with Crazy Horse" and will be running until: 3:00pm, March 2nd, 2019.
On Night #2, after the 1st 2 songs -- "The Last Trip To Tulsa" (full 8 verses) and "Thrasher" (full 8 verses) , we turned to our seat neighbors and fully agreed that we had already gotten our $'s worth for the night. Yes, it was pretty surreal to have Neil start the 1st notes of "Thrasher" and have all of these Rusties in the first couple of rows turn to us with these looks of amazement. In our lifetime, we have had some pretty amazing Neil memories over the years, but priceless doesn't even begin to describe when Neil plays your favorite song just a few mere feet away. More on our "Thrasher" experience down below.
Ohio
Over the course of 2 nights in Upper Darby, we heard 34 different songs, 12 songs on the second night he didn’t perform on 1st.
For us, the Philly solo concerts hit all of the major themes, with all the right notes, at all the right moments. What more could one ask?
And Broken Arrow on grand piano?! Simply stunning. Breathless, on the edge of the seat. Not just expecting to fly, but actually flying. A true master class of an evening. We count our blessings and we are blessed, indeed. It's all about Love & War... and we're living the Dream and the Nightmare.
But we'll take a cruise down Peaceful Valley Boulevard any day...
And here's our dear, long time friend Karen's thoughts after seeing 102 Neil Young concerts on her blog streamland:
Now. The thing is this. There’s a big community of serious - and I mean serious - Neil Young fans out there. Me among them. We are a tight group. Friends. And everyone was oohing and aaahing about these setlists. Me too. Of course. But … that’s not what led me to go to 102 Neil Young shows in the first place, folks. That’s cool, and all, but it’s not that which keeps me mesmerized. It’s the sheer span of the catalogue and its creative brilliance, and it’s also and really the feeling. The feeling Neil Young can somehow call up while he’s playing, and that he somehow throws out to us. It’s his lonesome voice when he sings so plaintively “lonesome whistle on a railroad traaaaaack ain’t got nothing on those feelings that we had.” It’s his soft vulnerability in every syllable of Expecting to Fly, the world-weary sound of the early confusion of fame in his Broken Arrow, his mysterious story-telling in Last Trip to Tulsa. It’s the determination and earnest, even innocent, quality of his voice on Children of Destiny. It’s the distinctive, it-could-only-be-him thump thump of the low notes of the acoustic guitar, it’s his feet tapping to the music and his knees swaying back and forth to the rhythm. It’s the giant, supernatural force of his electric guitar that reaches out into the audience and grabs you by the throat from the first note. It’s the love you hear in the clickety clack of his new song. It’s the fact that there are almost always new songs. (Speaking of which, I loved his solo acoustic version of this new song, called presumably House of Love or Eternity …. His deep voice vocal on the click clack clickety clack in between reminded me of the Are You Passionate album, somehow, which I adore. That deep click clack vocal is so stirring, I could listen to it all day.). Which is all a long way of saying, Neil is present.
But it was oh-so worth the wait back in 2014 when we got to hear "Thrasher" perform live for the our 2nd and 3rd time. October 1, 2018 would mark our 4th occasion to hear "Thrasher" -- 3 which happened in Philadelphia.
It had been 36 years ago since we first heard Neil Young perform the song "Thrasher" on the 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour on October 7 in William & Mary Hall at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In retrospect, it was an unforgettable moment. A moment that we eventually came to believe that we would never, ever experience again in our lifetime.
And Neil performed the song "Thrasher" with all the intensity and passion that we could ever hope. And it was flawless. All the lyrics were nailed. The right harmonica was loaded. And the audience was rapturously hanging on every note, pondering those oh-so cryptically metaphorical verses.
Until this year, the song "Thrasher" had been played in concert only 32 times, the last time being Oct 24, 1978, which was captured in the “Rust Never Sleeps” concert film*. (*Cow Palace, San Francisco, 22 October 1978. Thanks So Tired & Sugar Mountain!)
So why now? Was there any particular motivation of Neil to perform this rarity in 2014 in Los Angeles?
"This song, uh, you know, I did it, I haven't done it that much in my life, because, at a very vulnerable moment I read something about it. Just like the worst fucking review I've ever read. So, for all you reviewers, if you feel like your words don't mean anything, you're probably right. In that case.. in that case, they were damaging. So, anyway, we uh .. I think I got this uh.. I think this is the one here, I hope so.."
As we rambled about the other night on Thrasher's Wheat Radio, there's a great deal of significance to the song's unexpected resurfacing after its 36 years absence as Neil's most requested obscurity track.
Obviously, the song “Thrasher” is quite special to us and we've long considered the song to be Neil Young’s lyrical magnum opus - rich with poetry, metaphors, themes, allusions, and symbols. In one of our very first posts to the Rust list back in 1993 we attempted An Analysis of the Meaning of the song Thrasher Lyrics.
Looking back today at the analysis, there were some things that we think we got right and a few things that were clearly wrong. Our central thesis at the time was that "Thrasher" was about the whole mega group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young trip in the mid-'70s. Neil seemed to be referring to his former bandmates as the "they" in “Thrasher”. The dinosaurs are CSNY - extinct, a fossil. "So I got bored and left them there, they were just dead weight to me" refers to Neil's departure from CSNY. "It's better on the road without that load" signifies Neil's successful solo path.
So that was then. This is now.
It's now been 40 years since the 1974 reunion tour and there's been much speculation about a multi-disc box set being released for the anniversary, as well as, a possible tour. While still no definite confirmation of CSNY plans here in 2014, the clock ticks on and the possibility remains.
But it would seem that the performance of “Thrasher” last week would be a good omen in terms of Neil reconciling differences with CS&N. Or not?
Could this be Neil's response to CS&N regarding the 1974 reunion tour box set, as in it's not going to happen? Well, based on Neil's response to a crowd shout out in Philadelphia to CSNY, Neil replied "Never again."
"But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrashers comes, I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine. "
First-ever performance of “Thrasher” recorded on May 24, 1978 at the legendary Boarding House in San Francisco.
Or maybe the performance of “Thrasher” has nothing to do with CSNY? Maybe another 4 letter acronym... PONO? A comment below by The Flying Scotsman just might be on to something...
"The aimless blade of science" - surely a reference to the criticism of Pono, intended or not! :-)
Also, along the same lines was Neil's story about one of his guitars: he believed the story for years. Then someone introduced doubt into his mind - it turns out the story about it wasn't true. But he kept on believing the story anyway: "So to me, it's still true".
As blatant a metaphor for his belief in hi-res audio as there could possibly be, and quite apt for the rest of us, too.
It's all about what we believe.
The Flying Scotsman.
Well, we now know the time has come to give what's ours.
We still see the vista. We still hear the muse. We continue.
Godspeed. Thank you Neil. Mahalo.
The Essential “Thrasher” Request Fold Up Sign
(Thanks Howell, Karen, Lauri and all the rusties who make the magic happen!)
It's been 36 years ago since we first heard Neil Young perform the song "Thrasher" on the 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour on October 7 in William & Mary Hall at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In retrospect, it was an unforgettable moment. A moment that we eventually came to believe that we would never, ever experience again in our lifetime.
And Neil performed the song "Thrasher" with all the intensity and passion that we could ever hope. And it was flawless. All the lyrics were nailed. The right harmonica was loaded. And the audience was rapturously hanging on every note, pondering those oh-so cryptically metaphorical verses.
Until this year, the song "Thrasher" had been played in concert only 32 times, the last time being Oct 24, 1978, which was captured in the “Rust Never Sleeps” concert film*. (*Cow Palace, San Francisco, 22 October 1978. Thanks So Tired & Sugar Mountain!)
So why now? Was there any particular motivation of Neil to perform this rarity in 2014 in Los Angeles?
"This song, uh, you know, I did it, I haven't done it that much in my life, because, at a very vulnerable moment I read something about it. Just like the worst fucking review I've ever read. So, for all you reviewers, if you feel like your words don't mean anything, you're probably right. In that case.. in that case, they were damaging. So, anyway, we uh .. I think I got this uh.. I think this is the one here, I hope so.."
As we rambled about the other night on Thrasher's Wheat Radio, there's a great deal of significance to the song's unexpected resurfacing after its 36 years absence as Neil's most requested obscurity track.
Obviously, the song “Thrasher” is quite special to us and we've long considered the song to be Neil Young’s lyrical magnum opus - rich with poetry, metaphors, themes, allusions, and symbols. In one of our very first posts to the Rust list back in 1993 we attempted An Analysis of the Meaning of the song Thrasher Lyrics.
Looking back today at the analysis, there were some things that we think we got right and a few things that were clearly wrong. Our central thesis at the time was that "Thrasher" was about the whole mega group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young trip in the mid-'70s. Neil seemed to be referring to his former bandmates as the "they" in “Thrasher”. The dinosaurs are CSNY - extinct, a fossil. "So I got bored and left them there, they were just dead weight to me" refers to Neil's departure from CSNY. "It's better on the road without that load" signifies Neil's successful solo path.
“Thrasher” - Rust Never Sleeps film
So that was then. This is now.
It's now been 40 years since the 1974 reunion tour and there's been much speculation about a multi-disc box set being released for the anniversary, as well as, a possible tour. While still no definite confirmation of CSNY plans here in 2014, the clock ticks on and the possibility remains.
But it would seem that the performance of “Thrasher” last week would be a good omen in terms of Neil reconciling differences with CS&N. Or not?
Could this be Neil's response to CS&N regarding the 1974 reunion tour box set, as in it's not going to happen? Well, based on Neil's response to a crowd shout out in Philadelphia to CSNY, Neil replied "Never again."
"But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrashers comes, I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine. "
First-ever performance of “Thrasher” recorded on May 24, 1978 at the legendary Boarding House in San Francisco.
Or maybe the performance of “Thrasher” has nothing to do with CSNY? Maybe another 4 letter acronym... PONO? A comment below by The Flying Scotsman just might be on to something...
"The aimless blade of science" - surely a reference to the criticism of Pono, intended or not! :-)
Also, along the same lines was Neil's story about one of his guitars: he believed the story for years. Then someone introduced doubt into his mind - it turns out the story about it wasn't true. But he kept on believing the story anyway: "So to me, it's still true".
As blatant a metaphor for his belief in hi-res audio as there could possibly be, and quite apt for the rest of us, too.
It's all about what we believe.
The Flying Scotsman.
Well, we now know the time has come to give what's ours.
We still see the vista. We still hear the muse. We continue.
Godspeed. Thank you Neil. Mahalo.
"This song, uh, you know, I did it, I haven't done it that much in my life, because, at a very vulnerable moment I read something about it. Just like the worst fucking review I've ever read. So, for all you reviewers, if you feel like your words don't mean anything, you're probably right. In that case.. in that case, they were damaging. So, anyway, we uh .. I think I got this uh.. I think this is the one here, I hope so.."
So just what review from the past caused Neil to ditch “Thrasher”?
It does not appear to have been a review in a major publication at the time after surveying coverage in Rolling Stone, TIME, New York Times, etc. All reviews were very positive of the tour, album and film with none referencing “Thrasher” negatively.
@Matthew: he might be refering to the infamous Time Magazine review of 1978, which compared Young's and Bob Dylan's shows that year. Reviewer praised Young but thrashed Dylan, then on his Elvis-inspired Budokan-tour, which seems to have upset Young very much. According to Cameron Crowe in Rolling Stone ("The Last American Hero", feb. 8, 1979) he thought it was "irresponsible journalism" and "Disco attitude". Might make sense, since he obviously never played Thrasher again, until now.
I think there is a good chance that review is in Archives Volume II. I suspect they came across the review while going through the material for the next Archives, and Neil decided to try the song again. Just guessing here.
And since when did Neil Young ever care about reviews? We found this to be quite puzzling especially given the earlier AMBULANCE BLUES and with the lyrics “So all you critics sit alone ”.
Neil in book "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonough on reviews
(Thanks Ralf!)
As for the timing of "very vulnerable moment", Richard B. hypothesizes that in the summer of 1979, when both the Rust Never Sleeps album and film were released, Neil and Pegi were coming to terms with Ben's illness.
Our thoughts? Well, for us at the moment, the significance of Neil Young playing “Thrasher” for the 1st time in 36 years is that the song was directed at all of the PONO doubters out there.
So will PONO be vindicated similar to Young's solo career without CSN? In the immortal lyrics of Young's most "Dylanesque magnum opus":
But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrashers comes, I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine.
The reemergence of Thrasher reminds us that the best songs are alive and changing. So it is with the 2014 performance.
When Neil first wrote and performed this song he was in his early thirties-a time when most of us finally feel like we're grownups. Indeed, Neil had already seen so much life and death, joy and tragedy up close. Thrasher seems to be a reaction to all that; the CSNY breakup. Danny and Bruce's deaths, the birth of his kids, Carrie, the longing to get away from it all. The song is full of metaphor and imagery like no other NY composition, describing childhood memories, dreams, life and death. Indeed, every line is precious, not a word wasted, following a chronological narrative from young to old. How Neil at a tender young age could write those words and set them to a simple, gorgeously rendered melody true to a traditional folk song structure is beyond astonishing. It is truly unique.
But now the song looks back over a life. In that context, it becomes something else, a chronicle, a memoir. That's what makes it alive.
"But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrasher comes I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine"
My God. Those words in 2014 mean something completely different than they did in 1978. But the meaning hasn't changed at all, either.
ps - And another thing...we think of Neil Young's songs as intensely personal, but ultimately what he writes is incredibly universal. Who hasn't watched westerns on their mama's TV? Who hasn't watched eagles and vultures soaring in the western sky? Who hasn't wondered how they lost their friends? And how many of us aren't becoming aware of our own mortality?
For me the most poignant line is "I was feelin' like my day had just begun." Sung by a man pushing 70, it serves to remind me how much more I want to accomplish in my life. With all his acccomplishments of the last decade (going back to Greendale) imagine how Neil Young feels.
Thanks setlistthief! Yes, quite eerie and prescient the lyrics of “Thrasher” relative to today's times. Certainly the hallmark of great art -- timeless.
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