Heart of Gold

Neil Young

I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

I've been to Hollywood
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean
for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind,
it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

Keep me searching
for a heart of gold
You keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm growing old.
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.

"Heart of Gold" from the 1972 album Harvest is Neil Young's only number one hit single in his long musical career. Rolling Stone ranked it #297 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[1] It features the back-up vocals of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.
The song is one of a series of soft, acoustic pieces which were written partly as a result of a back injury. Unable to stand for long periods of time, he could not play his electric guitar and so returned to his acoustic guitar, which he could play sitting down.[2] [3]
The song was taped during the initial sessions for Harvest in early 1971 at Quadrafonic Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Ronstadt and Taylor were in Nashville at the time for an appearance on Johnny Cash's television program, and the album's producer Elliot Mazer arranged for them to sing backup for Young in the studio. [4] [5]
Originally, this song was meant to segue with the song "A Man Needs a Maid", and was therefore played on piano. It was played in this manner during Young's solo shows in 1971, but he abandoned this approach midway through the tour and began to play it on guitar as it is now known. Additionally, one line that was cut when the two songs became separate entities was "Afraid/A man feels afraid" [6] An example of the segued version appears on Young's Live at Massey Hall 1971 release.
Young wrote in the liner notes of his compilation album Decade: "This song put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there." This statement was in response to the mainstream popularity that he gained as a result of "Heart of Gold"'s number-one status.
In 1985, Bob Dylan admitted that he hated this song, despite always liking Neil Young:[7]
The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about '72 and the big song at the time was "Heart of Gold." I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to "Heart of Gold." I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I'd say, "Shit, that's me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me."
The song has been covered by Tanya Donelly, Matchbox Twenty, Tori Amos, Free Dominguez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Richard Lloyd, Bettye Lavette, Birds and Batteries, Zakk Wylde (with Black Label Society), Boney M, Carla Cook, Lawrence Gowan, Stereophonics, Rockapella, Roxette, Backburner, Hanah, Ossifar, the James Last Orchestra, Five for Five, Sally Dworsky, Channeling Owen, Stoney LaRue, The Bad Plus, Dave Matthews and Jimmy Buffett (with the Coral Reefer Band), and as a Karaoke backing track. It is also heard briefly in the film Iceman.
In 2005, "Heart of Gold" was named the third greatest Canadian song of all time on the CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version. It ranked behind only Barenaked Ladies' "If I Had $1000000" and Ian and Sylvia's "Four Strong Winds".[citation needed]

Neil Percival Young[1], OC[2] OM[3] (born November 12, 1945) is a Grammy Award winning Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and film director. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1995 and also as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.[4] Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960. He then migrated to California in 1966, as part of Buffalo Springfield and established himself as the tentative fourth member of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Due to Young's relationship with all band members diminishing to being too acrimonious for them to cooperate, he left both and forged a solo career, to success and critical acclaim. He has since become "one of the most respected and influential musicians of his generation".[5]
Young's work is characterized by his deeply personal, often politically outspoken lyrics, distinctive guitar work,[6][7] and signature[8] tenor singing voice. Although he accompanies himself on several different instruments—including the piano and harmonica, his clawhammer acoustic guitar style and often idiosyncratic electric guitar soloing are the linchpins of a sometimes ragged, sometimes melodic sound. Although Young has experimented widely with differing music styles, including swing, jazz, rockabilly, blues, and electronic music throughout a varied career, his best known work usually falls into either of two distinct styles: acoustic folk and country rock ("Heart of Gold", "Harvest Moon" and "Old Man") and electric-charged hard rock (like "Cinnamon Girl", "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"), in collaboration with the band Crazy Horse. In recent years, Young has adopted elements from newer styles such as industrial, alternative country, alternative rock and grunge. Young's profound influence on the latter caused some to dub him "the Godfather of Grunge".[9] Young has been an undeniably important artist; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website begins their article on Young stating flatly that "Neil Young is one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers".[10] His distinct influence and inspiration within popular music derive in part from his longevity of a career spanning more than four decades.
Young has directed (or co-directed) a number of films using the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, including Journey Through the Past (1973), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Human Highway (1982), Greendale (2003), and CSNY Déjà Vu (2008). He is currently working on a documentary about electric car technology, tentatively titled Linc/Volt. The project involves a 1959 Lincoln Continental converted to hybrid technology, which Young plans to drive to Washington, D.C. as an environmentalist example to lawmakers there.[11]
Young is an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and the welfare of small farmers, having co-founded in 1985 the benefit concert Farm Aid. In 1986, Young helped found The Bridge School,[12] an educational organization for children with severe verbal and physical disabilities, and its annual supporting Bridge School Benefit concerts, together with his wife Pegi. (Young's involvement stems at least partially from that his sons Ben and Zeke have cerebral palsy, and his daughter Amber Jean, like Young himself, has epilepsy).
Young currently resides on his ranch in La Honda, California. Although Young has lived in northern California since the 1970s and sings as frequently about U.S. themes and subjects as he does about his native country, he retains Canadian citizenship, which he has never wanted to relinquish.[13] On July 14, 2006, Young was awarded the Order of Manitoba.[3] On December 30, 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[14]