NEIL YOUNG: On the Beach (1974)

1. Walk On
2. See The Sky About To Rain
3. Revolution Blues
4. For The Turnstiles
5. Vampire Blues
6. On The Beach
7. Motion Pictures (For Carrie)
8. Ambulance Blues

WALK ON
I hear some people been talkin' me down,
Bring up my name, pass it 'round.
They don't mention happy times
They do their thing, I'll do mine.
Ooh baby, that's hard to change
I can't tell them how to feel.
Some get stoned, some get strange,
But sooner or later it all gets real.
Walk on, walk on,
Walk on, walk on.

I remember the good old days,
Stayed up all night gettin' crazed.
Then the money was not so good,
But we still did the best we could.
Ooh baby, that's hard to change
I can't tell them how to feel.
Some get stoned, some get strange,
But sooner or later it all gets real.
Walk on, walk on,
Walk on, walk on.

SEE THE SKY ABOUT TO RAIN
See the sky about to rain, broken clouds and rain.
Locomotive pull the train, whistle blowing through my brain.
Signals curling on an open plain, rolling down the track again.
See the sky about to rain.

Some are bound for happiness, some are bound to glory
Some are bound to live with less, who can tell your story?
See the sky about to rain, broken clouds and rain.
Locomotive pull the train, whistle blowin' through my brain.
Signals curlin' on an open plain, rollin' down the track again.
See the sky about to rain.

I was down in Dixie Land, played a silver fiddle
Played it loud and then the man broke it down the middle.
See the sky about to rain.

REVOLUTION BLUES
Well, we live in a trailer at the edge of town

You never see us 'cause we don't come around.

We got twenty five rifles just to keep the population down.

But we need you now, and that's why I'm hangin' 'round.

So you be good to me and I'll be good to you,

And in this land of conditions I'm not above suspicion I won't attack you, but I won't back you.

Well, it's so good to be here, asleep on your lawn.

Remember your guard dog? Well, I'm afraid that he's gone.

It was such a drag to hear him whining all night long.

Yes, that was me with the doves, setting them free near the factory where you built your computer, love.

I hope you get the connection, 'cause I can't take the rejection I won't deceive you, I just don't believe you.

Well, I'm a barrel of laughs, with my carbine on

I keep 'em hoppin', till my ammunition's gone.

But I'm still not happy, I feel like there's something wrong.

I got the revolution blues, I see bloody fountains, and ten million dune buggies comin' down the mountains.

Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars, But I hate them worse than lepers and I'll kill them in their cars.

FOR THE TURNSTILES
All the sailors with their seasick mamas
Hear the sirens on the shore,
Singin' songs for pimps with tailors
Who charge ten dollars at the door.

You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day.
Though your confidence may be shattered,
It doesn't matter.

All the great explorers
Are now in granite laid,
Under white sheets for the great unveiling
At the big parade.
You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day.
Though your confidence may be shattered,
It doesn't matter.

All the bushleague batters
Are left to die on the diamond.
In the stands the home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles,
For the turnstiles,
For the turnstiles

VAMPIRE BLUES
I'm a vampire, babe, suckin' blood from the earth
I'm a vampire, baby, suckin' blood from the earth.
Well, I'm a vampire, babe, sell you twenty barrels worth.

I'm a black bat, babe, bangin' on your window pane
I'm a black bat, baby, bangin' on your window pane.
Well, I'm a black bat, babe, I need my high octane.

Good times are comin', I hear it everywhere I go
Good times are comin', I hear it everywhere I go.
Good times are comin', but they sure comin' slow.

I'm a vampire, babe, suckin' blood from the earth
I'm a vampire, baby, suckin' blood from the earth.
Well, I'm a vampire, babe, sell you twenty barrels worth.

ON THE BEACH
The world is turnin', I hope it don't turn away,
The world is turnin', I hope it don't turn away.
All my pictures are fallin' from the wall where I placed them yesterday.
The world is turnin', I hope it don't turn away.

I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day,
I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day.
Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away.
I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day.

I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone,
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone.
Now I'm livin' out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach.
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone.

Get out of town, think I'll get out of town,
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town.
I head for the sticks with my bus and friends,
I follow the road, though I don't know where it ends.
Get out of town, get out of town, think I'll get out of town.
'Cause the world is turnin', I don't want to see it turn away.

MOTION PICTURES
Motion pictures on my TV screen,
A home away from home, livin' in between
But I hear some people have got their dream.
I've got mine.
I hear the mountains are doin' fine,
Mornin' glory is on the vine,
And the dew is fallin', the ducks are callin'.
Yes, I've got mine.
Well, all those people, they think they got it made
But I wouldn't buy, sell, borrow or trade
Anything I have to be like one of them.
I'd rather start all over again.

Well, all those headlines, they just bore me now
I'm deep inside myself, but I'll get out somehow,
And I'll stand before you, and I'll bring a smile to your eyes.
Motion pictures, motion pictures.

AMBULANCE BLUES
Back in the old folky days

The air was magic when we played.

The riverboat was rockin' in the rain

Midnight was the time for the raid.

Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela,

They tore you down and plowed you under.

You're only real with your make-up on

How could I see you and stay too long?

All along the Navajo Trail,

Burn-outs stub their toes on garbage pails.

Waitresses are cryin' in the rain

Will their boyfriends pass this way again?

Oh, Mother Goose, she's on the skids

The shoe ain't happy, neither are the kids.

She needs someone that she can scream at

And I'm such a heel for makin' her feel so bad.

I guess I'll call it sickness gone It's hard

to say the meaning of this song.

An ambulance can only go so fast

It's easy to get buried in the past

When you try to make a good thing last.

I saw today in the entertainment section

There's room at the top for private detection.

To Mom and Dad this just doesn't matter,

But it's either that or pay off the kidnapper.

So all you critics sit alone

You're no better than me for what you've shown.

With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams

We could get together for some scenes.

Well, I'm up in T.O. keepin' jive alive,

And out on the corner it's half past five.

But the subways are empty

And so are the cafes.

Except for the Farmer's Market

And I still can hear him say:

You're all just pissin' in the wind

You don't know it but you are.

And there ain't nothin' like a friend

Who can tell you you're just pissin' in the wind.

I never knew a man could tell so many lies

He had a different story for every set of eyes

How can he remember who he's talking to?

Cause I know it ain't me, and hope it isn't you.