Nagi
Helpless...Questions about this famous song by Neil Young
There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.
Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us
Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.
Q1. Many Japanese websites interpret this song as "We are left helpless. So we feel very depressed". But I have believed that Niel Young was saying "Please leave us helpless". which is correct?
Q2.What does "with dream comfort memory to spare" mean? My idea: there're many dream(s) which comfort Neil's unwanted memories in the town"...right?
Q3. "Blue blue windows behind the stars"...Can anybody picture this line? Where are the windows? Above the sky?
...Any opinion is welcome!
Jun 17, 2017 9:39 AM
Comments · 4
I'm sorry for being late to answer. Thanks to your help, I've managed to make out my blog entry. Though it's written in Japanese, I hope you read it if you were interested.
June 22, 2017
The lyrics don't make much sense to me. I think we need to ask the writer what he meant.
June 18, 2017
Here's how I take it for what it's worth.
Q1. I read somewhere the song is mostly about Young's childhood memories. He had his formative years in a town called Omemee in northern Ontario, and it was not all happy memories, primarily because of his parents' divorce. So I would guess he's mostly singing about the period of helplessness he went through as a young boy.
Q2. "with dream comfort memory to spare". I would interpret it as "abundant comforting memories worthy of dreams", or something like "dream-like comfortable memory to spare". This is in reference to the town he grew up in, which was supposedly a peaceful small town, so it probably means the happy, comfortable side of that part of his life.
Q3. "Blue blue windows behind the stars". It sounds to me like young Neil yearning for an over-the-rainbow place he can escape to. He says in verse one "And in my mind, I still need a place to go", which seems to suggest he had a lot of unsettling experiences in those days.
About a year before Helpless, Neil Young released Cowgirl in the Sand (my favorite) which seems to describe similar (though more cryptic) sentiments. Cowgirl is probably looking back at his life at that point, with lots of success under his belt, but it seems like he's still as helpless as he is happy.
(3rd verse of Cowgirl in The Sand)
Hello woman of my dream....With dream comfort memory to spare,
Is this not................................And in my mind
the way it seems....................I still need a place to go
Purple words..........................Blue, blue windows
on a grey background............behind the stars
...
Anyway, classic rock was a lot of fun :-)
June 17, 2017
I think what was meant here with the word "helpless" is a description of our situation in the world. We are helpless against so many things which we confronted in our life. Sun gives us light but when it is too hot we are helpless. But the striking part of the song is "in my mind I still need a place to go". This also implies that we are helpless before the thoughts, ideas in our minds because we took them from outside world and try to harmonize them and this creates a need of escape to some place to go in our minds.
June 17, 2017
Nagi
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Gaelic (Irish), Japanese, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Korean, Vietnamese
Articles You May Also Like
Conflict at Work: How to Handle Disagreements in English
14 likes · 7 Comments
How to Give and Receive Constructive Feedback: Strategies for Success in the Workplace
65 likes · 21 Comments
10 American Car Idioms You Should Know
33 likes · 14 Comments
More articles
