“You have to be ready to give everything you have…”

You have to be ready to give everything you have, and you have to make sure you’ve really got a lot to give. Because if [...] you’re not ready to give everything you have, [...] then you’re nothin’.

- Neil Young in an interview with Laura Gross; 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Innaresting characters”, p. 13

See also: “The pieces of shit should be there too…”; “I guess I’m an extremist.”

“I love old cars…”

I love old cars. Forties, fifties. Big cars. Heavy metal. I even love new cars. ‘Cause they get me where I wanna go. I love travel. I got hooked on those trips when I was five, six years-old. I think it was my dad. The highway bug. I’ve always loved it.

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 47-8

“Architecture is more important than the artist…”

Architecture is a reflection not of the one person, but of a time and place where civilisation is at. The architecture is more important than the artist, where a lot of other art, the line’s kinda blurred – like, fer instance, rock and roll, okay?

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 47

“I like… basic architecture…”

I like… basic architecture. Think of how incredible it would be to come up with a form that could be used in the way that the Indians used the tepee? Imagine what it would be like to think of that.

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 47

“I always liked building things…”

I always liked building things. I like having crews working, stuff going on. Creativity. People working and getting paid and creating something – feeling good about what they’re doing.

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 47

“Polio fucked up my body…”

Polio fucked up my body a little bit. The left-hand side got a little screwed. Feels different from the right. If I close my eyes, my left side, I really don’t know where it is – but over the years I’ve discovered that almost one hundred percent for sure it’s gonna be very close to my right side… probably to the left.

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 46

“First train…”

First train my [dad and mom] got me was when I was livin’ in Omemee… Five years-old or somethin’. My dad built the table and we put the thing together. Just before I went to sleep at night I’d turn the train on. It was all dark in the room and it was right there by my bed. I’d turn it on and just watch it go around in the dark, and pretty soon that old AC motor inside would start smelling that ozone smell. I don’t know if you know that Lionel* smell, but now when I smell that, I remember that feeling. Trains. I find their sounds inspirational. So fuckin’ big – wide – vibrating. Awesome.

- Neil Young interviewed by Dave Zimmer, BAM, 22nd April 1988

Reference: McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography. UK: Vintage Press. “Mr. Blue and Mr. Red”, p. 43

* “Lionel” refers to Lionel LLC – a designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads. They were a train company Neil revered since childhood, and from 1995, Neil followed his passions and bought a 20% share in the company [source]. He had helped finance development of the Trainmaster Command Control which enabled toy trains to be controlled by remote controls , as well as provide unique ideas for Railsounds II – a sound system that would faithfully reproduce the sound of a particular locomotive, with unique technologies and a loudspeaker built into each model [source]. However, following the company’s official reorganisation on 28th March 2008 (following company bankruptcy), Neil no longer holds a share in the company, although Lionel LLC Chief Executive Gerald Calabrese claims that Neil will have an ongoing role in the company, because “this is Neil’s passion. We certainly want him involved, but, I want to be clear, it’s up to him.” [source].