Down by the River
Neil Young & Crazy Horse * Track #4 On Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Download "Down by the River"
Album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
- #1
Cinnamon GirlNeil Young & Crazy Horse
- #2Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- #3
Round & Round (It Won’t Be Long)Neil Young & Crazy Horse & Robin Lane
- #4Down by the River
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- #5The Losing End (When You’re On)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- #6Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- #7Cowgirl in the Sand
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Down by the River by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Release Date
Performed by
Neil Young & Crazy HorseProduced by
David Briggs & Neil YoungWrited by
Neil YoungAbout
Neil Young claims to have written this song, along with “Cinnamon Girl” and “Cowgirl in the Sand”, while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103° F (39 °C) fever, as explained in the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade.
He has provided multiple explanations for the lyrics. In an i...
Down by the River Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Be on my side, I'll be on your side, baby
There is no reason for you to hide
It's so hard for me staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride
[Pre-Chorus]
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) Yeah
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) She could drag me over the rainbow
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) And send me away
[Chorus]
Down by the river I shot my baby
Down by the river
Dead, ooh
Shot her dead, ooh
[Guitar Solo 1]
[Verse 2]
You take my hand, I'll take your hand
Together we may get away
This much madness is too much sorrow
It's impossible to make it today
[Pre-Chorus]
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) Yeah, ooh, yeah
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) She could drag me over the rainbow
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) And send me away, yeah
[Chorus]
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Dead, dead, ooh
Ooh, shot her dead
Shot her dead
[Guitar Solo 2]
[Verse 1]
Be on my side, I'll be on your side
There is no reason for you to hide
It's so hard for me staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride
[Pre-Chorus]
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) Ooh, yeah
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) She could drag me over the rainbow
(Ooh la la lah la la lala) And send me away, yeah
[Chorus]
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river
Down by the River Q&A
Who wrote Down by the River's ?
Down by the River was written by Neil Young.
Who produced Down by the River's ?
Down by the River was produced by David Briggs & Neil Young.
When did Neil Young & Crazy Horse release Down by the River?
Neil Young & Crazy Horse released Down by the River on Wed May 14 1969.
What is Neil's meaning for this song?
In the aforementioned interview linked above, Young proclaimed in 1970 that the song is about “blowing your thing with a chick,” and continued onwards by saying that the rest of the track is “a desperation cry.”
Was it recorded by a black group or artist? Who were they?
Crazy Horse is an American-country rock group, who formed in 1969, initially formed several years prior as Danny & the Memories. The members consisted of Danny Whitten, Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina, all of whom descend from different ethnicities- primarily American, but the lat...
What did Neil Young & Crazy Horse say about "Down by the River"?
In a 1970 interview with Fusion, Young spoke on the meaning of the song:
There’s no real murder in it. It’s about blowing your thing with a chick. See, now in the beginning, it’s ‘I’ll be on your side, you be on mine’. It could be anything. Then the chick thing comes in. Then at the end it’s a whol...