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Neil Young — Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Album: After the Gold Rush
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1096









Released: 1970
Length: 3:01
Plays (last 30 days): 0
When you were young and on your own
How did it feel to be alone?
I was always thinking of games that I was playing
Trying to make the best of my time

But only love can break your heart
Try to be sure right from the start
Yes, only love can break your heart
What if your world should fall apart?

I have a friend I've never seen
He hides his head inside a dream
Someone should call him and see if he can come out
Try to lose the down that he's found

But only love can break your heart
Try to be sure right from the start
Yes, only love can break your heart
What if your world should fall apart?

I have a friend I've never seen
He hides his head inside a dream
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Comments (129)add comment
 scott_bruce wrote:

Boy, this one brings on the nausea.

Alka Weeknd. 
A titan of the genre.  A unique and iconic master of his form. 
 coloradojohn wrote:
There is something more to Neil's songs than just chords and strumming. There's a magic in the way he TWEAKS things — voice, too.
 

Nice to see someone gets it (and him)!  Always amazed at the quantity of "Neil Knockers".  Guess we all can't have great taste!
 expatlar wrote:
Boy, this one brings on the nostalgia.

 
Boy, this one brings on the nausea.
 BCarn wrote:
Another whining droning Neil Young song! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Defo a PSD.
  Yep, more whining, but not from Neil.
Another whining droning Neil Young song! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Defo a PSD.
Boy, this one brings on the nostalgia.
There is something more to Neil's songs than just chords and strumming. There's a magic in the way he TWEAKS things — voice, too.
 Well said

dingleberry wrote:
The triumph of it is that you can take that voice, some fairly rudimentary chord changes, all the rest of it pretty straightforward, and still come out the other end with a beautiful song that has staying power and clearly resonates with a lot of people. And do this successfully over and over again.

 


 helgigermany wrote:
Best Neil Album!

 
Can't make up my mind about that one.
Simply beautiful.   
One of those songs that takes you aback, makes you feel exactly what the artist is trying to express, and gives you great Faith & Hope
Cannot live without Neil.
 Paul_Williams wrote:
If you don't like this version maybe try the Saint Etienne one. Just a thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZAajrxvDs4

 
How can you not like this version?
If you don't like this version maybe try the Saint Etienne one. Just a thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZAajrxvDs4
Not only love can break my heart, Neil's songs too. So simple, so great.
 h8rhater wrote:

Just use the PSD button.  Or, alternatively, enjoy these great Neil Young classics when they come up in the rotation. 

Those are your options (other than this unseemly whining, of course)

 
hahaha....good one
 AndyJ wrote:

Please... More rare...less often... I am burned out on his whiny nasal mewling

Less Neil Young and more -anybody else.

I know it's just me...but I refuse to hit the PSD button unless it is reall annoying...yes, it's me but the history I have with his music makes me shun it whenever possible... The PSD is for the young and impatient... I am old and have patience plus memories... Different folks...and all that

 
Just use the PSD button.  Or, alternatively, enjoy these great Neil Young classics when they come up in the rotation. 

Those are your options (other than this unseemly whining, of course)
The triumph of it is that you can take that voice, some fairly rudimentary chord changes, all the rest of it pretty straightforward, and still come out the other end with a beautiful song that has staying power and clearly resonates with a lot of people. And do this successfully over and over again.
I would like to go back in time and tell Neil young that he will someday look like a crazy version of Yoda. 
{#Clap} {#Cheers}
 tonypf wrote:

My pick: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.

 
"Neil Young" plus "Everygody Knows This is Nowhere" followed by "After the Gold Rush" stayed on my turntable for those pivotal years when I finished high school and started college. They will always be favorites of mine, and they hold up well.
Recorded at the legendary Sound City!
 helgigermany wrote:
Best Neil Album!

 
.......... for sure, big "Godlike"
 helgigermany wrote:
Best Neil Album!

 
My pick: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.
Yup, true enough, like scriptures from a Holy book. Neil nailed it and nestled it among a treasure trove of myriad emotions, to shine eternal.
Best Neil Album!
 richlister wrote:
. . . now this prick!
 
Don't be so hard on yourself. You can't help it if your taste in music sucks.
 AndyJ wrote:

Please... More rare...less often... I am burned out on his whiny nasal mewling

Less Neil Young and more -anybody else.

I know it's just me...but I refuse to hit the PSD button unless it is reall annoying...yes, it's me but the history I have with his music makes me shun it whenever possible... The PSD is for the young and impatient... I am old and have patience plus memories... Different folks...and all that
 
The PSD is taking a real beating at the minute, Bill's server must be working it's tits off! T. Waits, B. Dylan, F. Adele now this prick!
awesome

Please... More rare...less often... I am burned out on his whiny nasal mewling

Less Neil Young and more -anybody else.

I know it's just me...but I refuse to hit the PSD button unless it is reall annoying...yes, it's me but the history I have with his music makes me shun it whenever possible... The PSD is for the young and impatient... I am old and have patience plus memories... Different folks...and all that


Oh, yeah...this is the ticket, to every time it was ever heard, because every time, it touches something with its unapologetic purity and innocence, and by God its TRUTH! and last time I saw you Neil I think it was Costa Mesa in '86 or '87 and SEE YOU ON AUG 5, RedRocks!
Very nice! Thanks a lot for this! Gave away this vinyl to my yonger brother. He has it still!
 ozzie1313 wrote:
Hard to pick an all-time favorite, but if forced, it would be Neil.  Don't think you do requests but would love to hear Sugar Mountain.  Sold all my vinyl years ago, Neil included, to my younger brother for cocaine money.  He still has all the albums.
 
But where did the coke go??
Try - just try - to not sing along with this.
Classic.
Hard to pick an all-time favorite, but if forced, it would be Neil.  Don't think you do requests but would love to hear Sugar Mountain.  Sold all my vinyl years ago, Neil included, to my younger brother for cocaine money.  He still has all the albums.
Great song!

Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done, Live  As featured on the Johnny Cash Show."Listened to Harvest from beginning to end today. Don't think I'm overstating when I say it's a musical and lyrical masterpiece."



Neil Young by ~p0m
©2009-2010 ~p0m

I'm sorry for
the things I've done,
I've shamed myself with lies,
But soon these things
are overcome
And can't be recognized.

- Neil Young, Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets)

———

Norwegian Wood 2009. What a man!



like he said

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young @ June.5.1970.Fillmore East.

 pdemeester wrote:
Agreed. Nicely put. Your comment resonates with the way I have come to understand Neil.

We saw Neil here in London Ontario last week and I was struck by the fight he has - in his head, in his music, and physically with his guitar - as if all of these years have built a pressure that can't seem to let go. He's becoming one of those wise old souls that has traveled and learned and absorbed life but has only one outlet to share the knowledge - his music. 
 
Excellent post from a fellow Londoner. I felt the same thing seeing him playing for Conan's finale show last week. He seemed awkward socially, played the guitar too "loud" than he needed to, didn't let the song carry the moment enough ('Long May You Run'). He certainly has left it all on the table after all these years. Legendary. Feel lucky to have grown up in his era.
Love Neil.
{#Clap}
 On_The_Beach wrote:
If you like this early Neil, check out the recently released "Live at Massey Hall in 1971" DVD. It's amzing.
                                                               
       Truly amazing but then again,Mr.Young, always' amazzing !{#Smile}
 ScottishWillie wrote:
Nicely put Steeler
 
Agreed. Nicely put. Your comment resonates with the way I have come to understand Neil.

We saw Neil here in London Ontario last week and I was struck by the fight he has - in his head, in his music, and physically with his guitar - as if all of these years have built a pressure that can't seem to let go. He's becoming one of those wise old souls that has traveled and learned and absorbed life but has only one outlet to share the knowledge - his music.
 

There was a time in my late teens - early twenties when all I listened to was Neil Young and Todd.



Does this ever bring it back, alas. It was very sweet when he did this in the CSNY tour a few years ago, esp. in the midst of all his new raging anti-war songs.

If you're feeling this, it's as if Neil has climbed inside your head and heart . 
 Papernapkin wrote:
I like Neil, but he can be a downer to have along on a sunny day like today.
 
There is never a time when this song isn't a downer. I've never been able to appreciate it.
Best NY album ever...and there are so many! {#Daisy}
 ThePoose wrote:
Neil told 12,000 of us at a CSNY concert last Saturday (July 8, 2006) in Ottawa, Ontario, that he wrote this for Graham Nash after the latter had broken up with Joni Mitchell. Neil said this just after Graham played Our House (dedicated to Joni) alone on an acoustic piano. Nash told the crowd that he met Joni for the first time at a hotel a few miles down the road from the concert hall we were all in. That hotel was the Chateau Laurier, and the year was 1967.
 

Great story, thanks for that. I love this musical period, wonderful to learn this.
Seminal album from Neil, possibly his best.
I like Neil, but he can be a downer to have along on a sunny day like today.
Surprisingly open and emotional for Neil.  I still like this one after all these years.
Good lyrics but the singing is so . . . strained.
classic neil young....and crazyhorse. pure 60's lyrics. what memories :-)
nice soulful song..especially the chorus. reminds me of luther vandross in a way. he could've sang this with just a few changes. but then again, neil has always has a soulful sound..
steeler wrote:
Melancholy, yet somehow hopeful.
Nicely put Steeler
Great segue!
One of my first vinyl discs bought through a record club when still at school, still a great album.
I'll have to say I like every version of this song I've heard. I guess when you have a solid foundation you can build just about anything on top.
If you like this early Neil, check out the recently released "Live at Massey Hall in 1971" DVD. It's amazing.

goder42 wrote:
... Really...everyone go look up the lyrics...then go dig out those love letters you wrote when you were 13 (but didnt send because you knew the were cheesy and awful). They are the same.
OK. Fine. Musicians have license to say the things we all wish we could say, but can't... because we are afraid. That's what makes them artists, and us critics.
Wha? Did you miss the sarcasm? Or did you get it and are now insulting somebody who didn't insult you because of his political beliefs? Mugro wrote:
I used to think that you were a clever, irreverent and witty critic that didn't follow the crowd. Now I just think you are just another one of the mindless sheeple who lets someone think for him and pretends to be a clever, irreverent and witty critic....
physicsgenius wrote:
The Bush Administration is pretty awesome, if you don't get hung up on their policies.
I used to think that you were a clever, irreverent and witty critic that didn't follow the crowd. Now I just think you are just another one of the mindless sheeple who lets someone think for him and pretends to be a clever, irreverent and witty critic....
jedzep wrote:
Hey, I always thought it cool that Neil was giving that old lady a ride in his back pack.
She's not heavy, she's my mother.
Ooooh, and me with a broken heart ...
did I just hear a little skip...as in the record?? must be losing my mind.
is there a special Neil occasion?
I had forgotten how much I loved this song.
I am in love with his voice. I just wish his lyrics were not so full of terrible-ness. "Only love can break your heart." Really...everyone go look up the lyrics...then go dig out those love letters you wrote when you were 13 (but didnt send because you knew the were cheesy and awful). They are the same.
physicsgenius wrote:
The Bush Administration is pretty awesome, if you don't get hung up on their policies.
Zing!
physicsgenius wrote:
The Bush Administration is pretty awesome, if you don't get hung up on their policies.
Actually I wouldn't mind so much if the Bush administration only sounded like idiots but developed and practiced good policy. I could find a lot to admire then. I think of Young that way. He may not have the best voice, but his songs touch me.
Saint Etienne does a nice cover and a much nicer album cover
Wonderful song! Great album! Stingray!
hippiechick wrote:
Why do these fools get so hung up on the way someone sings?!? There's a lot more to a song than that.
The Bush Administration is pretty awesome, if you don't get hung up on their policies.
Great song, great album. Neil is the man. Don't like his voice? Oh, boo-hoo!
jedzep wrote:
Hey, I always thought it cool that Neil was giving that old lady a ride in his back pack.
LOL
Mediocre Neil Young fan. Really like this tune.
wondertoofar wrote:
Not even close. I can think of possibly hundres uglier. Besides, I never caught myself listening to an album cover. Well, not straight anyway.
Hey, I always thought it cool that Neil was giving that old lady a ride in his back pack.
ThePoose wrote:
Neil told 12,000 of us at a CSNY concert last Saturday (July 8, 2006) in Ottawa, Ontario, that he wrote this for Graham Nash after the latter had broken up with Joni Mitchell. Neil said this just after Graham played Our House (dedicated to Joni) alone on an acoustic piano. Nash told the crowd that he met Joni for the first time at a hotel a few miles down the road from the concert hall we were all in. That hotel was the Chateau Laurier, and the year was 1967.
Right. And to get off topic a little, I have read that Joni Mitchell's "My Old Man" was written about Graham Nash. It's cool how Graham turns over the piano to Neil for these related songs.
Neil told 12,000 of us at a CSNY concert last Saturday (July 8, 2006) in Ottawa, Ontario, that he wrote this for Graham Nash after the latter had broken up with Joni Mitchell. Neil said this just after Graham played Our House (dedicated to Joni) alone on an acoustic piano. Nash told the crowd that he met Joni for the first time at a hotel a few miles down the road from the concert hall we were all in. That hotel was the Chateau Laurier, and the year was 1967.
Oh, my, just saw Neil perform this lovely song live at the first CSNY show of the summer tour last week in Camden, NJ. It was a rare mellow moment in a very political evening. Mr. Young is a mighty angry old man!
hippiechick wrote:
What a great album this is! Why do these fools get so hung up on the way someone sings?!? There's a lot more to a song than that.
Can you explain what you mean?
Only Neil Can Break Your Eardrums.
leander37 wrote:
ugliest album cover ever?
Not even close. I can think of possibly hundres uglier. Besides, I never caught myself listening to an album cover. Well, not straight anyway.
hippiechick wrote:
What a great album this is! Why do these fools get so hung up on the way someone sings?!? There's a lot more to a song than that.
song... sing... sing song... sing a song... hm. maybe it is important after all?
Melancholy, yet somehow hopeful. Really can relate to it. Sure, it may sound trite at first blush, but it mines a deep vein.
This song basically describes my mood right now. Well done Bill
What a great album this is! Why do these fools get so hung up on the way someone sings?!? There's a lot more to a song than that.
ugliest album cover ever?
algrif wrote:
Have you ever been to one of those late night Kareoke bars where everyone is drunk ??
Nope, I haven't. Maybe that was a rhetorical question.
kazuma wrote:
I gave it an 8 because I like it, not because of who did it.
I gave it a 2 because the 'lyrics' are just about bearable. Otherwise it would have beena 1 because he CAN'T SING !!! Have you ever been to one of those late night Kareoke bars where everyone is drunk ??.....
Neil's voice moves me, too. In the last foot of my large intestine...
byrd wrote:
It surprises me a bit that this song is rated so high. I would wager that if almost ANY other artist's name was connected to this song instead of Neil Young, it would be rated somewhere between a 5 or 6.
I gave it an 8 because I like it, not because of who did it.
It surprises me a bit that this song is rated so high. I would wager that if almost ANY other artist's name was connected to this song instead of Neil Young, it would be rated somewhere between a 5 or 6.
Does anyone else hear a Burt Bachrach melody in this song? But I don't care--it's a great song. "I have a friend who hides his head inside a dream..."
Pyro wrote:
I wish the ORIGINAL release date would show. What is this 1990 release date? The year Amazon decided to carry it? Re-released then? Isn't this a 1970 CD? Unlike Bossiewolf (who said he sang it at the top of his lungs at age six or seven), I was 15 when this came out, and I too, sang it at the top of my lungs.
We must be about the same age. One night I crashed at a friend's house after we'd been out getting rip-roaringly drunk and we put "Gold Rush" on to play us to sleep. Unfortunately, he had one of those "fancy" turntables that allowed you to play one side of the LP over and over and over until the end of time by setting some switch or something, and one of us inadvertantly flipped it on as we started the album. Result: as drunkenness set in, we were forced to hear the same side of the album over and over and over until the sun came up because neither of us was sober enough to get up and turn it off. I thought I'd never be able to listen to it again. Thankfully, I got over it and it's still one of my faves, despite the occasional flashback to the drunken equivalent of being a turtle on its back.
When you were young, you didn't use the money your mom gave you for singing lessons.
One of my all-time favorite albums, without a doubt. I will probably cry when Neil finally dies.
Geed wrote:
To all the naysayers........fuck off. After The Goldrush was Neil's best.
Much agreed!!
Norge1 wrote:
As much as I love Neil's music and own a lot of it...RP is not the place for top-40 hits IMHO... There's so much Neil to be played...risk it, I dare ya...
i have to agree, but it's still a killer song
True DAT! (only Love Can do a lot of things)
billyd wrote:
annoying then. annoying now.
Yes you were annoying then and you are still annoying now.
madtowner11 wrote:
I'm still more blown away by the people who worship Neil Young than I am by the objective badness of his voice.
I believe you mean subjective badness.
Simple, emotional, true. Thanks, Neil!
I happened to see Neil in 1986 (I think it was the Garage Band Tour). It was right after Crosby had gotten out of the can in Texas. Neil brought Crosby and Nash out and they did this tune (and Ohio, I think, cripes it was 20 years ago!). It was pretty damn cool!
Pyro wrote:
I wish the ORIGINAL release date would show. What is this 1990 release date? The year Amazon decided to carry it? Re-released then? Isn't this a 1970 CD? Unlike Bossiewolf (who said he sang it at the top of his lungs at age six or seven), I was 15 when this came out, and I too, sang it at the top of my lungs.
If this was a 1970 CD, it would have been quite a technological feat!
I'm still more blown away by the people who worship Neil Young than I am by the objective badness of his voice.
As much as I love Neil's music and own a lot of it...RP is not the place for top-40 hits IMHO... There's so much Neil to be played...risk it, I dare ya...
Wonderful angst-of-youth song . . . I remember playing it over and over on certain occasions. Heck, I guess it still works.
I wish the ORIGINAL release date would show. What is this 1990 release date? The year Amazon decided to carry it? Re-released then? Isn't this a 1970 CD? Unlike Bossiewolf (who said he sang it at the top of his lungs at age six or seven), I was 15 when this came out, and I too, sang it at the top of my lungs.
I'd like to dedicate this to my husband who was the first (and only) man to ever break my heart.
8) Great to hear the man on RP!
Always loved this album...used to sing along with it at the top of my lungs when I was only...what, six or seven?? :oops: And have loved it ever since...go Neil. Still going strong!
artmarcia wrote:
I remember these lyrics with a totally different tune.
you're thinking of the st. etienne cover, perhaps, which was a COMPLETELY different (and more enjoyable, IMHO) version. it would be interesting to hear them back to back.
Geed wrote:
To all the naysayers........fuck off. After The Goldrush was Neil's best.
Ah, um, er . . . well, yes, you are correct.
Eul0gy wrote:
Perfecting the art of crap.
ggrrrrrrrrrrggggrrrrrrrr.