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Album: Deja Vu
Avg rating:
8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1942









Released: 1970
Length: 4:03
Plays (last 30 days): 0
If I had ever been here before
I would probably know just what to do
Don't you?
If I had ever been here before on another time around the wheel
I would probably know just how to deal
With all of you
And I feel
like I've been here before
Feel
like I've been here before
And you know it makes me wonder
What's going on under the ground, hmmm
Do you know? Don't you wonder?
What's going on down under you
We have all been here before, we have all been here before
We have all been here before, we have all been here before
We have all been here before, we have all been here before
Comments (228)add comment
Still striking after all these years. 
I was literally six months old when this was released. It's part of the background music of my life.
Somehow this sounds British (and I mean that in every positiv way possible)
ahhhh

the vocals

the harmonies

I remember freaking out as a teenager when my mom said she liked their vocals. But she always had a good ear for vocals: Ella,  Billie,  Peggy,  Frank. 


   
Nice acknowledgement of David Crosby's Life , William.  Very saddened - although not altogether surprised -- to learn of his passing. His solo and CSN(+Y) work among my favourite music, which were also touchstones for much of the 1970's and '80's for me.  And his autobiography...so many stories.  Amazing he lived as long as he did.  Thankful his music will continue to be with us...
 obispo wrote:

RIP David Crosby.  We owe so much to him.




Yes. A real talent that one. 
What a life! Thank you for all the great tunes, David.
RIP David Crosby.  We owe so much to him.
 acolt wrote:

Meh.




If you don't like it, hit the SKIP BUTTON.   CASE CLOSED!!
 Dapps wrote:

I so wish I had a Magic Carpet to take me back to those times  -  or a time machine -   either would be just fine.




Works for me!!   
I so wish I had a Magic Carpet to take me back to those times  -  or a time machine -   either would be just fine.
The slideshow kept swapping the same 2 images. Brilliant ! 
Meh.
Forever reminds me of my trips through Kakadu and Barramundi Gorge, when my newest Ozzie mates and I would put away a tall stack of stubbies every night around the campfire, and, luckily, I had this on cassette, and I was urged to play it, every night, at sunset...
I MISS THOSE SMILIN' WILD TIMES DOWN UNDER, MATES!
 Queue wrote:
I'm not particularly fond of the fast part in the beginning, but then when it slows down....  

It had to have somewhere to slow down from.
 LowPhreak wrote:
Late winter morning, 8 a.m. A perfect song to wake up to.
 
Ditto in 2021.
I'm not particularly fond of the fast part in the beginning, but then when it slows down....  
In the early 90s as a college frosh when everyone was rocking out to....everything else, I put on my cutoffs, my hand-dyed peasant blouses, and blasted this album I checked out from the library on full tilt so loud my eyes crossed. GORGEOUS album never goes out of style. 
 kingart wrote:


And so unique and of its time that you will never hear its Godlike again.  So enjoy it bigly.  
 Godlike...hmm. Guess I differ with this adjective. It was a great album and still brings me back. Not reincarnation, however. Maybe flashback?!
Every day, my brother would swap out a car battery into his room. He'd connect his removable 8-track player.

I'd listen to Deja Vu on $60 cans.

True hi-fi. Stereophonic. Unforgettable. Exquisite.

I'm having a deja vu, baby.
 Johnny-smooth wrote:
This whole album is "Godlike"
 

And so unique and of its time that you will never hear its Godlike again.  So enjoy it bigly.  
I sometimes think C.F. Martin created his guitars with the prescience of CSNY coming along individually and collectively. They were made for each other.
 westslope wrote:
Nice.  Where did the Crosbys play?
 
The wee Vogue theatre.
Cheers, westslope!
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Just saw Crosby last night in a small venue, accompanied only by his son (James?) on piano.
Excellent show, the main revelation being that his voice is still in great shape.
He was in good spirits and chatted extensively with the crowd between songs.
This was the last song of the show (before the encore).

 
Nice.  Where did the Crosbys play?
I'm sure I have heard this before! {#Dancingbanana_2}
Doo Doo Doo - so great to hear this again!
 Johnny-smooth wrote:
This whole album is "Godlike"

 
I have found that David Crosby's songs really have grown on me the older I get.
Thanks for pointing memory this way
This whole album is "Godlike"
Just saw Crosby last night in a small venue, accompanied only by his son (James?) on piano.
Excellent show, the main revelation being that his voice is still in great shape.
He was in good spirits and chatted extensively with the crowd between songs.
This was the last song of the show (before the encore).
Awesome
I forgot how much I liked this, then and still now{#Cheers}!  Thx RP
Late winter morning, 8 a.m. A perfect song to wake up to.
Always and everywhere once again feeling the DejaVu contained in this, every time, and perhaps the best opening of any song, EVER.
magical
Nice!
 BillG wrote: 
Yes, very nice article.  I'll have to bookmark that for a quiet moment and a careful read.  

As for Neil Young....  Terrific artist with a modest amount of formal education who tends to blow hard on a few issues.  I love his work and passion. 

Oddly enough, I used to play After the Goldrush LP and  Journey Through the Past soundtrack LP before going to sleep during a period in high school.  Even though I noticed how 'rough' some of the studio work was.  
Nash, Stills and Young took risks allowing Crosby's unorthodox open tunings and jazz inflections.
It made them all the better, but still. They could have played it safer, but did not.
Not my fav. on this album, but still okay!
Tonight on Radio Paradise, we will play the Crosby Stills Nash & Young classic "Deja Vu," a song about that strange feeling we sometimes get that we've lived through something before, that what is happening now has already happened tonight on Radio Paradise, we will play the Crosby Stills Nash & Young classic "Deja Vu,".....
Time to Go Home to Deja Vu. Deja Vu indeed.
 BillG wrote: 
Ooh, nice article.
keep taking the drugs ...

Great song from a great and trippy album. 
My English teacher in Junior High played this record in class (the year it came out, thank you) and had us do class reports on the lyrics and music. It was awesome!
 unclehud wrote:

jocelynsart, I just love comments like yours ........ that make me feel so old.  My only salvation is that I heard it when it was new, and man, did it blow my mind: "We have all been here before," in hauntingly perfect harmony.

 
Personally, I was a baby at the time. I still like this song, however.
 prophetzarquon wrote:


vinyl versus digital?

 
ask neil how he feels about digital...

https://evolver.fm/2012/11/29/neil-young-pono-music-ecosystem-inspired-by-a-girl-fixes-digital-music/

 
 jocelynsart wrote:
Listened to this album of my Mom's many many times - loved it
 
jocelynsart, I just love comments like yours ........ that make me feel so old.  My only salvation is that I heard it when it was new, and man, did it blow my mind: "We have all been here before," in hauntingly perfect harmony.
 eswiley2 wrote:
I must have played that album a bazillion times "back in the day."

This sounds somehow different... 

It's not deja vu I'm experiencing, but presque vu.

There's just something that's "off."

 

vinyl versus digital?
 idiot_wind wrote:
God almighty..

Do ya mean that once upon a time, R n R use to have harmonies, melodics, with a little dissonance thrown in and...ya had vocals and instrumentals?

Na...that never happened way back when.

Let's listen to some Foo Fighters, or Nickelback, or Linkin park! That's real R n R!

 
Ah, to be young again...

In 40+ years nobody will know who Nickelback or Linkin Park were. 
 QuestionMark wrote:

Sorry I forget , the bass player is?

 
Stephen Stills on some tunes, Greg Reeves on the others, I believe.
D A N K E  R.P. so viele schöne 70 er jahre Songs   Paßt gut für s Feierabend und Entspannungs feeling {#Daisy}
Wish I could sing.

Sorry I forget , the bass player is?


Listened to this album of my Mom's many many times - loved it
great period for music,brings back memories of a simpler time.{#Chillpill}
I must have played that album a bazillion times "back in the day."

This sounds somehow different... 

It's not deja vu I'm experiencing, but presque vu.

There's just something that's "off."
God almighty..

Do ya mean that once upon a time, R n R use to have harmonies, melodics, with a little dissonance thrown in and...ya had vocals and instrumentals?

Na...that never happened way back when.

Let's listen to some Foo Fighters, or Nickelback, or Linkin park! That's real R n R!
{#Sunny} TJS wrote:
This reminds me of hash and good times.
 


This is one of those songs that I cannot even imagine my life without. A perfect 10!
Timeless brilliance, just brilliant!
This reminds me of hash and good times.
Must be a generational thing.  I feel waves of nostalgia washing over me when this tune comes on.
Probably my most favorite CSNY tune. Just a masterpiece. Love the little drum pop part way in.
 johnjconn wrote:
David Crosby is perhaps the most overrated rocker of all time.

 
certainly in the Top50...
Some of the best guitar work and vocal harmony....EVER! 
Geeeereatness!
Just excellent
Takes me back. Thanks Bill

blowing my mind, as most of 'em !

Great album, great song!!!
 johnjconn wrote:
David Crosby is perhaps the most overrated rocker of all time.
 
Kidding? :)
The Halo theme music sounds similar... :)
What a great laid back set to complement the amazing weather we are having in UK - it's about 25 degrees at the moment. Alas i am tied to a desk.
Super great. {#Music}
 CascadianPDX wrote:
One of the best bands ever. Period. It's a shame to think how much good music we were blessed with in past decades, and now we have Lady Gaga? Buncha divas, mega egos and "product". Of course there are exceptions, right? That's why I listen to RP, on the off chance I'll hear something extraordinary.
 
You know our parents and/or grandparents said essentially the same things about music of the 1950's, 60's and 70's, don't you?  Perhaps you've forgotten, but there were plenty of mega-egos, divas, and "product" commercial musicians during those days too.  There is a lot more than just Lady Gaga and there are still a lot of people making very good music and many of them are played here.
Well, we have been here before....
Could be my fav. CSN&Y song..
 Johnny_Wave wrote:
Meh, it doesn't hold up.  Maybe you had to be there.
 
Yeah, maybe you did.  Guess we can't expect everybody to recognize the timelessness of powerful lyrics, vocal harmonies, and Steve Stills' subdued electric guitar riffs.

(Hey, wasn't the album cover dark brown faux leather, like an ancient photo album?)
 fredriley wrote:
Dèja entendu - quelle barbe!


In a word, TRIPPY!
This wasn't my favorite song on the album when it came out, but then, I was young and stupid. I liked "Carry On." The deeper stuff flew under my radar.  Now, hearing this from older, hopefully wiser ears, I can appreciate the message CSN was sending. Still, there are things that can only be understood under the influence of drugs, so I'm shut out there. Ironic - I live in a state where gambling and prostitution is legal and you can buy vodka in a grocery store, but marijuana is a felony. Guh.
Da-doobie-da-doodun-di-doo - instamute! That jazzy mouth music has always really, really irritated me. It just seems so....chi-chi and baroque and affected.
 j7 wrote:
"What's going on underground? What's going on down under you?"
What's this about?
Anyone?
 
I think they were referring to the counterculture movement - this happened shortly after the 4 students were shot to death at Kent State, remember.  What's going on down under you, - what is in your soul, your heart perhaps?

 j7 wrote:
"What's going on underground? What's going on down under you?"
What's this about?
Anyone?
 

Hell if I know.
 thebrit wrote:
When I bought this album in 1970 — listened to it non stop forever —— never get tired of it and the variety .... . like all good things , they were fro the time of the time — only Neil Young has really kept going and done many other great recordings
 
Stephen Stills has done one or two things since then that are pretty good. 

This album had a couple of decent tunes on it.
 Johnny_Wave wrote:
Meh, it doesn't hold up.  Maybe you had to be there.
 
Yeah, intricate harmonies get old fast.

Meh, it doesn't hold up.  Maybe you had to be there.
When I bought this album in 1970 — listened to it non stop forever —— never get tired of it and the variety .... . like all good things , they were fro the time of the time — only Neil Young has really kept going and done many other great recordings

Released 40 years ago - hasn't aged at all! (Unlike me...)


Dèja entendu - quelle barbe!
 jtarp wrote:
One of the first compositions that I remember having used the bass as a lead instrument.  Back in about '73 I was jamming with a guitarist (acoustic) and on his original compositions I was playing pretty straight and he stopped in the middle of a song; "No, no, no" he said. He tried to explain what he wanted but couldn't really express it in words Then, for an example, he played this song for me on the stereo and said "Do that." It was an evolutionary step for me and I suspect for other bassists as well. The song I give a 9 but the bass riff gets a 20.


 


Greg Reeves on bass: Is that correct?
 sirdroseph wrote:

Ya know what? 8 - > 9.  There, I feel better!{#Lol}


 
Not yet rated -> 9. I feel better too! {#Sunny}

My only complaint about this song is that it's about 10 minutes too short.

Ya know what? 8 - > 9.  There, I feel better!{#Lol}


One of the first compositions that I remember having used the bass as a lead instrument.  Back in about '73 I was jamming with a guitarist (acoustic) and on his original compositions I was playing pretty straight and he stopped in the middle of a song; "No, no, no" he said. He tried to explain what he wanted but couldn't really express it in words Then, for an example, he played this song for me on the stereo and said "Do that." It was an evolutionary step for me and I suspect for other bassists as well. The song I give a 9 but the bass riff gets a 20.


 srose96 wrote:


It may be true that Papernapkin cannot be reasoned with, but can one delve into the depths of his soul to discover why on earth he went with "papernapkin" as his handle?  {#Think}
Is it because it's something you blow your nose in?
Or wipe yourself with?


 Papernapkin wrote:

and again, and again, and again. Enough already. Let's move on.
 
It's awesome that you listen to this station.  It's good for a laugh, to start with.  And you stay, which means despite the hateful noise you try to spew on the forum, you enjoy the music.  And that is all that matters.

Great freekin song, man!!{#Clap}
david crosby is a genius
 That_SOB wrote:


On_The_Beach wrote : . . . so if it wasn't released yesterday, we should never listen to it again? Gimme Lady Gaga but forget Mozart, Duke, Miles, The Beatles, and just for the sake of argument, CSNY? If it's great, it's timeless, so why should we stop listening to it?"
—————————
That_SOB
Well spoken. Listening to this song is like standing in front of a machine gun
of memories. CSN&Y touched the soul of many a baby-boomer.


 

Well spoken, by both of you.  The places this took me, and still takes me........{#Clap}


A ten - just too important, too evocative, to timeless to rate it otherwise.
 h8rhater wrote:

Papernapkin cannot be reasoned with. You waste your breath on this buffoon.

 

It may be true that Papernapkin cannot be reasoned with, but can one delve into the depths of his soul to discover why on earth he went with "papernapkin" as his handle?  {#Think}
 On_The_Beach wrote:

. . . so if it wasn't released yesterday, we should never listen to it again? Gimme Lady Gaga but forget Mozart, Duke, Miles, The Beatles, and just for the sake of argument, CSNY? If it's great, it's timeless, so why should we stop listening to it?

 
Papernapkin cannot be reasoned with. You waste your breath on this buffoon.

One of the best bands ever. Period. It's a shame to think how much good music we were blessed with in past decades, and now we have Lady Gaga? Buncha divas, mega egos and "product". Of course there are exceptions, right? That's why I listen to RP, on the off chance I'll hear something extraordinary.
i love this album... have since i was oh, maybe 9 or 10.
I just can't get past the mustache.
 j7 wrote:
"What's going on underground? What's going on down under you?"
What's this about?
Anyone?
 
LSD
An album I've purchased several times on different formats as the years have gone by. One of the best albums ever. (imho) I think the sometimes cliche term classic truly applies here.
"What's going on underground? What's going on down under you?"
What's this about?
Anyone?
Brilliant!



On_The_Beach wrote : . . . so if it wasn't released yesterday, we should never listen to it again? Gimme Lady Gaga but forget Mozart, Duke, Miles, The Beatles, and just for the sake of argument, CSNY? If it's great, it's timeless, so why should we stop listening to it?"
—————————
Well spoken. Listening to this song is like standing in front of a machine gun
of memories. CSN&Y touched the soul of many a baby-boomer.


Awesome tune from an awesome album :)
Many years ago I used to stay at a friend's home - he was always hosted large parties and everyone was always welcome to stay.  His late night routine consisted of putting this album (8-track) on when he retired and having the volume loud enough to be heard in every room of the house.  There were many moonlight/twilight/dawn hours spent with these tunes circulating and recirculating throughout. This music is now in my soul.  Thank you Marty!
I'm looking ot the same boring office window I was last time RP played this.  Deja View?

Love the fluidity of the guitar on thisand the usual beautiful vocal harmonies.  9
{#Dancingbanana}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananapiano}{#Bananajam}{#Bananasplit}{#Bananajumprope}
 Papernapkin wrote:
and again, and again, and again. Enough already. Let's move on.
 
. . . so if it wasn't released yesterday, we should never listen to it again? Gimme Lady Gaga but forget Mozart, Duke, Miles, The Beatles, and just for the sake of argument, CSNY? If it's great, it's timeless, so why should we stop listening to it?