The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: I'll tell you why baby's crying
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “Rolling down that empty ocean road” is from the song "Long May You Run”, performed by the Stills-Young Band. Written by Neil Young, it was released as Track 1 on the September 1976 album “Long May You Run”. Produced by Stephen Stills, Neil Young & Don Gehman
Credit: Genius Link >Long May You Run<
“Young's Pontiac hearse "Mort" (a.k.a. "Mortimer Hearseburg") was the inspiration for the song. In 1976, Stills and Young formed the Stills-Young Band and released the album Long May You Run. During the short-lived collaboration, the two wrote separately for the album, with Stills adding four songs and Young adding five, including the title track.”
Credit: Wikipedia Link: >Long May You Run<
“Briefly, "Mort" -- the 1948 Buick Hearse in which Neil transported the bands equipment -- broke down near Blind River, Ontario.” (Yeah, Buick, Pontiac - maybe…)
"Mort" - 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse
Ken Koblun, Neil Young, Bob Clark.
Fort William, Ontario, April 1965
Photo courtesy of Ken Koblun
via Author Sharry Wilson's Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years
Credit: Neil Young News Link: >"Mort"<
This Week’s Documentary Film Recommendation:
“27: Gone Too Soon” - documentary about several musicians who died at the age of 27. On Plex and likely on other platforms as well, may require subscription.
Things I Found On Social Media:
Mark Knopfler Talks Guitars - so you should listen, cuz he knows things…
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
Neil Young’s homage to his Buick (or Pontiac…whatever…) hearse that got him to gigs with his gear, but unexpectedly broke down is this week’s song because - yes, it has been a persistent earworm since I played it with friends at the recent Street Music event for charity (described in a previous post a few weeks ago). So, I’ve more or less exorcised that worm by replacing it in my head with the rando lyrics for next week’s song to play. Fortunately, that’s a song I’ve loved since the first time I heard it, and it’s manageable in my head (so far at least….) So, Neil Young’s “Long May You Run” is this week’s….
…A Song To Play…
Credit: Chordify Link: >Long May You Run Chords<
(Ed. - If you want to play the 3 note walk-up that occurs in the short break between the 2nd and 3rd line of the verses and choruses (the walk-up doesn’t appear in the chord chart above) it’s on the A string and it’s “Open - 2nd fret - 4th fret” or the notes A - B- C# which then leads straight to the DMaj chord. Since Chordify only hears chords and doesn’t do tabs, you won’t find that progression there, but I found it in one of the tabs for this song on the Ultimate Guitar app (well worth the subscription). The circled area on the chart below shows the first instance where it occurs, which is measure 26 into 27 and correlates to the lead-in to the lyric “We found things to do…” - see the asterisk I inserted there - also it’s clearly the bass player that’s playing the riff on the YouTube track above. Look for the pattern of Bm - G - A [dotted 1/2 note, whole note, 1/4 note sequence] followed by the DMaj chord - those are the chords leading into the three 1/4 notes, A, B, C#, that form the walk-up.)
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
We've been through some things together
With trunks of memories still to come*
We found things to do in stormy weather
Long may you run
[Chorus]
Long may you run, long may you run
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
[Verse 2]
Well, it was back in Blind River in 1962
When I last saw you alive
But we missed that shift on the long decline
Long may you run
[Chorus]
Long may you run, long may you run
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
Maybe the Beach Boys have got you now
With those waves singing "Caroline" (Oh "Caroline, No")
Rolling down that empty ocean road
Getting to the surf on time
[Chorus]
Long may you run, long may you run
Although these changes have come
With your chrome heart shining in the sun
Long may you run
Credit: Genius Link > Long May You Run Lyrics<
Special Section
From Mr. Griff Hamlin (before his current website Blues Guitar Unleashed):
Link: >Basic Strumming< - Sometimes ya just need to go back to the basics - and this starts out with the basics BUT - if you can stick with it, this lesson teaches (eventually) the “Calypso” or “island” strum, which is the basic, but incredibly handy strum - it will quickly become your “go-to” strum and actually adapts very easily to a finger pick. Kinda the Swiss Army knife of syncopated guitar playing. I’ve talked about it before, it’s best heard as the iconic opening riff from “Up Around The Bend” by CCR - you can count it out loud while it’s played:
“1, 2 and, and, 4 and, 1, 2 and, and, 4 and“:
The “ME!” Section…..
What I’m Listening2: Spotify Link: >Long May You Play<
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “>Long Road Back<”click on this link for streaming options, then scroll down for links (or just click on these links) to Amazon, Apple, Pandora, iTunes and even Spotify
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Disclaimer Section
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might…
-Michael Acoustic
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Some Links For Today
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
From Carvin Amps:
Packing For A Gig - Title kinda says it, and it’s probably good advice - I think it takes some practice and a few times asking yourself, “Why did I bring (that), but not (that other thing)?”
From Songtown:
Hit Songs - The premise here is a true hit song will find it’s way onto the charts. Skeptical Michael is…skeptical. Worth a read anyway - it’s brief.
Don't Sell Your Soul For Commercial Success - Good advice at any time, really…
Sustained Success In "The Biz" - “Be Nice” is actually really good advice - there’s some other stuff here, too.
From Discmakers:
Thank You To Our New Subscribers and Followers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Mika: “Wasn’t the air conditioning guy supposed to be here by now?”
Me: “Uhhh…”
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
Ah, Michael. Sitting with my morning cup o' coffee ... and here you present one of my all-time Neil Young favs "Long May You Run." I've probably seen him perform it a dozen times live -- either solo and with a variety of ensembles. But this one with CSNY, however rough, still stands out to me. Maybe it's Young and Stills strumming their Gretschs (love them!), but it is so authentic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPo6h6eZUHc