Song Lyrics

• "Did you see them in the river? They were there to wave to you. Could you tell that the empty-quiver, brown-skinned Indian on the banks that were crowded and narrow held a broken arrow?" - "Broken Arrow"
• "Where the eagle glides ascending / There's an ancient river bending / Through the timeless gorge of changes / Where sleeplessness awaits" - '"Thrasher" (Rust Never Sleeps, 1978)
• "Old man, look at my life, 24 and there's so much more, live alone in a paradise that makes me think of 2." Old Man
• "What is the color when black is burned?" - "I Am a Child"
• "There you stood on the edge of your feather/Expecting to fly./While I laughed, I wondered whether/I could wave goodbye/Knowin' that you'd gone." - "Expecting to Fly"
• "If you guarantee the postage, I'll mail you back the key." - "The Last Trip to Tulsa"
• "I guess I'll call it sickness gone" - "Ambulance Blues", referring to the drug related death of bandmate Danny Whitten
• "I have seen you in the movies, and in those magazines at night. I saw you on the barstool, when you held that glass so tight." - "Barstool Blues"
• "Well, I see you give more than I can take / Will I only harvest some? / As the days fly past will we lose our grasp / Or fuse it in the sun? / Did she wake you up to tell you that / It was only a change of plan? /Dream up, dream up, let me fill your cup / With the promise of a man." - "Harvest"
• "I never believed in much, but I believed in you." - "From Hank to Hendrix"
• "The same thing that makes you live can kill you in the end." - "From Hank to Hendrix"
• "It's better to burn out than to fade away." - "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", quoted by Kurt Cobain in his suicide note.
• "Shelter me from the powder and the finger / Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger." - "Powderfinger"
• "Look at mother nature on the run in the 1970's." - "After the Gold Rush"
• "There is a town in north Ontario / With dream comfort memory to spare / And in my mind, I still need a place to go / All my changes were there." - "Helpless"
• "In my little box / At the top of the stair / With my Indian rug / And a pipe to share." - "Pocahontas"
• "A sparkle was in his eye, but his life was in his hand" - "Tonights the Night"
• "It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down" - "Saddle Up the Palomino"
• "Need distraction / Need romance and candlelight / Need random violence / Need entertainment tonight / Need the evidence / Want the testimony of / Expert witnesses / On the brutal crimes of love" - "I'm the Ocean"
• "The economy was getting so bad, I had to lay myself off." - Old Ways (1986)
• "And we'll be watching you / No matter what you do / And you can do your part / By watchin' others too." - "Leave the Driving"
• "You're all just pissin' in the wind / You don't know it but you are." - "Ambulance Blues"
• "Don't feel like Satan but I am to them." - "Rockin' in the Free World"
• "We got a thousand points of light for the homeless man, we got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand." - "Rockin' in the Free World"
• "Welfare mothers make better lovers." - "Welfare Mothers"
• "Live music is better! Bumper stickers should be issued!" - "Union Man"
• "Southern man better keep your head, don't forget what your good book said." - "Southern Man"
• "I've seen the Needle and the Damage done/a little part of it in everyone/but every junkie's like a setting sun" - "The Needle and the Damage done"

Unsourced

• "Man, that's my style!" -- When asked by the producer of "Tears Are Not Enough" (the Canadian counterpart to "We Are The World") to sing his line again because it sounded "a little flat".
• "You gotta keep changing. Shirts, old ladies, whatever."
• "It's all one song." -- Replying to a man in the audience, who said "It all sounds the same!"
• "Smell the horse on this one " -- While performing with Crazy Horse
• "Getting sued by your record company for making 'uncommercial records' after twenty years in the business, that's even better than receiving a Grammy" -- After Geffen Records had accused him of making "albums impossible to promote".
• "Heart of Gold put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride, but I saw more interesting people there." -- Expressing his disdain for the fame that he received from his song Heart of Gold
• "I can't play that without the band... Don't worry, I came prepared. This is a big gig for me." -- Replying to a request from the audience during a February 27, 1971 solo show at Royal Festival Hall, London.
• "As soon as you start talking about mystique, you have none." -- Interview for Rolling Stone magazine.
• "I am Stephen Stills." -- Replying to a audience member who yelled for his fellow CSNY member at a show in 1978.
• "Shut up white boy!" -- Replying to a loud heckler at United Palace Theatre in New York City, December 18, 2007.
• "You better see a doctor." -- Replying to a fan who said "Neil Young makes the pain go away" at United Palace Theatre in New York City, December 18, 2007.
• "It's your voice that keeps on bothering me. Now, I don't mind ya bein' here, but everyone else might." at the United Palace Theater in New York City, December 16, 2007