Down by the River
Encyclopedia
"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young
. It was first released on his 1969
album with Crazy Horse
, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
. Young explained the context of story when introducing it in New Orleans on September 27, 1984. It depicts a man who catches his woman cheating on him, then meets her down by the river and shoots her. A few hours later the sheriff comes to his house and arrests him. In the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade
, Young states that he wrote "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103 °F (39.4 °C) fever.
release Four Way Street, to twelve minutes long, as on the Live at the Fillmore East
release featuring Crazy Horse
. At the Rock Am Ring
in Germany
in 2002, Young, backed by Booker T Jones, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Frank Sampedro
, played "Down by the River" for over 27 minutes. At Farm Aid
1998, Young joined Phish
—who headlined that year's festival—during the band's jam out of "Runaway Jim", leading them into a 20-minute version of "Down by the River". The Boston-based band SHED recorded a live 33 minute version that was included on their EP "5 Sticks", recorded in August of 2011.
Guitarist Roy Buchanan
recorded a cover version of "Down by the River" on his 1971 album Buch and the Snakestretchers, and on his 1978 album You're Not Alone. The Meters
, The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews Band
, Indigo Girls
, Low
/Dirty Three
, Tall Firs
, McKendree Spring
, Michael McDonald
, The Mother Hips
, The Sheepdogs
, Norman Whitfield & The Undisputed Truth and Buddy Miles
also cover this song. The song appears on the Dave Matthews
& Tim Reynolds
2007 live release Live at Radio City
. Robert Plant borrows the line, "Be on my side, I'll be on your side, there is no reason for you to hide," in the live versions of "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times" recorded in 1970 at Royal Albert Hall (from the "Led Zeppelin DVD").
Canadian musician Edwin
borrows elements of the song in his 1999 song, "Trippin'".
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. It was first released on his 1969
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
album with Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on Reprise Records catalogue RS 6349...
. Young explained the context of story when introducing it in New Orleans on September 27, 1984. It depicts a man who catches his woman cheating on him, then meets her down by the river and shoots her. A few hours later the sheriff comes to his house and arrests him. In the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade
Decade (Neil Young album)
Decade is a triple album compilation by Neil Young, released in 1977, now available on two compact discs. It contains 35 of Young's songs recorded between 1966 and 1976, among them five tracks that had been unreleased up to that point...
, Young states that he wrote "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103 °F (39.4 °C) fever.
Personnel
- Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
- electric guitar, vocal - Danny WhittenDanny WhittenDaniel Ray Whitten was an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It", a hit for Rita Coolidge, Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.- Biography :Whitten was born on May 8, 1943, in Columbus, Georgia....
- electric guitar, backing vocal - Billy TalbotBilly TalbotBilly Talbot is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of Crazy Horse.-Music career:Born in New York City, Talbot started his musical career singing on street corners at the age of 14. He moved to New Jersey with his family the next year, and by 17 he had moved to...
- bass - Ralph MolinaRalph MolinaRalph Molina is an American musician, best known as the drummer for Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse.Born in Puerto Rico, Molina has been a member of Crazy Horse since they were formed in 1962 as Danny & the Memories. He has remained throughout the band's many personnel changes, and has...
- drums, backing vocal
Performances and covers
Live performances vary from shorter solo acoustic performances, as on the Crosby Stills Nash & YoungCrosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)
Crosby, Stills & Nash is a folk rock supergroup made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, also known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young when joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young...
release Four Way Street, to twelve minutes long, as on the Live at the Fillmore East
Live at the Fillmore East (Neil Young album)
Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse featuring guitarist Danny Whitten. In February and March 1970, Young and Crazy Horse went on tour to support Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Live at the Fillmore East, released in 2006, features performances from the tour...
release featuring Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
. At the Rock Am Ring
Rock am Ring
The Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2002, Young, backed by Booker T Jones, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Frank Sampedro
Frank Sampedro
Frank "Poncho" Sampedro is an American guitarist and member of the rock and roll band Crazy Horse, known mainly for its longtime collaboration with singer-songwriter Neil Young....
, played "Down by the River" for over 27 minutes. At Farm Aid
Farm Aid
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, held to raise money for family farmers in the United States...
1998, Young joined Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
—who headlined that year's festival—during the band's jam out of "Runaway Jim", leading them into a 20-minute version of "Down by the River". The Boston-based band SHED recorded a live 33 minute version that was included on their EP "5 Sticks", recorded in August of 2011.
Guitarist Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
recorded a cover version of "Down by the River" on his 1971 album Buch and the Snakestretchers, and on his 1978 album You're Not Alone. The Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
, The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
/Dirty Three
Dirty Three
Dirty Three are an instrumental trio consisting of Warren Ellis , Mick Turner and Jim White , originating from Melbourne, Australia. Since the Dirty Three formed in 1992, they have spent a lot of time overseas...
, Tall Firs
Tall Firs
Tall Firs are a New York City based underground electric folk rock band, originally formed in 1990 by Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan in Annapolis, Maryland...
, McKendree Spring
McKendree Spring
McKendree Spring is a progressive folk-rock band, active mainly in the early 1970s. The band consisted of Fran McKendree , Fred Holman , Dr. Michael Dreyfuss , Martin Slutsky . Christopher Bishop replaced Holman on bass as of the 1973 release Spring Suite...
, Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
, The Mother Hips
The Mother Hips
-Formation and Debut:Tim Bluhm , Greg Loiacono , Isaac Parsons and Mike Wofchuck met in 1990 while attending California State University-Chico, living off campus in Bradley Hall...
, The Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, consisting of Ewan Currie on vocals and guitar, Leot Hanson on guitar, Ryan Gullen on bass and Sam Corbett on drums....
, Norman Whitfield & The Undisputed Truth and Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
also cover this song. The song appears on the Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
& Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
2007 live release Live at Radio City
Live at Radio City
Live at Radio City is a live album and video by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. This was the first release by Matthews and Reynolds since Live at Luther College, released in 1999.-Release:...
. Robert Plant borrows the line, "Be on my side, I'll be on your side, there is no reason for you to hide," in the live versions of "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times" recorded in 1970 at Royal Albert Hall (from the "Led Zeppelin DVD").
Canadian musician Edwin
Edwin (musician)
Edwin is a Canadian alternative rock singer and solo artist from Toronto, and former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth. He was on the band's first two albums, and was also on the majority of the songs on Victor, a 1996 side project from Alex Lifeson of Rush. He went solo in late 1997 and released...
borrows elements of the song in his 1999 song, "Trippin'".