Five songs that should have been released by Neil Young
Ask any rock artist who their seminal inspiration is, and Neil Young is bound to make an appearance. As the king of the guitar riff and the introspective lyric, Young is rightly worshipped as a musical legend—adored by the masses while also cited as a sonic visionary who profoundly influences the creative trajectories of any aspiring musician fortunate enough to encounter his work.
Defining records such as After the Gold Rush and Harvest epitomise much of Young’s classic sound, but the thing that keeps him so fresh even as he approaches 80 is that he’s never afraid to try something new. Across the scores of everything from synth-pop to blues to the trademark rock and roll electric guitar, Young has a knack for making all that he turns his hand to instant success, transcending genres and generations in the process.
To that end, the star’s songwriting ability speaks for itself in terms of the impact it has on making him such a powerhouse of hits. Whether it’s the tender personal yearnings of love in his singular chart-topper ‘Heart of Gold’ or the jolt of political rebellion in ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’, Young’s words harness the power to move everything from souls to mountains in his wake – and, in many ways, it’s an artistic status many musicians will only ever be able to merely dream of.
That said, among Young’s own sonic contemporaries and those who have carried his legacy forward, there exists a wealth of songs filled with lyrical lamentations and musical explorations that seem tailor-made for the man himself. Some are so strikingly similar to Young’s style that they almost feel like they should have been penned by him. Here, we chart five tracks that could easily have been released by Neil Young—songs that channel his spirit so uncannily it’s almost eerie.
Songs that should have been released by Neil Young:
‘California’ – Joni Mitchell
In many ways, if there existed a female clone of Young, it would be Joni Mitchell – but it’s for more reasons than one. The two fellow Canadian superstars have been close friends and sonic partners for the past 60 years and more, even having written songs about each other on multiple occasions. But it’s a particular one of Mitchell’s most personal explorations that strikes as a master pairing to Young’s own work, for all the elements of lust and melancholy you might expect.
To be fair, practically anything from Mitchell’s seminal Blue album could be taken in this vein, but ‘California’ especially stands out for its delectable mix of private identity fighting with the scale of the world on a constant back and forth. Mitchell traverses across the cities of Europe while lamenting: “Oh it gets so lonely/ When you’re walking/ And the streets are full of strangers,” before contrasting it to the golden shores of her native state in: “All the news of home you read/ More about the war/ And the bloody changes/ Oh will you take me as I am?”, highlighting an inner juxtaposition forcing itself to be free.
The poetic nature of this struggle is also pertinent to Young, whose lyrics fly off the page as seeming so simple yet ruminating on some of the deepest trials of life. They feel so effortless, but the true magic lies in the power they evoke without you even realising it, much like Mitchell’s ‘California’. The personal and the political are difficult to combine, but the way it’s done here simply leads to a flood of emotion.
‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ – Bob Dylan
Despite also orbiting in much of the same circles for the better part of the last half a century, Bob Dylan is perhaps among the only musicians who can parallel Young in terms of lyrical ingenuity, and as such, the pair are a force to be reckoned with whenever they have graced the stage together.
It’s no surprise, then, that a tune from Dylan’s defining era has all the hallmarks of a Young song, from the lyrics to the intricate guitar strumming found on ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’. The folk-infused pining for the girl Dylan has lost could almost have come from Young’s own hand. It’s so full of reflection interspersed with longing, resentment, and all the complications that a breakup brings about.
But in many ways, this lyrical whirlpool has become as much of Dylan’s defining asset as it is Young’s, which is exactly why the two share such gratified company. Each singer is, of course, unique, but rarely can you find two such gems who can capture the tribulations of the human spirit so perfectly.
‘A Horse With No Name’ – America
It can admittedly be difficult to pinpoint exactly why one song so closely mirrors the sonic spirit of another, but if there’s any track that comes closest to being a Neil Young doppelgänger, it’s ‘A Horse With No Name’ by the 1970s folk-rock trio, America. Sharing the same era as Young certainly helps, but even beyond the timeframe, the vocal delivery, melodic structure, and atmospheric folk arrangement are so similar that, without prior knowledge, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was one of Young’s own creations.
America’s founder Dewey Burnell, who wrote ‘A Horse With No Name’, said the song was channelling “a metaphor for a vehicle to get away from life’s confusion into a quiet, peaceful place”, but none more so is this also reflected in Young-penned tunes like ‘Journey to the Past’ – from the 1972 soundtrack of the same name – where the singer questions: “When the winter rains come pourin’ down/ On that new home of mine/ Will you think of me and wonder if I’m fine?”
What both songs have in common, and which indeed permeates many of the features of this list, is the way the deeply personal troubles of the writer blend with the universal pains of everyday life. Although they both unmistakably belong to Young and Burnell, respectively, there’s something so comforting as a listener knowing that the words truly do reflect everyone – and therein lies their greatest strength.
‘Wild Horses’ – The Rolling Stones
Unintentionally continuing on the equine theme—also keeping in mind Young’s backing band, Crazy Horse—we reach The Rolling Stones and the classic ‘Wild Horses’. Although this song was written back in 1970, in a sliding-door moment of epic proportions, Young almost ended up joining the band some nine years later, so the sonic patterns between the two are fairly easy to trace.
By contrast, the lineage of the song itself is much harder to track down definitively. Although ‘Wild Horses’ is attributed to the classic Mick Jagger and Keith Richards partnership, it also had influence from Gram Parsons and Marianne Faithfull; however, the extent of this is contested depending on who you ask. Nonetheless, this melancholic stylistic shift from the Stones marks one of their defining standout hits and one that Young could have easily also taken the reins on.
This vulnerability was an uncharacteristic breakdown of an often impenetrable façade for both artists. Indeed, for Young, dubbed the ‘Godfather of Grunge’, the screech of guitars is all well and good ,but when it comes to bearing his soul, that’s when the real magic shines through. Much the same can be said for Jagger – when he takes a break from frolicking around the stage to belt out the wails of ‘Wild Horses’ instead, it’s the moment you realise the makings of a true rockstar.
‘Sadness As a Gift’ – Adrianne Lenker
Even though Young and Adrianne Lenker hail from entirely different sonic eras, the indie folk songstress holds such a compelling command over the scene currently, mainly due to the transcendental ability of her songs to capture universal heartbreaks that defy the parameters of space and time. ‘Sadness As a Gift’, the standout magnum opus from her 2024 solo record Bright Future, is without doubt today’s answer to world-stopping lyrical lamentations that the likes of Young have spurned in days gone by.
Lenker’s subtly stunning lyricism envelops the listener in: “Been searching for your eyes/ All I see is blue skies/ And that old man beats his crooked cane/ It’s time to let go,” providing a long-awaited relief to the drought of feeling in modern songwriting that everyone has been crying out for. By comparison to Young and the stars of his prime in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Lenker has, of course, nowhere near the decades of experience that pour from the wizened soul of Young, but she evidently already has enough skin in the game for that fate to be lined up in her future.
In a sense, that concept of the passing of time – reflecting just as much on the past as the present – is the crucial talent to the success of Young, Lenker, and so many others. It’s the innate command of melancholic nostalgia, regrets, missing those loved and lost, and how this can skew your view of the world. Ultimately, these songs are so powerful because they unlock the door to the deepest, most private hidden versions of ourselves.
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