The one song that epitomised Neil Young’s childhood: “Beautiful”
On a handful of occasions in the life of any music fan, a perfect song will drop on their lap at the ideal moment, a sensation that Neil Young will never forget happening for the first time.
Music is a powerful art form that can have the ability to summarise thoughts and feelings in a way that we can’t do without its assistance. Throughout his career, Young has caused this wonder to occur in the minds of millions of fans on countless occasions, which is a testament to his phenomenal songwriting capabilities.
He knows first-hand that timing is imperative when it comes to consuming music. At certain stages in a person’s life, they may feel everything thanks to one song, which could have just washed over them pleasantly a day before. For Young, the environment was a vital factor in his musical awakening, which occurred on a camping trip with friends aged 12.
For context, Young’s childhood was somewhat nomadic. His family moved throughout Canada during his early years, and even briefly moved below the border to Florida. Although the musician only spent a year of his early youth in Winnipeg, it proved to be a fruitful time which taught him the power of folk music.
The life-changing introduction occurred when Young, who later moved back to Winnipeg following his parents’ divorce, first lived in the picturesque part of Canada. At this formative point in his life, he wanted to absorb all forms of culture. The growth of folk music had spread to Canada, and Young was enamoured by the song ‘Four Strong Winds’ by Ian and Sylvia, who were also from his native country.
Ian and Sylvia were revered but never became major stars, despite being signed to manager Albert Grossman, who also looked after artists including Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. While the pair were originally from Toronto, the same place where Young was born, they boldly moved to New York to chase their dream and immerse themselves in the world’s most exciting music scene.
During a conversation with comedian Conan O’Brien, the pair discussed ‘Four Strong Winds’ by Ian and Sylvia, with Young sharing of the lifelong impact of the track: “I loved it so much that I would put nickels and dimes in the jukebox to play it over and over again until I didn’t have any change. I would just stand there in front of it and listen to it.”
He continued: “It was a beautiful song. For some reason, it really got to me, and I could feel the magic of the music.”
Young then reminisced about this period of his life and provided more insight into how ‘Four Strong Winds’ elevated his existence. While he couldn’t remember precisely where he’d first heard the track, the singer-songwriter vividly recalled the moment when he fell in love with ‘Four Strong Winds’.
The Canadian told the host, “I was in Winnipeg, I’d heard the song before, but I was in Falcon Lake, a place near Winnipeg. It’s a lake, and you can pitch tents around it, so we had our tents, my friend Jack and I. We were out there, and I found this thing on the jukebox in the restaurant.”
Young later recorded his own version of the life-affirming song for his 1978 album Comes a Time. Additionally, he has also sporadically covered ‘Four Strong Winds’ during his concerts, playing it 60 times in total.
While the song was known to Young before camping in Winnipeg with friends, it took until he was in the right place at the right time to connect with the composition fully. For him, it’s more than a song, but a reminder of an idyllic chapter of his childhood.
