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The song Bob Dylan wrote to mock Neil Young copying him: “A dig”

Sat 27 December 2025 12:58, UK

Whilst Bob Dylan and Neil Young are now great friends and have been for decades, there was a period when the former didn’t look at the latter’s work with appreciation, with Dylan believing that the Canadian had borrowed too heavily his style. In fact, Dylan even used one of his songs to mock one of Young’s best-loved hits.

The Dylan track in question is 1973’s ‘Forever Young’, found on his album from the following year, Planet Waves. According to his biographer Clinton Heylin in a 2009 Rolling Stone article piecing the secrets of his tracks together, Dylan penned the sentimental tribute to his children whilst living in Arizona. Famously, he moved there to escape the limelight and “rabid fans” of New York.

Heylin outlines that the song was written in response to Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’, a track taken from his now iconic album Harvest. “The big song at the time was ‘Heart of Gold’,” Dylan had said in 1985. “[I’d] turn on the radio, and there I am, but it’s not me.” Heylin also believes the title is a pun: “Dylan’s saying he’s forever Young, which is a dig at Neil for imitating Dylan.”

There’s no wonder Dylan felt so protective of his style when writing ‘Forever Young’. The Neil Young song arrived years after Dylan had cemented his folk-oriented sound within the rock framework, so he was more dogged in guarding his tried and tested style than ever before. However, Young was in no way the only one following a similar route. A folkish angle was the spirit of the day, meaning his work cannot be taken as a counterfeit, particularly when noting that his music is some of the most authentic of the era.

“The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about ’72 and the big song at the time was ‘Heart of Gold’,” Dylan later told SPIN.

Bob Dylan - Musician - 2022 — Credit: Far Out / Bob Dylan

The acoustic-driven number, which features backing vocals by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, is one of Young’s biggest hits. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and confirmed Young as the first Canadian to do so. Yet, it was all too much for Dylan. “I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to ‘Heart of Gold.’ I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I’d say, ‘Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me’,” he added.

‘Forever Young’ isn’t the only song Dylan wrote about Neil Young. He would avoid a mocking tone to pay tribute to Young in 1997. He found it within his heart to give some attention to Young and doff his cap to the artist within the lyrics of his song ‘Highlands’.

Shared as part of Dylan’s album, and his 30th studio record, Time Out of Mind, Dylan chose to pay homage to his friend within ‘Highlands’ when he sang, “Well, my heart’s in The Highlands / I can only get there one step at a time / I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound,” confirming that he not only enjoyed the work of Young but used him as company to complete his journies, a spot usually saved by music lovers for the most pertinent of pop songs.

Did Neil Young write songs about Bob Dylan?

Young responded to the track by including a reference to Dylan on Bandit, Young’s 25th studio album. It’s not the most flattering response: “No one can touch you now. / I can touch you now. / You’re invisible. You’ve got too many secrets. / (Bob Dylan said that. / Or something like that).” A simple track that simply mentions Dylan perhaps doesn’t land as well as it could have.

Young wouldn’t disappoint those fans left within the two circles of his and Dylan’s Venn diagram, however, and would eventually pay tribute to the songwriter a little more succinctly. Just two albums later, on his song ‘Flags of Freedom’, he sings more directly about the impact of Dylan: “Their bond is everlasting / Listening to Bob Dylan singin’ / In 1963 / Watchin’ the flags of freedom flying.”

There’s something magical about friendship in any regard; however, two of the most prominent, prolific and important songwriters of all time, not only enjoying a fellowship but caring enough to write songs about one another, is about as memorable as it gets.