When Neil Young indulged in “country ham”
Although Canadian by birth, Neil Young is often celebrated as the moral compass of America. His unique perspective, stemming from a certain detachment and creative distance from the US, enables him to offer incisive commentary on its political, cultural, and historical narrative.
Young’s collection of songs often scrutinises the American terrain. For instance, ‘Alabama’, from his renowned 1972 album Harvest, particularly stands out. Seen as a sequel to Young’s 1970 success ‘Southern Man’ from After The Gold Rush, this intense folk-rock finds Young lamenting the racism prevalent in the southern states.
Young fixated on the notion that within America existed a rural landscape of pure simplicity, serving as a counterbalance to the overwhelming artificiality of contemporary life. This recurring conservative motif emerges prominently in Young’s 1975 track ‘Albuquerque’. Here, he contemplates renting a car and embarking on a journey from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Santa Fe, yearning for the superior isolation it offers.
This is because, ultimately, he longed for complete independence from societal influences, seeking an untainted existence. His plan entails rolling a joint, getting incredibly high, and indulging in “fried eggs and country ham”. It’s a testament to America’s essence of freedom.
With sweeping lap-steel guitar melodies, evocative harmonica tunes, and a generous infusion of nostalgic road trip sentiments, ‘Albuquerque’ encapsulates the quintessential essence of Young’s signature style. In the song, Young revisits a recurring theme that has permeated his music since its inception: the emptiness of fame. This topic is a personal struggle for him, more pronounced than that of many other musicians.
It’s a subject he’s chosen to explore frequently in his songs, alongside more evident themes like heartbreak and love. What’s more, the reference to “country ham” is intriguing as it’s a food more associated with the southeast rather than the southwest. It could be a simple oversight by Young, yet it might also signify a recurring theme in his music: the yearning for rural simplicity as an escape from the chaos and artificiality of contemporary life.
While there’s no explicit connection to this particular song, Young’s prior history with Albuquerque predates the recording of Tonight’s the Night by eight years. Back in 1967, after the breakup of his band The Mynah Birds, Young embarked on a journey from Toronto alongside bass player Bruce Palmer. His aim was to find Stephen Stills, with whom he aspired to form a new band. However, this journey wasn’t a joyous adventure; it involved taking turns driving around the clock in an unreliable car.
