Who did Neil Young write ‘Cinnamon Girl’ about?
Throughout time, the importance of lyrics has varied. In some early protest songs, the musician’s attitude came from the notes played as opposed to the words said. However, in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, as punk and hip-hop started to gain traction, a lot more emphasis was put on the words of a song. Regardless of when a song was written in history, though, if there is a story, we want to know who it was about. This remains to be the case in Neil Young’s ‘Cinnamon Girl.’
‘Cinnamon Girl’ is one of Neil Young’s most beloved tracks. It is covered frequently by other musicians and is instantly recognisable. Because of the widespread appeal of the song, people everywhere are keen to know who the muse is. The lyrics are shrouded in mystery as the singer alludes to a woman, throwing in several defining features, none of which give the listener a straight answer. So, who is it?
Unfortunately, the answer is frustrating, as even after all of these decades, Young has never confirmed who ‘Cinnamon Girl’ is about. Some people believe it is about one specific individual, whereas on other occasions, Young has confirmed that the song results from multiple muses.
In the liner notes for his Decade compilation, Young described his inspiration, saying that he “Wrote this for a city girl on peeling pavement coming at me thru Phil Ochs’ eyes playing finger cymbals. It was hard to explain to my wife.” There is a lot of imagery to unpack, but the mention of finger cymbals only points in one direction: Jean Ray.
Who was Jean Ray?
Jean Rey was a folk singer from the ‘60s, and Neil Young’s reference to finger cymbals is a direct homage to her. Jean used to perform with her then-husband, Jim Glover, under the stage name Jim and Jean. Phil Ochs was also a close friend of the couple.
There are mixed opinions on whether or not Jean is the sole inspiration behind the song. Her brother, Brian Ray, Paul McCartney’s guitarist, believes the song is about her. However, Jean has disregarded the claims, saying that ‘Cinnamon Girl’ isn’t about her but another Neil Young song, ‘Cowgirl in the Sand’, is.
Young himself has confirmed they’re both correct. “Only part of the song,” he said. :There’s images in there that have to do with Jean and there’s images that have to do with other people.” He has also confirmed that he used to have a crush on Jean.
What was Neil Young’s ‘fever four’?
The track ‘Cinnamon Girl’ makes up part of Neil Young’s ‘fever four.’ These are songs on his album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, the first album he made with his backing band Crazy Horse. During the writing process, Young came down with a severe case of the flu. His temperature skyrocketed, and there was serious concern for his well-being. However, with his high fever came hallucinations, and using those hallucinations, he wrote four songs for the album.
The four songs were ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ ‘Down By The River,’ ‘Cowgirl in the Sand,’ and ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,’ tracks that remain to be some of the singer’s best.
“Sometimes [when] I get sick, get a fever, it’s easy to write,” said Young, “Everything opens up. You don’t have any resistance. You just let things go.”
