Dont Let It Bring You Down Chords Guitar Tab

After The Gold Rush Tabs:

rcwoods&famoore@unix1.tcd.ie.

Don't Let It Bring You Down : After The Goldrush : Neil Young

Intro:
A G A C    (x2)

A
Old man lying by the side of the road

Am7
With the lorries rolling by

D
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load

F                    Em7
And the buildings scrape the sky


Cold wind rippling down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper fly
Dead man lying at the side of the road
And the daylight in his eyes

Chorus:
Em7            D7
Don't let it bring you down

C
It's only castles burning

Bm7
Find someone who's turning

A
And you will come around

G A C  A G A C

Blind man running through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down to the river of sight and
You can really understand

Red light flashin' through the window in the rain
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying in the gutter in the lane
And you're walking home alone

Chorus

A
Don't let it bring you down

D
It's only castles burning just

Bm7
Find someone who's turning


A
And you will come around

G A C

A G A C

A
Don't let it bring you down

D
It's only castles burning  just

Bm7
Find someone who's turning

A
And you will come around

G A C

A D A D


notes:
Em7 022030 or 020030
Am7 002010
the emphasis here is _heavy_ on playability - the actual recorded version
is on piano - the closest we can get on guitar is the following:
Verse: CIII (5553)  Cm7IV (5343)  F (33211)  AbIV (66544)
Gm7 (53333)
Chorus:  Gm7  F7III (3545) EbIII (5343) Dm7 (3211)
Chorus2 (first time) C (332010) F Dm7 (0211)
CIII (5553) Bb CIII EbIII
Chorus2 (2nd time) C F Dm7
CIII FVIII (10,10,10,8) CIII FVIII
or retune your guitar (to D) and change accordingly

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/y/young,_neil/372671.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Vinny Average	#1 by Vinny Spano at Sep 28, 2007 at 4:37 AM EST
	To me, this song has nothing to do with social decay, or war, or anything like that. Just looking at the words, you have to infer a whole lot to get any kind of social commentary. Pretty simply, I saw the primary theme of this song as the struggle between night and day. The entire first stanza (before the chorus) is just a series of descriptions of what he sees or feels around dawn, presumably in a big city. "Old man lying by the side of the road with the lorries rolling by" is just that, an old man lying, maybe drunk or whatever, with trucks rolling by as the day begins. The second little section, though, makes more sense as Young says "Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load And the buildings scrape the sky" The "blue moon sinking" is the moon at dawn and the "weight" it is under is the metaphorical weight of the day compelling it downward to make way for the sun. And, also fighting to push the moon (aka night) out of the sky are the buildings as they "scrape the sky". The buildings, just like the "lorries", represent the day as they represent facets of business, i.e. the business day pushing night out of the sky. Next, where Young says "Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn And the morning paper flies" he seems to be talking about how useless the day is as it is traditionally thought to bring warmth and I guess the actions of the day. But, in describing the "Cold wind ripping down the alley" he says that the day can't even overcome the remnants of the cold of the night. And, in describing the wind making the morning paper fly, he is saying that just as the paper is written (the "morning" paper") it becomes useless and discarded, another point against the day. Then, in the final section before the chorus Young says, "Dead man lying by the side of the road With the daylight in his eyes." This would seem to contradict the whole 'day is bad' theme so far in the song as this man presumably died at night and it is only the daylight illuminating his dead body. But you can't discount the fact that it is the "daylight in his eyes". Just as night is expected to bring hardship, day is supposed to bring respite, but it was too late and can only shine on the eyes of a dead man. It also works in that only in the light of day do the repercussions of night take shape. And, as everyone knows, repercussions are bad. Then comes the chorus which, as in many Neil Young songs, seems to be very confusing. But, when taken in the context of this night vs. day theory it makes more sense. He says "Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning, Find someone who's turning And you will come around." The "castles burning" can be understood by thinking of a relatively simple image. Remember the buildings described previously that "scrape the sky". Those can be seens as the castles, and as anyone who has lived in a city knows that when dawn breaks the windows on most skyscrapers become bright yellow and orange, looking almost like they're 'burning'. See, castles burning at dawn. And the "don't let it get you down" part can be his reassurance to those who live at night, that the day shouldn't get them down. The "find someone who's turning And you will come around" can just be an extension of that as he tells those who live at night to find those others who look away from the sun and wait for the night. Now for the second half. To open it up after the chorus , Young says "Blind man running through the light of the night With an answer in his hand". Here there is obviously more night imagery. The blind man himself sees everything as night, which may be why he is in possession of the truth. And the "light of the night" can be playing off of the fact that the blind man sees in the night just as in the light of day, or on the previous sections of the song as they showed night as superior to day, thus "light". Next, Young says, "Come on down to the river of sight And you can really understand" Now, if anyone else hears this song and see it as set in New York then you are thinking like me. The whole song seems to be talking about NYC. So, the "river of sight" is the Hudson if you go with this theory, and, as anyone who has had a long night with no end in NYC knows (you know what I mean) you often end up by the river in the morning, for whatever reason. Neil Young might have been playing on this near ritual within this song. After that, he says, "Red lights flashing through the window in the rain, Can you hear the sirens moan?" As he has already described day as breaking this is presumably happening during the day. And, it is clearly referring to the police or an ambulance, both indicators of bad news. And, though whatever bad thing happened that is now being dealt with probably happened at night, the key is that the repercussions will happen in the day, which is, I think a key point in the song. Finally, Young says "White cane lying in a gutter in the lane, If you're walking home alone." The white cane was probably left there the night before, and now it sits, awaiting the night person who is staggering home alone, to guide him home. A final remnant of the night helping make sure this person gets home. So, there you have it. Neil Young's take on the value of the night over the day. The night being fun and partying, staggering home, etc., and the day being work. Well, I tend to agree with old Neil, night rocks.

No Picture Max Average	#2 by Max Benton at Sep 28, 2007 at 6:51 PM EST
	The name of the song is "Castles Burning".

No Picture ♥brian Lead Player	#3 by ♥brian♥ ******** at Oct 2, 2007 at 2:05 PM EST
	"Blind man with an answer...come on down to the river of sight...white can lying in the gutter in the lane" So someone dupes an old blind man into following them & kills him ("with the daylight in his eyes") I think that's it. Pretty awful, but what do the "only castles burning" and "find someone who's turning" lines mean? Were they stuck there in order to rhyme?

No Picture mat Wanna Be	#4 by mat bar at Oct 3, 2007 at 5:29 PM EST
	the homeless guy and the blind man are victims of the society. they however 'had the answer' but no one knew about it or cared. the castles burning part is our great society falling apart because we can't or don't help out those who may need asistance. while this may seem irrelevent to our great casltes (buildings, economy etc.) eventually this will be the end of us.

No Picture ToRRi Average	#5 by ToRRi L at Oct 3, 2007 at 7:01 PM EST
	the song was written during the protest era - early 1970's during the the Vietnam war. The "Old man/Dead man/Blind man" lyrics symbolize the establishment, government, "old guard" or authority. The "castles burning" is the establishment being questioned and brought down through protests, which could be extremely violent at that time ("sirens" and "red lights" signify the police response). The lyric "find someone who's turning and you will come around" - find a person who is involved with this movement and they will help you join the fight.

No Picture Goat Average	#6 by Goat Screwer at Oct 6, 2007 at 10:59 AM EST
	I agree with rdagger, I don't get a feeling of war in this song, unless it's the effect of foreign war on the home front (which is possible). I see more urban decay, decline of a society, and emotional isolation. Neil seeing the end of the American empire on the horizon but urging the listener to stay hopeful regardless. Great song.

No Picture by fires light Rhythm Player	#7 by by fires light she cried at Oct 6, 2007 at 5:15 PM EST
	I think you might be overthinking it a little bit. When I first heard the song i was amazed at the simply lines that present vivid imagery with few words. The basic idea of this song is the classic motif of life-death; night-day; light-darkness. The chorus ties the simple images of the verses together by saying; "YES; each life is the most important thing to ever happen, but get over it, it happens every day. The person "turning" is another life being born, or just someone who sees their life for what it is. This is one of Neil Young's best, and definitely exemplifies his style when it comes to songwriting.

No Picture Niks Average	#8 by Niks at Oct 7, 2007 at 5:22 AM EST
	I actually think it's a Vietnam protest song. With the soldiers blindly being led into battle by "Uncle Sam," but I'm not 100% positive.

No Picture Jeremy Rhythm Player	#9 by Jeremy Dosser at Oct 7, 2007 at 1:33 PM EST
	hmm, well LISTENING to it, and not reading the lyrics, it sounds like "white KING" not cane, and the white king being heroin, the song makes a lot more sense to me. i mean, it could be the comedown from a heroin experience. the castles, being the high, are burning, but that's just thrown out there on a whim, i haven't really looked into it deeply yet.

No Picture stephen Average	#10 by stephen warunki at Oct 7, 2007 at 8:57 PM EST
	I think the war protest song is a bit of stretch. I don’t think that the answer in the blind man’s hand is a gun. It’s probably a cup with a few coins in the bottom. The imagery in the song seems much more big city than rice patties. My sense is that the song is about not taking life too serious; because it is filled with despair and the weight of the world will you crush you.

No Picture Spanky Lead Player	#11 by Spanky Man at Oct 7, 2007 at 10:46 PM EST
	Castles--old, grand, indestructable, majestic fortifications that were built to withstand generations of attacks and wars and things--are some of the last structures you'd expect to fall. The phrase "it's only castles burning" makes me think of a lot of things--political corruption, immoral wars, social ills, etc.--that come to destroy one's idealism. The phrase also makes me think of the various callous (albeit well-meaning) comments one receives in life after traumatic events, comments that would provoke you to say, "Oh, SURE; easy for you to say. My entire life is crumbling around me, that's all." It's only castles burning; don't mind me. But god knows what Neil was thinking. It's not really crystal-clear, I think. In that song I always picture a barren, cold, urban landscape which makes me think it's a political protest song, typical of that era. Maybe protesting the war abroad and the neglect of the citizens at home, you know... the clueless American public is the blind man who finally sees the horrors (of what the government's doing?), but then, just as he's trying to get everyone else to see the reality, he's silenced. Too little, too late. Even the moon's sinking because it can't handle the depressing truth. And yet there's the call to not "let it bring you down." Which confuses me. The speaker seems like he's living in this chaotic urban world, which makes me think he's referring to social problems, but then he returns to a more personal kind of arena in the chorus. Does he really believe it's possible that "someone" can help you turn things around? What's this "someone" turning to, or turning from? Or is the speaker skeptical of what's prescribed in the chorus? Is he quoting somebody else? (I think if a different song followed this one on the album I would feel more strongly that it was a completely hopeless song, but when "Birds" is on next... do you know what I mean?)

No Picture Eric Average	#12 by Eric Phillips at Oct 9, 2007 at 4:17 AM EST
	1. recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts or perceptions; 2. recurrent distressing dreams of the event; 3. acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (eg reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those on wakening or when intoxicated); 4. intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event; 5. physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

No Picture Adam Average	#13 by Adam Favro at Oct 9, 2007 at 9:26 PM EST
	First I would like to mention how beautiful this song is. I don't know how to describe the sound of this song or Young's voice on it when I hear it, but it's one of those songs where his singing and words sound like the voice an incredibily wise spirit. I think jke45's analysis works very well with the night/day motif, which I think is a very important part of the song. However my impression is not as literal. I think I get the song more in terms of what bobdylaniscool was saying. I'll try to communicate my understanding of it. Well I think this song is largely about human life and it's cycles. And death (literally as well as metaphorically). And also how things we expect in life don't turn out that way, or things we hold true don't come out that way, but everything is OK because everything is, and it is no reason to give up hope. The atmosphere of the song and the landscape it paints is very desolate. Okay. Breakdown. "Old man lying by the side of the road With the lorries rolling by," The old man is someone who has been on earth a long time and has participated and experienced it and is closer to his death. Having participated in the life, he is 'by the side of the road' of life, still a witness to it, but in contrast to the lorries that are rolling by, he is not on the road and he is still, he is not moving. This to me shows that this is a man that is at peace and must be in possession of understanding. "Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load And the buildings scrape the sky," Well a blue moon as an expression means something that is a rare occurence (once in a blue moon), and it is when the moon appears to be visibly bluish, normally because of smoke or dust particles that are in the atmosphere. In my own opinion this is kind of foreshadowing the chorus with the theme of illusions. The blue moon is something that is special and rare, but it is caused by an obscuring layer of particles between you and the moon. It is sinking from the weight of it's load because everything that rises must come down and the moon has cycles. Perhaps the load it carries is the significance we give it as being something special, and it is causing the moon to sink and give way to daylight. The buildings scraping the sky also foreshadows the edifices of the 'castles' in the chorus. It is a creation, something that man made. (In the name of progress? To get closer to the sky?) perhaps an allusion to meaning, as people create their own meanings out of things. "Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn, And the morning paper flies," This is kind of setting up an atmosphere of being alone. The cold wind is something harsh and real, like the harsh reality that ultimately every human in the world is alone. The morning paper flying is a nice touch to show desolation. It has no will. It does not resist the currents of the wind or try to create its own path. It is an inconsequential insignificant object that is simply to a force that is more powerful than it is. "Dead man lying by the side of the road With the daylight in his eyes," I think the Dead man could be the Old man that was mentioned previously. The moon sinking gives way to the daylight, which is like a transition from being an old man to a dead man. The Dead man is the natural progression of the Old man's cycle just as the day light would proceed the the dawn and the moon's sinking. Having experienced life (his night) he has gained wisdom and understanding (his dawn) and an acceptance of the way things are so he can die peacefully (and he comes into the day). The daylight in his eyes could be perception of what is eternal and lives longer than everything that revolves around it. The dead man in the daylight is a contrast to the blind man in the night. There is an interesting contrast here as our normal impulse would be to associate day with life and night with death, but here death and daylight are the same as if during are lifetime we are in the night (just like how sometimes ponder about if lifetime is really only a dream or an illusion we are passing through and when we die we might wake up from this dream.) "Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning and you will come around." Now Neil Young is implying that death (physical death or the death of something you created) is natural and we shouldn't be brought down by the of the passing away of a dear one, or when expectations we held high are not met, or something we believed in strongly is not real. Castles are something that are established, a creation of man that is supposed to be stable with a strong foundation and resist the forces of nature and time. So when they are destroyed by a force such as fire it is a shock. But Neil says it's ONLY castles burning. Like hey man, did you really forget that nothing is permanent and lasts forever? Don't you know that you don't live forever, you are impermanent and the foundation of your knowledge is only as solid as everything else, which is susceptible to destruction and decay. But don't let it bring you down, just find someone who's turning and you will come around. Find someone else who is coming to realizations. When the great illusion is shattered, its not the end, it's another beginning. It is a chance to evolve. Find someone else who is changing, evolving, someone else who is TURNING and you will come AROUND. Find someone else who is turning in the cycle and you will turn as well, you will come around and complete the cycle again. "Blind man running through the light of the night With an answer in his hand," The blind man is the contrast to the old and dead man. He is not still. He is running. Running in what? In the light of the night. Not only is it the night, where the light is rare and precious, leaving you very little to see and guide yourself with, he also blind. This man is supposed to represent us. Having not participated in life as long as the old man has, we are still in motion (running). We are still looking for and creating meanings. We seek truth. We do not have a strong sense of perception of truth so we are blind in a world that is already dark. And the answer in his hand could be the meanings we hold on to to attempt to guide us through the night or without sight (the white cane mentioned later). "Come on down to the river of sight And you can really understand," The river is like the wind in the first part. It is a force, a current, and it just flows. It has and will exist longer in time than the man. If you come to where true perception flows, you can have a true understanding, instead of cluthing on to an answer, which would be like using your hands to see when you can't use your eyes. You can see the river, but you can't hold it. "Red lights flashing through the window in the rain Can you hear the sirens moan?" I don't think this is too dense with meaning. Pretty much a call to alarm? Something is calling. Perhaps the call of truth or reality or that something is not right. "White cane lying in a gutter in the lane, If you're walking home alone." Having gained true sight he has no need to use a cane as a guide to move around. The cane was 'the answer in his hand', the answer to the problem of not having the sense of sight. The cane is discarded in a gutter in the lane because he no longer needs it as a subsitute for sight while he is on the road. (The motifs merge beautifully in this song and reflect Neil Young's brilliance.) The last line "If you're walking home alone", reiterates the loneliness of everyone on his own path to understanding, and this path is a return to home. Implying that it's something that we had all along but at some point we forgot and became lost as a result. Perhaps the castle can be the illusion of a home, but we are really at home when we can accept our loneliness and be at home anywhere, like the old man. "Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning and you will come around." Having lost his blindness the man gained sight. That is the blind man's castles burning. In his reality all he knew was darkness and had to use his cane to guide himself. Destruction breeds creation. His blindness burning down, he can now use his eyes to see the world. Having lost illusion we gain reality. Having lost our meanings we gain truth. When our castles burn we can no longer use them to hide, protect, or shelter us from the world. The castle is no longer our home and thus the world becomes our home, and when the world is your home you can always be at home with yourself. Then perhaps you will have inner peace like the old man/ dead man. And the cycle is completed you have come around in the cycle of life and learning. But one cannot lose hope when something they perceive to be important is lost, because it is the way everything is. It is part of the natural progression of one's evolution, and if you don't let it bring you down you don't have to sink, you can rise and come around. And have a greater understanding the next time castles are burning and approach it with acceptance. When the understanding of this is gained one no longer needs to run around blind seeking, one can be still by the side of the road surrounded by motion, not resisting the force of the wind and let one's self flow with the river. Well. This turned out longer than I thought, and every song is open to everyone's interpretation. Some of this might ring true and some of it might be shadier. I hope I didn;t over do it at parts. This is what I feel when I listen to the song (without all the analysis in my head, haha, i just kind of get it this way). I would love to hear other people's interpretations, or agreements, furthering of points, other observations about what I've said or disagreements with points I've made. There really aren't that many posts for this song, which is strange as its one of those songs that I think stands out for people and carries a lot of meaning.

No Picture chris Average	#14 by chris jenko at Oct 10, 2007 at 5:25 AM EST
	um yeah its not white king its cane

No Picture brad Rhythm Player	#15 by brad music at Oct 10, 2007 at 5:47 AM EST
	To me this song has always talked about how you can't become overcome with sadness at the cruelty of the world that you don't control or have a part in and can never hope to change. It says to me that you have to move on with your life in order to do something positive and affect what you might, but attempt to let things you can't control not cripple you with sadness.

No Picture Wacko Average	#16 by Wacko Jacko at Oct 11, 2007 at 2:02 AM EST
	can you please be a bit more specific featherpaperweight in under 10 000 words?!!

No Picture Kevin Average	#17 by Kevin Fournier at Oct 13, 2007 at 7:21 PM EST
	the song sounds like it's about the cold hearted attitude of New York city and the unwillingness of people to listen to someone who they see as inferior "blind man w/ answer in hand" People don't want to be helped by someone they feel is helpless so they let him die It could also be about death, don't let it bring you down, it's only someone dieing...

No Picture Dan Professional Badass	#18 by Dan Hudspith at Oct 15, 2007 at 5:08 AM EST
	Pincho82 is 100% correct. This was one of the most famous protest songs from the Vietnam War era. It was released on one of the best protest albums of it's era. Neil Young himself has talked openly about the meaning of the song. PROTIP: Not all songs should be taken literally.

No Picture jim Professional	#19 by jim d.f at Oct 17, 2007 at 7:16 AM EST
	yeah i guess that makes sense. i sort of got it as sarcasm almostlike he's talking about all this bad stuff, but then he's all but it doesn't matter, don't worry about it. I think he's saying that we're ignoring problems.

No Picture Adrian Lead Player	#20 by Adrian Ortega at Oct 18, 2007 at 11:49 AM EST
	1. efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations associated with the trauma; 2. efforts to avoid activities, places or people that arouse recollections of this trauma; 3. inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma; 4. markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities; 5. feeling of detachment or estrangement from others; 6. restricted range of affect (eg unable to have loving feelings); 7. sense of a foreshortened future (eg does not expect to have a career, marriage, children or a normal life span).

No Picture Nikola Rhythm Player	#21 by Nikola Supukovic at Oct 18, 2007 at 1:31 PM EST
	when i said it happens every day i meant that people die every day...something youve built will burn, and literally night will fall to day. But day will come back, someone new will be born, a new castle will be built.

No Picture Dan Average	#22 by Dan Christopher at Oct 18, 2007 at 9:24 PM EST
	I personally think that lentricchia has it right. Society's (or the American era's?) indifference to its own internal decay - I think the message is not to despair, the world goes on regardless. Or it could be the war stuff, I dunno...