Dissociated Thoughts

2/28/22 - Into the Black

2/28/22

It's time for my final song for the month and the challenge. I've listened to Neil Young's songs quite a bit over the last ten years or so. They help take my mind off the bad things as the music lifts me up. "Hey, Hey, My, My" is one of my favorites of Neil's songs. I listened to both this acoustic version and the electric version as well as the cover of the song done by Devo (which is worth checking out) and chose the acoustic version for the following reasons: the electric version (Out of the Blue) sounds a bit chaotic and static-sounding, while the acoustic version (Into the Black) is clean sounding and the notes are clear. The Devo cover is fun but it doesn't have the same feels as the acoustic version for me. DEVO version  

Did You Know?
Did you know that there are actually two songs? Of course, there is "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black)" but there is also "My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)". The two songs are essentially the same, with the major difference being that "Into the Black" is acoustic while "Out of the Blue" is electric, and the lyrics between the two differ in places. Check it out...

Lyrics for Hey, Hey, My, My ▼

"Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)"
written and performed by Neil Young (released in 1979)

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

Out of the blue
and into the black
You pay for this,
but they give you that
And once you're gone,
you can't come back
When you're out of the blue
and into the black.

The king is gone
but he's not forgotten
Is this the story
of Johnny Rotten?
It's better to burn out
'cause rust never sleeps
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.

Lyrics for My, My Hey, Hey ▼

"My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)"
written and performed by Neil Young (released 1979)

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

Out of the blue
and into the black
They give you this,
but you pay for that
And once you're gone,
you can never come back
When you're out of the blue
and into the black.

The king is gone
but he's not forgotten
This is the story
of a Johnny Rotten
It's better to burn out
than it is to rust
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

Both songs were released on the Rust Never Sleeps album, with "Out of the Blue" being the final song of the album.

Did you know that the term "Out of the blue and into the black" originated during the Vietnam war? The phrase was a term used by soldiers who fought the war in the Vietcong tunnels to refer to the act of going down into the tunnels.

The verse, "The king is gone
but he's not forgotten
Is this the story
of Johnny Rotten?
It's better to burn out
'cause rust never sleeps
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten." refers to John Lydon of Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd fame. Johnny Rotten burnt out on the whole Sex Pistols scene, unhappy with the direction the Sex Pistols was heading, parted from the band and went on to create the music he personally wanted to create. - Better to burn out and go your own way than to stay in an unhappy situation.