TS: Cowgirl In The Sand vs. Down By The River

theres a difference between choosing a list for all time favorite Neil songs to a "one on one" thing.
esp. for the ones who chose both an their list (the majority?!)

nah it's some pointless 'i demand a recount' shit

or it's just "i demand a discussion" about those two particular songs.

I mean, I never feel like listening to them. He mastered these longform jams a few years later.

― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, October 19, 2012 11:58 AM

just curious, have you heard the 2009 remaster?

ILM had been so light on neil young discussion this year, too

damn, some dude shutting it down.
but anyway, how about the one-note machine gun thing neil does to kick off the first down by the river solo? as a kid in a garage band we were all so excited to get to that part.

yeah, its a great moment

whatever that famous early TV performance of "River" is, with the incredible solos, that's my fave live version (River over Cowboy for me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QsSc95pPPY

yeah the live videos with CSN got me into that song. (i recall a live outdoor video also.)

yeah there's a big sur fest performance (not quite as good as the one iago posted but still rad).

My microscopic preference comes down to music, for the most part, but I also think "Cowgirl" yields more unforgettable lines: "purple words on a grey background," "when so many love you, is it the same," "can I see your sweet, sweet smile"--pretty much every line.

is this a joke? cowgirl is a hundred thousand times better than DBTR

maybe from a song craft POV, but I just kinda barrelled ahead to "what jam do I prefer?"

Since I went River over Cowgirl in the big poll, I'll go Cowgirl here. They were both top 5 for me. Love that they and "Cinnamon Girl" were all recorded in the same day. (Or at least I like the story. They've all told it enough times that I assume it's true.)

recorded or written in the same day?

they were all written this morning

I think all written one day and all recorded another day.

Young eventually enticed Whitten, Talbot and Molina to come up to his Topanga home/studio and record some “strange songs” he’d written while being laid up with the flu. “In a single day,” Talbot says, “we did ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ ‘Down By The River’ and ‘Cowgirl in the Sand.’ There wasn’t much need to discuss it….”

http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/rs284-neil-young/

Shocked to see the swell of support for "Cowgirl." Voted "River."

In the new book he says he discusses writing all 3 at the same time while sick.

Cowgirl reminds me of a chick i used to date. She torched me but there are some fond memories. We saw Neil at Radio City and also at some small theater up in Washington Heights.

cool thing in the book re: crazy horse -- neil says he's working on a compilation of early crazy horse/danny & the memories/rockets material.

Oh wow! The Rockets album is really good btw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzfldDrZ6j8

yeah it is a pretty cool record. neil says the comp is called "Early Daze" and will sort of tell the complete story of Danny Whitten. will probably be released sometime in 2024.

"Down by the river". This is my 'default song' - if I ever get an annoying song stuck in my head, like "Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep", I start singing "Down by the river" to get rid of it. A great opening chord change, huge spaces in the arrangement to get lost in, spooked atmosphere. And I wonder if he heard "Season of the witch"?

huh never thought of season of the witch as a connection to Down By The River, but now that you mention it ...
i remember reading that molina and talbot thought of the down by the river beat as a super slowed down james brown rhythm. which is kind of funny. guess that puts river in the category of epic rock jamz that have a secret james brown influence like marquee moon.

Cowgirl easily.

i think DBTR sounds corny, especially compared to cowgirl

when i meet a cowgirl fanatic, there's usually a cowgirl somewhere in the listener's past

not for me amigo

and no, i didn't shoot my baby--my love for DBTR is despite the lyrics, not because of them!

i had a ruby in the dust, not a cowgirl

and yeah, the Hey Joe theme of River is is a music cliche by now...

not for me amigo

― 69, Friday, October 19, 2012 5:04 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

There may be a cowgirl in my future, but none in my past.

i do , and it was the woman in her that made her want to play that gaaaammmmmme (oy vey that's a stinker)

Hello cowgirl in the river
I've got to shoot you with an arrow from my quiver

they really are two peas in a pod these two ditties

what's corny is the lyric 'hello cowgirl in the sand'

ha, true

after re-listening to the Fillmore set, went with Cowgirl. the turnarounds are better.

what's corny is the lyric 'hello cowgirl in the sand'

― mookieproof, Friday, October 19, 2012 7:48 PM

really, I think it's such a great opening lyric. hello cowgirl in the sand, is this place at your command? establishes place, character, and relationship so economically.

i went for down by the river. not sure if that was the right choice. both songs are phantastic. were there any other songs with lyrics in the 1960s longer than nine minutes?

Desolation Row, Sad Eyed Lady

(Huh...never noticed before that those are about the same length)

I really need to get into this album, i have it on LP somewhere. I've listened to it once or twice but always in the background and halfway through "Cowgirl" i stop what i'm doing and this "Oh this must be that 'Cowgirl in the Sand' song everyone always talks about! Cool!"

this is a freaking tough on

*one

cowgirl

^

"Cowgirl in the Sand" in a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK31JPnSWeg

recorded 50 years ago today (river)/tomorrow (cowgirl)

I've always thought that Cowgirl was the sound of the last big log being thrown on the last campfire on earth.

Cowgirl 4eva

i agree with both of the previous posts! it has a crackle and a sizzle and an air of The End! i never ever get sick of cowgirl, sometimes i tire of the river (just a little)

happy 50th birthday to these two great songs!!

i realize that post was inane but obvs inspired by love

i love you, down by the river and cowgirl in the sand!
if you want to listen to two very lo-fi (but very HOT) live versions from 1970, here you go: https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/182086674297/down-by-the-river-cowgirl-in-the-sand-neil

at some point in the mid-80s i saw this version of 'river' (with the international harvesters in 1984) on austin city limits. in retrospect probably pales beside other live performances with other backing bands but as a 13yo i remember being utterly hypnotized by it. which is why i probably voted 'river'

On the album, "Cowgirl" easily. But as a jam that's 47 years long, this is shivers when they finally hit the chorus after suspense that goes longer than the whole studio version of "River".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI2ey2g8pcM

River is moodier but Cowgirl has more interesting stiff going on musically. That Dm7 stomp underneath “it’s rhe woman in you...” is so great

Also, River is moving, but is hardly alone as a "shot my woman song", where on Cowgirl, the fever-dream altered state is palpable and strange.

Ha, I just listened to this record a couple hours ago.

River is the sound of the coming apocalypse; Cowgirl the sound of everything lost in it.