Neil Young - Will To Love

From american Stars'n Bars (1977)
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WILL TO LOVE

It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasn't there
Like an ocean fish who swam upstream
Through nets, by hooks, and hungry bears.

When the water grew less deep
My fins were aching from the strain
I'm swimming in my sleep
I know I can't go back again.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

I can be like a fire in the night
Always warm and giving off light
But there comes a time when I shine too bright
Oh, I'm just a fire in the night.

And now my fins are in the air
And my belly's scraping on the rocks
I still think someone really cares
And I'll keep swimming till I stop.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

I'm like a singer on the stage
With the golden lights and liquid rage
Down from the mountains to the sea
Cool running love keeps cleansing me.

It keeps my gills from getting dry
But it distorts things in my eyes
Sometimes I see what really isn't there
Like my true lover, and I care.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

Sometimes I ramble on and on
And I repeat myself till all my friends are gone
And get lost in snow and drown in rain
And never feel the same again.

I remember the ocean from where I came
Just one of millions all the same
But somewhere someone calls my name
I'm a harpoon dodger, and I can't, won't be tamed.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

Baby, if I see boredom in your eyes
I'll know my river has run dry
But I won't turn back with that lonely tide
I bought that ticket and I'll take that ride.

If we meet along the way
Please sway beside me, let us sway together
Our tails together and our fins and mind
We'll leave this water and let our scales shine
In the sun above and the sky below
So all the water and earth will know

It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasn't there.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Neil
• Young
• Will
• To
• Love
• American
• Stars'n
• Bars
• Folk
• Rock

[tommythunder99]

One of Neil's best kept secrets..

[ABurningCanoe]

One of his best songs, has a mystical atmosphere.

[paulfalardeau1]

I feel like people who didn't immediately realize that was a fire must truly be city folk. But I ain't trying to troll, just saying it immediately sprung into my mind, probably cause I've spent so many nights in front of a fire :P

One of my favourite underrated songs on an underrated album!

[rockinroller7]

@MrRobin14669

Yep. Sitting in his living room on his ranch, in front of the fireplace with a reel to reel running. The echo effect he used in the studio sure makes the cracking of the firewood come out of the speakers loud, and allows the mind to imagine the setting.

[chachmaster3000]

Kick ass

[MrRobin14669]

I read in a interview with Neil that he wrote the song when he used drugs, and played and recorded all the instruments himself in front of a crackling fireplace. That's the sound in the background. Always loved this song, very mystical and beautiful. One of Neil's best kept secrets, for sure. 

[MrShuggieTodd]

A very philosophical song, a real hidden NY gem.

[crystalship40]

A song for all true mystics...

[beltmaker55]

ethereal quality only neil could evoke

[Mazurka1001]

Haven't heard it in ages —beautiful song.