Before and After Album Lyrics by Neil Young

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I'm The Ocean

I'm an accident, I was moving way too fast
Couldn't stop though, so I made that moment last
I'm for rolling, I'm for tossing in my sleep
It's not guilt though, it's not the company I keep

People my age, they don't do the things I do
They go somewhere while I steal away to you
I've got my friends, and I've got my children too
I got your love, you've got my love too

I can't hear you, but I feel the things you say
I can't see you, but I see what's in my way
Now I'm floating, 'cause I'm not tied to the ground
Words I've spoken seem to leave a hollow sound

On the long plain, see the rider in the night
See the chieftain, see the braves in cool moonlight
Who will love them when they take another life?
Who will hold them when they tremble from the knife?

Voicemail numbers on an old computer screen
Rows of lovers, parked forever in a dream
Screaming sirens echoing across the bay
To the old boats from the city far away

Homeless heroes walk the streets of their hometowns
Rows of zeros on a field that's turning brown
They play baseball, they play football under lights
They play card games and we watch them every night

Need distraction, need entertainment tonight
Need random violence, need the evidence
Need the evidence, want the testimony of
Expert witnesses on the brutal crimes of love

I was too tired to see the news when I got home
Pulled the curtain, fell into bed alone
Started dreaming, saw the rider once again
In the doorway, where she stood and watched for him

I'm not present, I'm a drug that makes you dream
I'm an Aerostar, I'm a Cutlass Supreme
In the wrong lane, trying to turn against the flow
I'm the ocean, I'm the giant undertow

I'm the ocean, I'm the giant undertow

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Homefires

I'm not the same man I was a while ago
I've learned some new things, I hope that it shows
I'm free to give my love
But you're not the one I'm thinking of
So for me, the wheels are turning
Got to keep the homefires burning

I walk these borders in search of a line
Between young lovers who live separate lives
How long does this go on? I can hear another song
Late at night when I've been thinking
Substitute comes at me, winking
Oh

I'm free to give my love
You're not the one I'm thinking of
So for me, the wheels are turning
Gotta keep the homefires burning

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Burned

Been burned and with both feet on the ground
I've learned that it's painful comin' down
No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'

Flashed and I think I'm fallin' down
Crashed, and my ears can't hear a sound
No use runnin' away, but there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'

No use runnin' away, and there's no time left to stay
Now I'm finding out that it's so confusin'
No time left and I know I'm losin'

Burned and with both feet on the ground

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On the Way Home

When the dream came
I held my breath with my eyes closed
I went insane, like a smoke ring day
When the wind blows
Now, I won't be back 'til later on
If I do come back at all
But you know me (you know me)
And I miss you, now

In a strange game
I saw myself as you knew me
When the change came
And you had a chance to see through me
Though the other side is just the same
You can tell my dream is real
Because I love you
Can you see me now?

Though we rush ahead to save our time
We are only what we feel
And I love you
Can you feel it now?
Can you feel it now?
Can you feel it now?
Can you feel it now?

Can you?
Can you?

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If You Got Love

No Lyrics

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A Dream That Can Last

I feel like I died and went to heaven
The cupboards are bare but the streets are paved with gold

I saw a young girl who didn't die
I saw a glimmer from in her eye
I saw the distance, I saw the past
And I know I won't awaken
It's a dream that can last

I feel like I died and went to heaven
The cupboards are bare but the streets are paved with gold

I saw a young girl who didn't die
I saw a glimmer from in her eye
I saw the distance, I saw the past
And I know I won't awaken
It's a dream that can last

I feel like I died and went to heaven
The cupboards are bare but the streets are paved with gold

And all the lights were turned down low
And no one wondered or had to go
Out on the corner, the angels say
There is a better life for me someday

I feel like I died and went to heaven

The cupboards are bare but the streets are paved with gold

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Birds

Danger bird, he flies alone
And he rides the wind back to his home
Although his wings have turned to stone

And we used to be so calm
Now I think about you all day long
(That's the moment that he cracked)
'Cause you've been with another man (long ago in the museum with his friends)
There you are and here I am

The jailbird takes a rap
And then finds himself spread-eagled on the track
But the training that he learned would get him nowhere fast

And I know we should be free
But freedom's just a prison to me (rain pounding on his back)
(He recalls the moment that he cracked)
'Cause I lied to keep it kind (long ago in the museum with his friends)
When I left you far behind (like those memories, the rain)
(Just keeps poundin' down, down, down)

And though these wings have turned to stone
I can fly, fly, fly away
Watch me fly above the city
Like a shadow on the sky
Fly, fly, fly
Fly, fly, fly
Fly, fly, fly

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My Heart

It's a fallen situation
When all eyes are turned in
And the love isn't flowing
The way it could have been

You brought it all on
Oh, but it feels so wrong
You brought it all on
No, no, no, I don't believe this song
You brought it all on

It's a sad communication
With little reason to believe
When one isn't giving
And one pretends to receive

You brought it all on
Oh, but it feels so wrong
You brought it all on
No, no, no, no, I don't believe this song
You brought it all on

You brought it all on
You brought it all on
You brought it all on

Pardon my heart
If I showed that I cared
But I love you more than moments
We have or have not shared

You brought it all on
Oh, and it feels so good
You brought it all on
When love flows the way that it should
(You brought it all on) feels so good
You feel good, you feel good

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When I Hold You In My Arms

When I hold you in my arms, it's like a breath of fresh air
When I hold you in my arms, I forget what's out there
All those people with their faces, they don't have to say a thing
All those people with their faces walking up the street
They don't have to say a thing, look around and you can see

New buildings going up, old buildings coming down
New signs going up, old signs coming down
You got to hold on to something in this life

Well, the older generation, they got somethin' to say
But they better say it fast or get outta the way
All those gangsters with their crimes, they make it look so good
'Cause we'll be blowing up the planet, just like an old neighborhood

New buildings going up, old buildings coming down
New signs going up, old signs coming down
You got to hold on to someone in this life

If I only had a heart, it would beat the whole night through for you
If I only had a heart, I could cry the whole day through
When I hold you in my arms, it's a breath of fresh air
When I hold you in my arms, I forget what's out there

Old heart going up, old heart coming down
Feelings going up and feelings coming down
You got to hold on to someone in this life

When I hold you in my arms

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Mother Earth

Oh, Mother Earth
With your fields of green
Once more laid down
By the hungry hand
How long can you
Give and not receive
And feed this world
Ruled by greed
And feed this world
Ruled by greed

Oh, ball of fire
In the summer sky
Your healing light
Your parade of days
Are they betrayed
By the men of power
Who hold this world
In their changing hands
They hold the world
In their changing hands

Oh, freedom land
Can you let this go
Down to the streets
Where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth
And her giving ways
Or trade away
Our children's days
Or trade away
Our children's days

Respect Mother Earth
And her giving ways
Or trade away
Our children's days

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Mr. Soul

Oh, hello, Mr. Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason
For the thought that I caught that my head is the event of the season
Why in crowds just a trace of my face could seem so pleasin'
I'll cop out to the change, but a stranger is putting the tease on

I was down on a frown when the messenger brought me a letter
I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her
Any girl in the world could have easily known me better
She said, "you're strange, but don't change," and I let her

In a while, will the smile on my face turn to plaster?
Stick around while the clown who is sick does the trick of disaster
For the race of my head and my face is moving much faster

Is it strange I should change?
I don't know, why don't you ask her?
Is it strange I should change?
I don't know, why don't you ask her?
Is it strange I should change?
I don't know, why don't you ask her?
Is it strange I should change?
I don't know, why don't you ask her?

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Comes a Time

Comes a time when you're driftin'
Comes a time when you settle down
Comes a light, feelings liftin'
Lift that baby right up off the ground

Oh, this old world keeps spinnin' 'round
It's a wonder, tall trees ain't layin' down
There comes a time

You and I, we were captured
We took our souls and we flew away
We were right, we were giving
That's how we kept what we gave away

Oh, this old world keeps spinnin' 'round
It's a wonder, tall trees ain't layin' down
There comes a time

Oh, this old world keeps spinnin' 'round
It's a wonder, tall trees ain't layin' down
There comes a time
There comes a time

Comes a time
Comes a time
Comes a time
Comes a time
Comes a time
Comes a time
Comes a time

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Don't Forget Love

Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love

When you're angry and you're lashing out, don't forget love
You don't know what you're talking about, don't forget love
When the wind blows through the crime scene
and the TV man starts talking fast
Don't forget love

Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love

When you got no one you can confide in, don't forget love
In every story there's a secret hiding, don't forget love
When you're taking when you could be giving
When you're dying and you could be living, don't forget love

Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love

When you're waking up with a frown
And the world is bringing you down
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Love will bring you back around
Put your feet right on the ground
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love

When the storm comes and the lights go out, don't forget love
When the rains give way to sunshine, don't forget love
There's a secret in every story, in the ways that we remember love

Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love
Don't forget love