Neil Young – Wonderin’

I heard this song in the 80s and really liked the video. When I first saw the 80s time lapsed video…I thought Young looked a little like Stephen King around this time…looking at it again…I still do. I want to thank Dave for the post that jarred my memory about After The Gold Rush. 

It’s a song that was left off of After The Gold Rush back in 1970. He played it live with Crazy Horse but it would be 1983 when it finally appeared on the album Everybody’s Rockin’. It was re-cut into a 1950s style to fit the rest of the album. He made the album as Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks. There is a story in that as well.

In the early eighties, David Geffen signed Neil Young to a huge contract with Geffen Records. Neil Young who will do his own thing no matter what or when…released an album called “Trans” which was his foray into electronic music. Geffen wanted another “Harvest” with another Heart of Gold or Old Man…instead, he got “Computer Age” and “We R in Control” with Neil singing through a Vocoder.

After that album Neil was asked to do more rock and roll by a Geffen record company executive…the record company was thinking more along the lines of the harder rock Rust Never Sleeps…so Neil gave them rock and roll all right… “Everybody’s Rockin” is an album full of early fifties Doo-wop and rockabilly-sounding songs in the middle of the 80s (thank you, Neil!). The record company was not amused…he then released an album full of country music… In his contract, Neil had full artistic freedom.

Geffen had claimed the new albums were  “unrepresentative” of Neil’s music. He sued Neil for 3.3 million dollars but the case was settled and Geffen lost and had to apologize to Neil. That shows you…sometimes life is fair.

If you look at Neil’s career…it was all about change and evolving so I don’t know what Geffen expected. Neil rarely repeats himself.  Geffen was expecting early seventies Neil and that wasn’t happening. Young is not an artist that you mess with.

After hearing the original version…I like both.. and I do enjoy the early rock and roll feel of it in the 80s version. The album peaked at #46 on the Billboard Album Charts, #22 in Canada, #21 in New Zealand, and #50 in the UK.

Wonderin’

I’ve been walking all night long
My footsteps made me crazy
Baby, you’ve been gone so long
I’m wonderin’ if you’ll come home
I’m hopin’ that you’ll be my baby
I’m wonderin’ if I’ll be alone
Knowin’ that I need you to save me.

I’ve been talking all day long
To keep my heart from sadness
Baby, you’ve been gone so long
I’m wonderin’ if you’ll come home
I’m hopin’ that you’ll be my baby
I’m wonderin’ if I’ll be alone
Knowin’ that I need you to save me.

I’m wonderin’, I’m wonderin’,
I’m wonderin’, I’m wonderin’,
I’m wonderin’, I’m wonderin’,
I’m wonderin’, I’m wonderin’.

Well, I’m knowin’
that I need you to save me
Knowin’ that I need you to save me.
Knowin’ that I need you to save me.
Knowin’ that I need you to save me.
I’m wonderin’, I’m wonderin’.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

27 thoughts on “Neil Young – Wonderin’”

  4. Thanks for the mention! This is one of the few songs of his from the ’80s that I remember. I quite like it and the video too. Geffen, once brilliant but looked like quite the buffoon when he started his own company with that foolishness suing Neil, and I believe his first two huge signings were Donna Summer just as disco went kaput and Elton John at the height of his addiction troubles.

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    1. Oh John Lennon was right after Donna Summer I think..as far as signings…
      I always liked this song…I swear when I see that 80s video…I think of Stephen King.

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  5. It sounds like Neil Young to me, and Geffen should not have criticized him, as he could never do anything this good. Only an artist can create art and you can’t expect every song to be another Heart of Gold or Old Man.

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    1. I know…it was so dumb…it was around the time where John Fogerty was sued for sounding like himself…by the jerk (Saul Zaentz) that owned Fantasy Records.
      I’m glad both Neil and John won.

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  6. Neil is an interesting character who is unpredictable. It’s safe to assume he has frustrated a good number of people who worked with him over the decades, including record executives and fellow music artists. As a longtime fan, I think it’s fair to say while the outcomes have varied, Neil has done pretty well overall. I love how he reworked this song, giving it a doo-wop ’50s vibe.

    Interestingly, Neil also picked another song from “After the Gold Rush” (“Birds”) on his latest release, “Before And After”, a set of acoustic versions of mostly deep cuts from his previous catalog. Based on what I read, this collection is based on live renditions captured during his most recent solo tour.

    I’ve been listening to the album and like it, though I do agree with what I read in some reviews. It’s not “essential” Neil Young but something many of his longtime fans will likely enjoy.

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    1. I like how he changes…Dylan and Bowie are like that also. If he didn’t experiment…we wouldn’t have the product I don’t guess.
      I heard this song in the 80s and loved it…I didn’t know about the other version until a few weeks ago when I wrote it…I like that one as well.
      Deep Neil Young fans would probably like it…

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  8. It’s an interesting little detour for Ifans, but as has been said, not something you NEED. ntentional or not, in the vid I love it when the cop cruiser pulls up then takes off! PS; Mr Geffen, Mr Young don’t/won’t be pigeon-holed.

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      1. Oh wait, this wasn’t on After the Gold Rush, it was left off. I read that wrong and saw the jacket. This is the one with the “pink band” in it. Now I realize why it wasn’t familiar lol. Brain is getting a little fuzzy tonight.

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