# Neil Young wrote a classic in 1970. Years later, he couldn’t remember what he meant

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/neil-young-wrote-a-classic-in-1970-years-later-he-couldnt-remember-what-he-meant/
- Published: 2026-11-02T20:59:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T21:20:26+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/neil-young-song-retired-from-touring/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Young retired ‘Tell Me Why’ because its lyrics no longer made sense to him.
- The song appeared on *After the Gold Rush* in 1970.
- Eighteen-year-old Nils Lofgren played the second acoustic guitar.

## Summary

Neil Young later stopped performing ‘Tell Me Why’, a song from his 1970 album *After the Gold Rush*, because he could no longer understand what some of its lyrics meant. His comments point to how songwriting can preserve an instinctive feeling that even its creator may struggle to explain years later.

The article describes the song as an intimate acoustic performance shaped by uncertainty about growing up and taking on responsibility. Nils Lofgren, then 18, played the second acoustic guitar during the sessions, and Young gave him the Martin D-18 afterwards. Young also questioned the meaning of ‘I Am a Child’ in the same interview; the article suggests he may have retired ‘Tell Me Why’ during a career slump before returning to rock with *Freedom*.

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