A friend recently drew this to my attention and I’m glad he did as it’s awesome. This is a really beautiful cover, but it has prompted me to revisit Neil Young, which is always a trip worth making.
Provided to YouTube by Polyvinyl Records Ambulance Blues · Jeff Rosenstock · Laura Stevenson Still Young ℗ 2019 Polyvinyl Record Co. Composer: Neil Young
Lyrics
Back in the old folky days
The air was magic when we played
The riverboat was rocking in the rain
Midnight was the time for the raid
Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela
They tore you down and plowed you under
You’re only real with your make-up on
How could I see you and stay too long?
[Verse 2]
All along the Navajo Trail
Burn-outs stub their toes
On garbage pails
Waitresses are crying in the rain
Will their boyfriends pass this way again?
Oh, Mother Goose, she’s on the skids
Shoe ain’t happy, neither are the kids
She needs someone that she can scream at
And I’m such a heel for making her feel so bad
[Verse 3]
I guess I’ll call it sickness gone
It’s hard to say the meaning of this song
An ambulance can only go so fast
It’s easy to get buried in the past
When you try to make a good thing last
I saw today in the entertainment section
There’s room at the top for private detection
To Mom and Dad this just doesn’t matter
But it’s either that or pay off the kidnapper
[Verse 4]
So all you critics sit alone
You’re no better than me for what you’ve shown
With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams
We could get together for some scenes
Well, I’m up in T.O. keeping jive alive
And out on the corner it’s half past five
But the subways are empty
And so are the cafes
Except for the Farmer’s Market
And I still can hear him say:
[Verse 5]
You’re all just pissing in the wind
You don’t know it but you are
And there ain’t nothing like a friend
Who can tell you you’re just pissing in the wind
Abigail's Library 