Neil Young Shares "Southern Man" From 2019 Performance, Calls For "Real Change"

50 years after its original release his 1970 After the Gold Rush album, Neil Young has shared a live take on “Southern Man” during a 2019 performance via his Neil Young Archives website.

Like all NYA entries, this live performance of “Southern Man” arrived with a statement written by Young relating to the recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis,

Here’s me as an old guy singin’ his 50 year old song that was written after countless years of racism in the USA…. and look at us today! This has been going on for way too long. It’s not just Southen Man now…..It’s everywhere across the USA. It’s time for real change…. new laws…. new rules for policing…. ‘Change gonna come at last…..

The video begins with Young sitting on stage, strumming the opening chords to the emotional song. Following two runs through the progression, Young begins singing the first lines, “Southern Man / Better keep your head / Don’t forget / What your good book said.” Drawing on the theme of slavery in the United States, his 1970 tune, unfortunately, applies all too well in 2020. As he recites the powerful lines, members of the crowd belt out cheers and encouragement, signaling agreement with the important message, and thunderous applause erupts as he arrives at the song’s end.

Click here to watch Neil Young perform “Southern Man” live in 2019.

In other Young news, the singer-songwriter recently announced the forthcoming Homegrown, an unreleased album from 1975. Due out June 19th via Reprise Records, the Homegrown announcement arrived with a previously-unheard track, “Try”. Furthermore, Young also detailed another previously-unreleased album from the 1980s, Road of Plenty, which is expected to arrive in 2021. Head to his website for the latest information and to pre-order Homegrown.