The Near Myths: Music
Midway Through Neil Young's Life Journey
Ben - lead vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonica
Teep - lead guitar, bass
Jim - banjo
Katy - 12 string guitar
Phil - organ
Matthew - drums
Background vocals - Jim, Katy
Neil Young’s bus broke down near Zurich
Just before the After Berlin tour
Somewhere south of Carl Jung’s castle
Nearly dawn, fog swallowed the lake shore
The driver said, “We’ll have to hitch”
And Neil said, “I’ll go,” and Ben Keith said sure
Midway through Neil Young’s life journey
Just before the After Berlin tour
Bruce Palmer and Ralph Molina
Stayed behind and played cards on the bus
The others were asleep still
You’re asleep too if your dreams have gone to rust
Neil Young walked by old Lake Zurich
Hoping for a lift, as we all must
Sunlight climbed the castle wall
Growing small was that brokedown tour bus
Chorus
“Let’s have a really good red wine tonight,”
Were the last words Carl Jung said
That’s how I want my life to be
Really good and deep red
Even after I am dead
Carl Jung died in ‘61
The After Berlin tour was ’82
Neil Young saw the carved stone tablet,
Sky behind the castle gold and blue
Ben Keith watched like Sancho Panza,
Wondering what his tilted friend might do
Birds were coming through the mist
And though the world was old
All life seemed new
Chorus
When I set out on this song
I thought Carl Jung would offer Neil a ride
That would be cool and fitting
And we’d all see Carl Jung’s spirit never died
Which is true enough, I guess, but such a hackneyed twist
Neil Young is alive
His whole life sings of how he and Ben Keith got back
And how the tour survived
Chorus
Midway through Neil Young’s life journey
He wrote a song he called “After Berlin”
I hadn’t heard it for a while, but dug it up and played it once again
My friend Andy loved Neil Young
If he were here we’d give Neil’s stuff a spin
But Andy’s dead. Let’s have a really good red wine tonight
For absent friends
But Andy’s dead, let’s have a really good red wine tonight
For absent friends