Neil Young Releases 2019 Live Version Of “Southern Man”
Neil Young in an interview, 2005 - Team Coco / Youtube
Released in 1970 via After The Gold Rush, “Southern Man” songwriter Neil Young still thinks that the track holds true till today – but now he’s not just pertaining to the South anymore, but the whole country.
The folk icon posted a 2019 live version of the song for his Archives Wednesday with the statement: “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 ‘Southern Man’ now. It’s everywhere across the USA. It’s time for real change, new laws, new rules for policing.”
Young is referring to the mass protests against police brutality – which has quickly spread across the world in response to the death of George Floyd. The singer-songwriter is known for being critical of US President Donald Trump. After becoming a legal American citizen earlier this year, Young showed his support for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. “Stand for the workers, stand for the teachers, stand for the students, stand up for Climate Justice. Stand for higher taxes on the super-rich to pay for all love the above! Stand for the American Future. Stand with Bernie Sanders,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECQ5awecJiQ&t=46s
