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{{Infobox song |
{{Infobox song |
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| name = Unknown Legend |
| name = Unknown Legend |
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| cover = |
| cover = |
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| alt = |
| alt = |
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| type = |
| type = promo |
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| artist = [[Neil Young]] |
| artist = [[Neil Young]] |
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| album = [[Harvest Moon (album)|Harvest Moon]] |
| album = [[Harvest Moon (album)|Harvest Moon]] |
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| released = |
| released = November 2, 1992 |
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| recorded = January 30, 1992 |
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| format = |
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| studio = Redwood Digital |
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| recorded = |
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| |
| venue = |
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| |
| genre = |
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* [[Rock music|Rock]] |
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* [[country rock]] |
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| length = 4:32 |
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* [[folk rock]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
| |
| length = 4:32 |
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| ⚫ | |||
| producer = [[Neil Young]], [[Ben Keith]] |
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| writer = Neil Young |
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| producer = |
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* Neil Young |
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* [[Ben Keith]] |
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| prev_title = [[Harvest Moon (Neil Young song)|Harvest Moon]] |
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| prev_year = 1992 |
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| next_title = [[The Needle and the Damage Done]] |
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| next_version = live |
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| next_year = 1993 |
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}} |
}} |
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''' |
"'''Unknown Legend'''" is a song written by [[Neil Young]] that was first released on his 1992 album ''[[Harvest Moon (album)|Harvest Moon]]''. Although it was only released as a promotional single, it reached #38 on the ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart. |
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==Music and lyrics== |
==Music and lyrics== |
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Although "Unknown Legend" was not released until 1992, it was written earlier, closer to the release of Young's 1978 album ''[[Comes a Time]]'', and several critics have noted a similarity between the style of "Unknown Legend" and the material on ''Comes a Time'', particularly the song "Motorcycle Mama |
Although "Unknown Legend" was not released until 1992, it was written earlier, closer to the release of Young's 1978 album ''[[Comes a Time]]'', and several critics have noted a similarity between the style of "Unknown Legend" and the material on ''Comes a Time'', particularly the song "Motorcycle Mama".<ref name=journey/><ref name=rogan/> [[AllMusic]] critic Matthew Greenwald describes the song as being based on a "simple, [[folk music|folksy]] guitar [[riff (music)|riff]] and [[melody]]".<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Unknown Legend|author=Greenwald, Matthew|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/unknown-legend-mt0012014071|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2019-01-20}}</ref> As with several other songs on ''Harvest Moon'', [[Linda Ronstadt]] provided backup vocals in the [[refrain]]s.<ref name=allmusic/><ref name=words>{{cite book|title=The Words and Music of Neil Young|author=Bielen, K.|pages=74, 77|year=2008|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780275999025}}</ref> [[Ben Keith]] plays [[pedal steel]], in a performance that Young biographer Jimmy McDonough describes as providing "proud but sad" accents.<ref name=shakey/> |
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The lyrics describe a woman who had worked in a diner and rode a [[Harley Davidson]], but now is raising two children.<ref name=journey>{{cite book|title=Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young|author=Williamson, N.|page=128|year=2002|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780879307417}}</ref> |
The lyrics describe a woman who had worked in a diner and rode a [[Harley Davidson]], but now is raising two children.<ref name=journey>{{cite book|title=Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young|author=Williamson, N.|page=128|year=2002|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780879307417}}</ref> The lyrics were inspired by multiple people.<ref name=journey/><ref name=rogan>{{cite book|title=The Complete Guide to the Music of Neil Young|author=[[Johnny Rogan|Rogan, Johnny]]|page=145|year=1996|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0711953994}}</ref> Nigel Williamson feels that the lyric about how the woman used to work in a diner was inspired by Young's first wife Susan Acevedo and that the lyrics about an "unknown legend" who is raising two kids but still has "the far away look in her eyes" were inspired by his later wife [[Pegi Young]], and music critic [[Johnny Rogan]] agrees that the character described by the lyrics seems to be a combination of the two.<ref name=journey/><ref name=rogan/> Young biographer Glen Boyd similarly sees a portrait of Pegi in the lyrics about working in a diner and raising two kids, as well as in a line about "her long blonde hair flowin' in the wind."<ref name=faq>{{cite book|title=Neil Young FAQ|author=Boyd, G.|year=2012|publisher=Backbeat Books|asin= B008RYZ7WM}}</ref> Nonetheless, Young has described his inspiration as being more expansive, stating:<ref name=journey/><ref name=rogan/> |
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{{blockquote|It's inspired by some people I know and some people I don't know and all kinds of things put together...They're just pictures, people's lives. A lot of the common thing is survival, not losing what it is you were when you were young, but take it with you, take it with you into your own age. Don't leave it behind.}} |
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Young biographer [[David Downing]] sees the song as one of several on ''Harvest Moon'' that describe Americans feeling a deep sense of loss for unknown reasons in 1992.<ref name=downing>{{cite book|title=A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young, the Man and His Music|author=[[David Downing|Downing, David]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamerofpicture00down/page/219 219]|year=1994|publisher=Da Capo|isbn=9780306806117|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamerofpicture00down/page/219}}</ref> |
Young biographer [[David Downing]] sees the song as one of several on ''Harvest Moon'' that describe Americans feeling a deep sense of loss for unknown reasons in 1992.<ref name=downing>{{cite book|title=A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young, the Man and His Music|author=[[David Downing|Downing, David]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamerofpicture00down/page/219 219]|year=1994|publisher=Da Capo|isbn=9780306806117|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamerofpicture00down/page/219}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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In a 2016 ''[[Rolling Stone |
In a 2016 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine readers poll, "Unknown Legend" ranked as Young's 4th best post-1970s song.<ref name=rs2>{{cite web|title=Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Post-1970s Neil Young Songs|author=Greene, Andy|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-post-1970s-neil-young-songs-80804/from-hank-to-hendrix-29857/|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=2019-01-20|date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> It reached #38 on the ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Neil Young Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/neil-young/chart-history/rtt/|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=2019-01-20}}</ref> |
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AllMusic critic [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] considers "Unknown Legend" to be one of Young's best songs, describing it as "lovely".<ref>{{cite web|title=Harvest Moon|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/harvest-moon-mw0000090853|author=[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine|Erlewine, S.T.]]|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2019-01-20}}</ref> McDonough describes it as "perhaps the empathetic portrait of a woman [Young has] ever created.<ref name=shakey>{{cite book|title=Shakey|author=McDonough, Jimmy|pages=520, 662|publisher=Anchor|year=2003|asin= B000Q67KGU}}</ref> Greenwald calls the [[arrangement (music)|arrangement]] "exquisite" and comments how the lyrics provide a "clear" and "cinematic" picture of the female protagonist.<ref name=allmusic/> |
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==Live performances== |
==Live performances== |
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Young performed "Unknown Legend" for his 1993 ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' concert and it was included on his ''[[Unplugged (Neil Young album)|Unplugged]]'' album.<ref name=words/><ref>{{cite web|title=Unlugged|author=Ruhlmann, William|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/unplugged-mw0000099989|publisher=[[ |
Young performed "Unknown Legend" for his 1993 ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' concert and it was included on his ''[[Unplugged (Neil Young album)|Unplugged]]'' album.<ref name=words/><ref>{{cite web|title=Unlugged|author=Ruhlmann, William|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/unplugged-mw0000099989|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2019-01-20}}</ref> For the ''Unplugged'' concert, [[Astrid Young]] and [[Nicolette Larson]] performed the backing vocal that Ronstadt performed on the ''Harvest Moon'' album.<ref name=words/> Young later played the song live on his 2015 tour.<ref name=rs2/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Latest revision as of 15:29, 24 July 2024
| "Unknown Legend" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotional single by Neil Young | ||||
| from the album Harvest Moon | ||||
| Released | November 2, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | January 30, 1992 | |||
| Studio | Redwood Digital | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:32 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Young | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Neil Young singles chronology | ||||
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"Unknown Legend" is a song written by Neil Young that was first released on his 1992 album Harvest Moon. Although it was only released as a promotional single, it reached #38 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Music and lyrics
[edit]Although "Unknown Legend" was not released until 1992, it was written earlier, closer to the release of Young's 1978 album Comes a Time, and several critics have noted a similarity between the style of "Unknown Legend" and the material on Comes a Time, particularly the song "Motorcycle Mama".[1][2] AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes the song as being based on a "simple, folksy guitar riff and melody".[3] As with several other songs on Harvest Moon, Linda Ronstadt provided backup vocals in the refrains.[3][4] Ben Keith plays pedal steel, in a performance that Young biographer Jimmy McDonough describes as providing "proud but sad" accents.[5]
The lyrics describe a woman who had worked in a diner and rode a Harley Davidson, but now is raising two children.[1] The lyrics were inspired by multiple people.[1][2] Nigel Williamson feels that the lyric about how the woman used to work in a diner was inspired by Young's first wife Susan Acevedo and that the lyrics about an "unknown legend" who is raising two kids but still has "the far away look in her eyes" were inspired by his later wife Pegi Young, and music critic Johnny Rogan agrees that the character described by the lyrics seems to be a combination of the two.[1][2] Young biographer Glen Boyd similarly sees a portrait of Pegi in the lyrics about working in a diner and raising two kids, as well as in a line about "her long blonde hair flowin' in the wind."[6] Nonetheless, Young has described his inspiration as being more expansive, stating:[1][2]
It's inspired by some people I know and some people I don't know and all kinds of things put together...They're just pictures, people's lives. A lot of the common thing is survival, not losing what it is you were when you were young, but take it with you, take it with you into your own age. Don't leave it behind.
Young biographer David Downing sees the song as one of several on Harvest Moon that describe Americans feeling a deep sense of loss for unknown reasons in 1992.[7]
Reception
[edit]In a 2016 Rolling Stone magazine readers poll, "Unknown Legend" ranked as Young's 4th best post-1970s song.[8] It reached #38 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[9]
AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers "Unknown Legend" to be one of Young's best songs, describing it as "lovely".[10] McDonough describes it as "perhaps the empathetic portrait of a woman [Young has] ever created.[5] Greenwald calls the arrangement "exquisite" and comments how the lyrics provide a "clear" and "cinematic" picture of the female protagonist.[3]
Live performances
[edit]Young performed "Unknown Legend" for his 1993 MTV Unplugged concert and it was included on his Unplugged album.[4][11] For the Unplugged concert, Astrid Young and Nicolette Larson performed the backing vocal that Ronstadt performed on the Harvest Moon album.[4] Young later played the song live on his 2015 tour.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Williamson, N. (2002). Journey Through the Past: The Stories Behind the Classic Songs of Neil Young. Hal Leonard. p. 128. ISBN 9780879307417.
- ^ a b c d Rogan, Johnny (1996). The Complete Guide to the Music of Neil Young. Omnibus Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0711953994.
- ^ a b c Greenwald, Matthew. "Unknown Legend". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
- ^ a b c Bielen, K. (2008). The Words and Music of Neil Young. Praeger. pp. 74, 77. ISBN 9780275999025.
- ^ a b McDonough, Jimmy (2003). Shakey. Anchor. pp. 520, 662. ASIN B000Q67KGU.
- ^ Boyd, G. (2012). Neil Young FAQ. Backbeat Books. ASIN B008RYZ7WM.
- ^ Downing, David (1994). A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young, the Man and His Music. Da Capo. p. 219. ISBN 9780306806117.
- ^ a b Greene, Andy (March 9, 2016). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Post-1970s Neil Young Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
- ^ "Neil Young Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
- ^ Erlewine, S.T. "Harvest Moon". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Unlugged". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
