"Feeling like letting my freak flag fly". You gotta remember at that time men letting their hair long was very rebellious. One of my favorites of that era. You should listen to 4 + 20 from Deja Vu, an absolutely stunning & haunting short tune sung by Stephen Stills.
Agree! Good description of that beautiful song! But then, that entire album (including the 2 cliche' songs I could live without ever hearing again) is without question an iconic masterpiece! I've been through THREE vinyl copies, including a MOFI copy!!!
Love Crosby Stills Nash and Young, all together, solo, and any combination. LOVE! This was a huge hit. I love it now as much as I did then. Daniel, I suggest you listen to Cathedral by Nash. There are many versions on UA-cam. Find one with CS&N; I believe there is one that also includes Young. You will know why I am suggesting it when you hear it.
Love the sound of CSN&Y They were one of the folk rock supergroups of the 60's-70's. The "Deja Vu" album where Neil Young joined them is great. It has other hit songs such as "Teach Your Children", "Woodstock", "Carry On", "Our House" etc. CS& N had many great songs on their own such as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", "Marrakesh Express", "Helplessly Hoping", "Wooden Ships", "Southern Cross" etc.
@@hmichaelr1 Neil Young only “participated” in about 1/2 the songs on Déja Vu; Jerry Garcia played pedal steel guitar on Graham Nash’s Teach Your Children.
Amazing! Long hair was a statement. Liked the line about increasing paranoia and looking in the mirror and seeing a police car. This sounds like an anthem! What a classic!
The lyrics have to be understood in the context of an era where we were insulted and threatened on the street (in the 'liberal' Northeast) for long hair, because it threatened people. That said, this one is about the guitars. Stills & Young just brought out the best in each other.
Agreed! We were "those dirty Hippies"! And the axe duel between Stills and Young is, IMO, even better than that between Don Felder & Joe Walsh in Hotel California! When I just quickly think of every "duelling guitars" song I can think of, this one here is probably on top of that list!
Oh yeah! Love the lyrics on this one. "I feel like I owe it.....to someone!" You ever see "Easy Rider"? Long hair was no joke. Was in Texas once in the 80s, someone drove by and yelled "Beatle!" at me. That was in the 80s! But in the 60s, when guys started wearing their hair long (The Beatles started that whole thing), it was a big deal. Crosby has a lot of great, great songs, some of the best of CSNY and The Byrds: "Deja Vu", "Guinevere", "Wooden Ships" and "Long Time Gone", all by CSN/CSNY are fantastic. His first solo album is great. EVERY ONE is on that. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, et al. The song "Laughing" (which has a great cameo from Joni, and Garcia on amazing pedal steel) is gorgeous. "Traction In The Rain", great song. From the Byrds: "Lady Friend" is AMAZING. Also the single version of "Why", which is the flip side of "Eight MIles High" which he also co-wrote. "It Happens Each Day", "Tribal Gathering", "Everybody's Been Burned"....some good nuggets!
Replying to Hartlor and Glenn: yeah, I really meant the entire album, lol. I felt GUILTY choosing just two tracks!!! "Laughing" had to be one. But yeah, "Music Is Love", the whole album, or at least most of it. What an underrated album, right?!!! That is a real nugget.
@@TTM9691 everyone there was working on side projects and solo albums etc. lots of crossover like one big session. Crosby the Dead, Airplane etc. then they’d all go jam at the Matrix coffee house. It seemed like the start of something but it was really more of a last hurrah for that scene.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yup. I used to keep Crosby's first solo album on one side of a tape and Garcia's first solo album on the other (with "Cassidy" from Ace as a "bonus track", lol) Sad that fifteen years later Garcia and Crosby would be the scuzziest heroin addicts in the music biz! So happy Crosby made it out alive, and still heartbroken that Garcia didn't.
At the time this song came out, having long hair was equated with being a "communist" by the conservative mainstream at the time. Long hair was a profound statement back then, it wasn't accepted socially.
My brother toured with David Crosby as a guitarist back in the 80's. My brother said David hated the song and wouldn't play it if requested, instead when people would yell out requests and yelled out "almost cut my hair", Crosby would yell back "don't!".
2:56 LOVING you react to Neil Young's wailing guitar! It's funny, when I was a kid this was my LEAST favorite song on this album, but I love it now, just because of the lyrics, Crosby's typical passionate singing, and the band playing loose and rockin'.
There was a time when newspapers in the US carried pictures of the Beatles "without their wigs" because the idea that they really wore their hair long was, "unheard of!" to the short sheared Greatest Gen parents. My high school girlfriend's Mom one day a couple of years before this great album debuted.... she opined that she , "didn't usually approve of long hair on men, but in your case it does cover up those ears!"
They were around during the Vietnam war era and young people were feeling stressed out at the time. I grew up at that time and loved all of this type of music.
Having long hair in my youth, and in high school, getting swats, literally getting hit because of a hair code, was a pain in my sss, literally. One particular argument with my father was very interesting to me, when he asked, “who is telling you to grow your hair long?” I think I yelled “no one!”, but I’m not sure that was true. Probably, rock stars were influencing me and that’s just fine with me. I let my freak flag fly baby.
This was my personal theme song back in the 80s, when most guys were cutting their hair short, wearing ugly green and violet clothes, and listening to Culture Club and Duran Duran. I kept my hair long (and still do, even as it gradually gets greyer), went back to the 60s for musical enlightenment and adopted this song as my personal anthem. Of course, when Crosby wrote it, it had much deeper meaning in the context of the times. The backlash against the counterculture got so severe that, as Crosby once put it, it went from "Hey, are you a boy or a girl?" to "Goddamn hippies, let's kill 'em all!!!"
This song is one of the best at expressing the culture and attitudes in 1970. In my top 10 favorite songs. Back when this song came out I did not cut my hair for three years, Then my job was more important so I cut it. Now I am happily retired. I haven't cut my hair in over ten years..... I have been fortunate to see C.S.N. Live 3 times. They did this awesome tune each time and the crowd loves it. The last show was at Doubleday Field Cooperstown N.Y. and I recorded the show in full HD 5.1 surround sound The recording is awesome. Have a Splendid Successful Day
I feel like I owe it to someone. My Ma's heritage included Native American (Ojibwa) ancestry. Most of my life, I've had long hair. Currently in my 60s, I still wear a long ponytail, bald on top. Peace.
There’s been a lot of arguments over the years as to whether or not Crosby was having a laugh with this song. To me, it’s definitely yes. This was my theme song when I was working on an overseas military base, I had shoulder length hair at the time which upset some of the senior officers.
I think crisis was real but he was having a laugh and a cry, I think the song works because of the performance and the complex emotional turmoil as well as the bitter absurdity of it all. It sounds like it was recorded the same day it was written.
I always liked this album a lot and my friends thought I was strange cuz I like this song a lot but that's just the way it is sometimes... and I really found it interesting how some folks in the comments say they haven't heard this before... it just seems to be a classic rock staple in my neck of the woods.... I used to call up the radio station and request the specific song when I was a kid a lot... and it wasn't because I was being a rebel or had long hair I just like the music and riffs as well as the message... great reaction as always. thanks.
Daniel, you'll definitely want to hear the complete 8:49 minute version from the "CSN" box set. I also recommend listening to Crosby's song 'Laughing' from his 1st solo album, I've put that song on repeat, it's mystical. Joni Mitchell does a bit of vocalizing on it as well.
Thanks Daniel for doing CSNY and doing the deep dive on it. This really was and still is (for me and others of my generation) an anthem of the hippie counter culture. Since you said you did not want to be over you should definitely take the time to check out the extended version here ua-cam.com/video/FK3TIYG9mqM/v-deo.html which was released on the CSN box set which contains some real gems. The extended version has a short Young / Stills guitar duel instead of the fade out you heard. I have always thought that this would be a great song for a Jam type band to cover and really extend it kind of Grateful Dead style. I think the basic riffs would really lend themselves to some great improvisation. Just for the record I am now in my third hippie hood as hairstyles go and have not almost cut my hair in while although it does seem to remove itself all on its own now! ! I have cut two long ponytails previously and donated them to Locks of Love. so the sacrifice was worthwhile!
I enjoyed listening to that and your reaction. Great stuff. For future reference, you might like to check out Buffalo Springfield [have you already reacted to them?]. Neil Young and Stephen Stills are two of the members and there's some goodies to be had here. Here are three of what are considered classic songs,[coz they are] by them: "Mr. Soul", "Expecting To Fly" and "Broken Arrow". I KNOW you'll dig them. Man.
Apart from the over sentimental "Our House", a cloying peek into the love life of Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell, "Deja Vu" is nigh on a perfect summation of early 70s Laurel Canyon hippydom!
..." I feel like letting my freak-flag fly" at 1:00. A bit of a nod to Jimi Hendrix from his much earlier song: IF 6 WAS 9. ... " White collared conservative flashing down the street Pointing their plastic finger at me, huh They're hoping soon my kind will drop and die But I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high, oh Wave on, wave on Fall mountains, just don't fall on me Go ahead on, Mr. Businessman, you can't dress like me" There's a song, Daniel, that could stand a reaction. From the 1967 album AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE , IF 6 WAS 9. That's a request, by the way. Thanks -
Long Hair was open defiance of the system that was attacking us. People got harassed and beat up because their hair. Crosbys lawyer probably told him to cut his hair for court, long hair in court was a considered borderline contempt. I thought the lyrics were appropriate to the emotion in the vocal and the whole feeling of the song . Maybe try the title track “Deja Vu” it has some good Crosby parts as well as his solo album, try “Laughing”.
Young has an album "After the Gold Rush" as well as Déjà Vu is a very good album and I noticed that you haven't heard any songs from that album yet… so if you are thinking of putting an entire album of his on the channel this would be a very strong choice.
It is undoubtedly a good album, but Neil Young's finest moment is the controversial and sublime "On The Beach" from '74. Some of Young's most powerful and relevant lyrics are captured within!
After The Goldrush is brilliant album.I've listened to this since it came out.Still love it. Southerm Man still powerful. Skynyrd didn't like the references and made a reposte sweet Haome Allabama.
@@steevenfrost They sorted it out in the end though with Neil covering "Sweet Home Alabama", while Skynrd tackled "Southern Man". Van Zandt was also buried in his beloved "Tonight's The Night" t shirt!
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG, "ALMOST CUT MY HAIR" Featuring David Crosby. What a great Rock and Roll voice. I say this every time I look in the mirror. Yes as I say to others, "IF I was Neanderthal, I would of come from the long hair tribe." Peace ✌
Oh the thinks you think when on the devil’s lettuce 💨 Honestly though, Crosby’s voice is one of my favorites. Gotta nitpick though: 11:25 is sunny SOUTHERN weather
I don’t care what an aging Crosby says. This song has been one of my absolute favourites since it came out and I still subscribe to its philosophy. To make such an important statement using something as apparently trivial as a haircut is amazing. And we still all owe it to everybody to make our stand in whatever way we can.
Had never heard that Easy Rider's character Billy was based upon David Crosby! Interesting. Crosby was a character, for sure. I read a quote that said in working with Phil Collins later in their careers, Phil commented that he wished he had known Dave much earlier. Crosby replied: "no you don't. I was a real a$$hole!" Always the man who could get to the core, without sentimentality! I also agree with your assessment of using the word 'juvenile' as rather pejorative and unearned. The spirit of the song and lyrics is gritty, aggressive and inspired. Sometimes 'juvenile' is simple, clear and direct. Something to strive for and exactly Crosby. Nothing wrong with that.
Agree with you a hundred percent about HOW he sings the lyrics. Sometimes the words by themselves don't burn themselves into your consciousness, but when put together with the passion of the singing and in the context of the music? That's where the magic happens. I remember having a visceral reaction to this song the very first time I heard it...still love it to this day.
I read the song as being a lampoon of oldschool black blues song. Those songs would sing of poverty, death, lost love, etc. Middle-class young white Crosby's biggest concern was getting a haircut. I thought it was a very humorous song.
Folks saying he was having a laugh but everything I know about david Crosby tells me he was dead serious. It was a sign of solidarity, and a symbol of “not giving in an inch to fear.” He was earnest and passionate and plenty arrogant so thinking it was meaningful whether you cut your hair takes a little bit of ego yah? But his singing and the guitar blasting make it so urgent.
When Neil Young was suggested to join CSN it was ok with Stills and Crosby but Nash wasn’t so sure . So he “interviewed “ Neil and simply asked why he should join the band..Neil simply said , Have you ever heard me and Stephen play guitar together.. This song is a great example of their guitar duels
Stills ripping it up in one ear and Neil Young on the fuzz guitar in the other. Nash on organ. The scream during the solo is just the right accent. There's a long version too with extended soloing.
Kids with long hair were regularly beat up by cops, shot at by the National Guard, yelled at by thugs.... It meant something political. It meant you were against the war in Viet Nam, you were for equality,. .. It meant many things.
Not sure how old Crosby was when he actually wrote the song, but he was 29 when the song was released in 1970. I don't think there is any song that I don't love by CSN&Y. They're all great. And like some of their songs, I always thought of this song as somewhat of a protest song -- in a sense, protesting mainstream society's attitude towards the hippie movement -- like you described, more a celebration of individualism; although, mainstream society didn't see it that way. It was during a time that people gave "long-haired hippies" so much grief. During that time, hippies were often referred to as "freaks". It was really kind of an endearing label, at least that's how I felt about it at the time. Thank you for this reaction, Daniel!
Davids's girlfriend, Christine Hilton, was killed at the end of September 1969. CSN&Y recorded this LP from June - December of that year. When he said he was a mess at the recording sessions, he was.
Here is the full version with the ending jam uncut. Thanks to the person who posted this link in these comments. ua-cam.com/video/FK3TIYG9mqM/v-deo.html
Wow this brings back memories. Always loved the guitar and the funky vocals, not your typical CSNY. A definite standout on this album, very Crosby. I'm a bit confused about your reference to hair and the bible being that Jesus is usually portrayed as having long hair, strange. Thank you Daniel FUN !! LOVE THE NEW ALBUM 🎶
I'm 7 months late but I'll add my 2 cents. The Beatles started the movement. Their style influenced cultures across the world but especially the US and the UK. Wearing long hair wasn't just about the Vietnam war. Back then you knew you were going to face a societal backlash, especial in the South. High schools didn't allow it. School rules only allowed men's hairstyles to be at a reasonable length. I was never a hippie but my twin brother was very close to being one. Seriously, you knew whether you were in the presence of one or not. But, the song is not overblown. We all related to it back then. All social movements have symbols which, in and of themselves, seem insignificant. For example, When I was teaching at a Catholic high School, I would take my students to a Buddhist temple (and Hindu temple, two Jewish synagogues, a Muslim mosque, and Orthodox church). Surprisingly, it was a convent temple run by Vietnamese Buddhist nuns that we visited. They wore habits like Catholic nuns used to wear but who threw off theirs. Buddhists and Hindus have been very careful to create the shape of their dharma wheels to the opposite of the Nazis. Prior to the the Nazis, they used the two kinds: swastika and sauwastika, to symbolize different aspects of their beliefs. Well, unfortunately, the artist carved the Nazi symbol into the inner temple walls and only one was correctly carved. The nuns were embarrassed. It was too late. Hair and swastikas and crucifixes and rosaries/prayer beads. People have been killed, executed, and murdered for these symbols. No, the song is not self-indulgence. By the end of the sixties it was no longer the issue it was in 1965.
heres a 10 min studio alternate version.....theres nothing wrong with a bit of overblown hippy rhetoric especially when backed up with some cookin hippy music
Keep in mind that back in the day you could get pulled over just for having long hair so wear your freak flag fly young man. Others paved the way for you…
All of us who grew our hair long back in the day at times on introspection would question what we were doing in life in general. This was, I guess, because of the incessant nagging from the right. Regardless of what we did with our hair, one thing we took away from that period was that it was ok to ask questions of authority & of anything in life especially yourself.
I may have been the most recent to suggest this song, so thanks Daniel. No hints were intended. In fact, as someone who comes from a follically challenged family, I often tell the young nephews to “let their freak flags fly”.
@@firebird7479 I suspected that you were kidding 😊. I had some cancerous skin removed from my scalp a few months ago. So, I’m even more of an advocate for letting the hair grow now.
Anothe perfect example why we boomers hang on to our music so strongly, for dear life. Great, great stuff.
Perhaps because we too, feel like we owe it to someone...
"Feeling like letting my freak flag fly". You gotta remember at that time men letting their hair long was very rebellious. One of my favorites of that era. You should listen to 4 + 20 from Deja Vu, an absolutely stunning & haunting short tune sung by Stephen Stills.
Agree! Good description of that beautiful song! But then, that entire album (including the 2 cliche' songs I could live without ever hearing again) is without question an iconic masterpiece! I've been through THREE vinyl copies, including a MOFI copy!!!
Love Crosby Stills Nash and Young, all together, solo, and any combination. LOVE!
This was a huge hit. I love it now as much as I did then.
Daniel, I suggest you listen to Cathedral by Nash. There are many versions on UA-cam. Find one with CS&N; I believe there is one that also includes Young. You will know why I am suggesting it when you hear it.
@@foxandscout The studio version from the album titled "CSN" is the thing!
Love the sound of CSN&Y They were one of the folk rock supergroups of the 60's-70's. The "Deja Vu" album where Neil Young joined them is great. It has other hit songs such as "Teach Your Children", "Woodstock", "Carry On", "Our House" etc. CS& N had many great songs on their own such as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", "Marrakesh Express", "Helplessly Hoping", "Wooden Ships", "Southern Cross" etc.
According to Wikipedia, Young did not participate in Teach Your Children. They could be mistaken - they often are.
@@hmichaelr1 Neil Young only “participated” in about 1/2 the songs on Déja Vu; Jerry Garcia played pedal steel guitar on Graham Nash’s Teach Your Children.
Amazing! Long hair was a statement. Liked the line about increasing paranoia and looking in the mirror and seeing a police car. This sounds like an anthem! What a classic!
The lyrics have to be understood in the context of an era where we were insulted and threatened on the street (in the 'liberal' Northeast) for long hair, because it threatened people. That said, this one is about the guitars. Stills & Young just brought out the best in each other.
It was really getting good at the fade out, wish it was longer.
Agreed! We were "those dirty Hippies"!
And the axe duel between Stills and Young is, IMO, even better than that between Don Felder & Joe Walsh in Hotel California! When I just quickly think of every "duelling guitars" song I can think of, this one here is probably on top of that list!
@@MissAstorDancer here is the version with the uncut ending jam. From a box set or something. ua-cam.com/video/FK3TIYG9mqM/v-deo.html
As a 73yr old old lady may I say ...men were never more beautiful than when they had their hair long.🤩🥰😍 Yours is "fab" to Daniel.
Northeast? The whole country. Disney even banned long hair at the time. Long hair was viewed as anti war(vietnam)
Stephen Stills is on the guitar in the right ear and Neil Young is in the left ear. It is a David Crosby song and he does a remarkable job on vocals!
Oh yeah! Love the lyrics on this one. "I feel like I owe it.....to someone!" You ever see "Easy Rider"? Long hair was no joke. Was in Texas once in the 80s, someone drove by and yelled "Beatle!" at me. That was in the 80s! But in the 60s, when guys started wearing their hair long (The Beatles started that whole thing), it was a big deal. Crosby has a lot of great, great songs, some of the best of CSNY and The Byrds: "Deja Vu", "Guinevere", "Wooden Ships" and "Long Time Gone", all by CSN/CSNY are fantastic. His first solo album is great. EVERY ONE is on that. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, et al. The song "Laughing" (which has a great cameo from Joni, and Garcia on amazing pedal steel) is gorgeous. "Traction In The Rain", great song. From the Byrds: "Lady Friend" is AMAZING. Also the single version of "Why", which is the flip side of "Eight MIles High" which he also co-wrote. "It Happens Each Day", "Tribal Gathering", "Everybody's Been Burned"....some good nuggets!
What you said, and “Laughing” beautiful track
Yes to everything here and especially David’s solo album with Laughing and Music is Love.
Replying to Hartlor and Glenn: yeah, I really meant the entire album, lol. I felt GUILTY choosing just two tracks!!! "Laughing" had to be one. But yeah, "Music Is Love", the whole album, or at least most of it. What an underrated album, right?!!! That is a real nugget.
@@TTM9691 everyone there was working on side projects and solo albums etc. lots of crossover like one big session. Crosby the Dead, Airplane etc. then they’d all go jam at the Matrix coffee house. It seemed like the start of something but it was really more of a last hurrah for that scene.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yup. I used to keep Crosby's first solo album on one side of a tape and Garcia's first solo album on the other (with "Cassidy" from Ace as a "bonus track", lol) Sad that fifteen years later Garcia and Crosby would be the scuzziest heroin addicts in the music biz! So happy Crosby made it out alive, and still heartbroken that Garcia didn't.
At the time this song came out, having long hair was equated with being a "communist" by the conservative mainstream at the time.
Long hair was a profound statement back then, it wasn't accepted socially.
I had long hair but not a Commie. Conservative now and getting flack for that like when I had long hair. Isn't life strange.
They did not like long-haired hippie since they call them us
@@johnbrowne3950exactly
The album Deja vu is considered one of the greatest albums of the rock/pop era!
My brother toured with David Crosby as a guitarist back in the 80's. My brother said David hated the song and wouldn't play it if requested, instead when people would yell out requests and yelled out "almost cut my hair", Crosby would yell back "don't!".
2:56 LOVING you react to Neil Young's wailing guitar! It's funny, when I was a kid this was my LEAST favorite song on this album, but I love it now, just because of the lyrics, Crosby's typical passionate singing, and the band playing loose and rockin'.
It's also the only live track on the album, other than Woodstock, which Steven changed. He erased his original vocal, which he was uncomfortable with.
There was a time when newspapers in the US carried pictures of the Beatles "without their wigs" because the idea that they really wore their hair long was, "unheard of!" to the short sheared Greatest Gen parents.
My high school girlfriend's Mom one day a couple of years before this great album debuted.... she opined that she , "didn't usually approve of long hair on men, but in your case it does cover up those ears!"
Oh man, one of my favorite CSNY songs of all time!
I've always found this to be a very funny number. David Crosby was priceless in his use of satire. Btw, I hope you don't cut your hair yet, DS9.
So I’m gonna listen to this album riiiiiiiight now
They were around during the Vietnam war era and young people were feeling stressed out at the time. I grew up at that time and loved all of this type of music.
Having long hair in my youth, and in high school, getting swats, literally getting hit because of a hair code, was a pain in my sss, literally.
One particular argument with my father was very interesting to me, when he asked, “who is telling you to grow your hair long?” I think I yelled “no one!”, but I’m not sure that was true. Probably, rock stars were influencing me and that’s just fine with me. I let my freak flag fly baby.
Neil Young and Stephen Stills guitar duels were really magic....
OMG I adore this song. It was radical back then, freak flag, lol. Wait up, putting phones on... ok go.
After he came back from Vietnam my husband grew his hair down his back . amazingly beautiful 💕
RIP Jim seals passed away today I’m listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash thank you Daniel
This was my personal theme song back in the 80s, when most guys were cutting their hair short, wearing ugly green and violet clothes, and listening to Culture Club and Duran Duran. I kept my hair long (and still do, even as it gradually gets greyer), went back to the 60s for musical enlightenment and adopted this song as my personal anthem. Of course, when Crosby wrote it, it had much deeper meaning in the context of the times. The backlash against the counterculture got so severe that, as Crosby once put it, it went from "Hey, are you a boy or a girl?" to "Goddamn hippies, let's kill 'em all!!!"
I never heard that song before but I have heard about the band. I have heard the song teach your children. And Daniel Don't CUT YOUR HAIR.
This song is one of the best at expressing the culture and attitudes in 1970. In my top 10 favorite songs. Back when this song came out I did not cut my hair for three years, Then my job was more important so I cut it. Now I am happily retired. I haven't cut my hair in over ten years..... I have been fortunate to see C.S.N. Live 3 times. They did this awesome tune each time and the crowd loves it. The last show was at Doubleday Field Cooperstown N.Y. and I recorded the show in full HD 5.1 surround sound The recording is awesome. Have a Splendid Successful Day
I feel like I owe it to someone. My Ma's heritage included Native American (Ojibwa) ancestry. Most of my life, I've had long hair. Currently in my 60s, I still wear a long ponytail, bald on top. Peace.
Love it that like me fifty years ago you had to wait til the very end of that fade out not wanting it to stop. You make me remember. Thank you.
One of the best songs by them and a great statement of protest !
Great song from a great awesome group, Daniel you’re listening to great classic music
Never heard this before, loved it, vocally, musically. Agree with your observations on the lyrics.
Lee.....You must be pretty young. I first heard this album when I was in Jr. High. Getting ready to turn 65 in 2-1/2 weeks. Glad you enjoyed it!
@@markhaus2830 ha ha I wouldn’t say young :) But yes this was released a few years before I was born. Thanks, hope you have a great day 👍
There’s been a lot of arguments over the years as to whether or not Crosby was having a laugh with this song. To me, it’s definitely yes. This was my theme song when I was working on an overseas military base, I had shoulder length hair at the time which upset some of the senior officers.
I think crisis was real but he was having a laugh and a cry, I think the song works because of the performance and the complex emotional turmoil as well as the bitter absurdity of it all. It sounds like it was recorded the same day it was written.
I always liked this album a lot and my friends thought I was strange cuz I like this song a lot but that's just the way it is sometimes... and I really found it interesting how some folks in the comments say they haven't heard this before... it just seems to be a classic rock staple in my neck of the woods.... I used to call up the radio station and request the specific song when I was a kid a lot... and it wasn't because I was being a rebel or had long hair I just like the music and riffs as well as the message...
great reaction as always. thanks.
You said:
" it just seems to be a classic rock staple in my neck of the woods..."
IKR???
Freak Flag Fly......classic. "Defiant" defines CSN&Y and why they were a standard for a generation.
Daniel, you'll definitely want to hear the complete 8:49 minute version from the "CSN" box set. I also recommend listening to Crosby's song 'Laughing' from his 1st solo album, I've put that song on repeat, it's mystical. Joni Mitchell does a bit of vocalizing on it as well.
So glad you reacted to this. I’ve always loved this song. Now, let your freak flag fly. ✌️
This was always my favorite track on the album. Heavy minor blues. This one and "Country Girl", a Neil Young track (and Carry On)
Thanks Daniel for doing CSNY and doing the deep dive on it. This really was and still is (for me and others of my generation) an anthem of the hippie counter culture. Since you said you did not want to be over you should definitely take the time to check out the extended version here ua-cam.com/video/FK3TIYG9mqM/v-deo.html which was released on the CSN box set which contains some real gems. The extended version has a short Young / Stills guitar duel instead of the fade out you heard. I have always thought that this would be a great song for a Jam type band to cover and really extend it kind of Grateful Dead style. I think the basic riffs would really lend themselves to some great improvisation. Just for the record I am now in my third hippie hood as hairstyles go and have not almost cut my hair in while although it does seem to remove itself all on its own now! ! I have cut two long ponytails previously and donated them to Locks of Love. so the sacrifice was worthwhile!
Thank you for that link.
I enjoyed listening to that and your reaction. Great stuff. For future reference, you might like to check out Buffalo Springfield [have you already reacted to them?]. Neil Young and Stephen Stills are two of the members and there's some goodies to be had here. Here are three of what are considered classic songs,[coz they are] by them: "Mr. Soul", "Expecting To Fly" and "Broken Arrow". I KNOW you'll dig them. Man.
Daniel you MUST hear some of David Crosby's solo work, too...
Apart from the over sentimental "Our House", a cloying peek into the love life of Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell, "Deja Vu" is nigh on a perfect summation of early 70s Laurel Canyon hippydom!
..." I feel like letting my freak-flag fly"
at 1:00.
A bit of a nod to Jimi Hendrix from his much earlier song: IF 6 WAS 9.
... " White collared conservative flashing down the street
Pointing their plastic finger at me, huh
They're hoping soon my kind will drop and die
But I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high, oh
Wave on, wave on
Fall mountains, just don't fall on me
Go ahead on, Mr. Businessman, you can't dress like me"
There's a song, Daniel, that could stand a reaction.
From the 1967 album AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE , IF 6 WAS 9.
That's a request, by the way.
Thanks -
Great that you liked this, young brother. The good old days for sure.
Long Hair was open defiance of the system that was attacking us. People got harassed and beat up because their hair. Crosbys lawyer probably told him to cut his hair for court, long hair in court was a considered borderline contempt. I thought the lyrics were appropriate to the emotion in the vocal and the whole feeling of the song . Maybe try the title track “Deja Vu” it has some good Crosby parts as well as his solo album, try “Laughing”.
Young has an album "After the Gold Rush" as well as Déjà Vu is a very good album and I noticed that you haven't heard any songs from that album yet… so if you are thinking of putting an entire album of his on the channel this would be a very strong choice.
It is undoubtedly a good album, but Neil Young's finest moment is the controversial and sublime "On The Beach" from '74. Some of Young's most powerful and relevant lyrics are captured within!
After The Goldrush is brilliant album.I've listened to this since it came out.Still love it. Southerm Man still powerful. Skynyrd didn't like the references and made a reposte sweet Haome Allabama.
@@steevenfrost They sorted it out in the end though with Neil covering "Sweet Home Alabama", while Skynrd tackled "Southern Man". Van Zandt was also buried in his beloved "Tonight's The Night" t shirt!
It's the only song on Deja Vu that was recorded with all four in the studio at once.
My favorite song from these guys! I also let my freak flag fly!
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG, "ALMOST CUT MY HAIR" Featuring David Crosby. What a great Rock and Roll voice. I say this every time I look in the mirror. Yes as I say to others, "IF I was Neanderthal, I would of come from the long hair tribe." Peace ✌
gonna get down in that sunny southern weather
Oh the thinks you think when on the devil’s lettuce 💨
Honestly though, Crosby’s voice is one of my favorites.
Gotta nitpick though: 11:25 is sunny SOUTHERN weather
I think he meant Mexico or somewhere out of the country.
Classic Tom Gundelfinger photography on this album cover. The sepia tones gave it a completely unique look. Peace from Toronto
I don’t care what an aging Crosby says. This song has been one of my absolute favourites since it came out and I still subscribe to its philosophy. To make such an important statement using something as apparently trivial as a haircut is amazing. And we still all owe it to everybody to make our stand in whatever way we can.
Had never heard that Easy Rider's character Billy was based upon David Crosby! Interesting. Crosby was a character, for sure.
I read a quote that said in working with Phil Collins later in their careers, Phil commented that he wished he had known Dave much earlier. Crosby replied: "no you don't. I was a real a$$hole!" Always the man who could get to the core, without sentimentality!
I also agree with your assessment of using the word 'juvenile' as rather pejorative and unearned. The spirit of the song and lyrics is gritty, aggressive and inspired. Sometimes 'juvenile' is simple, clear and direct. Something to strive for and exactly Crosby. Nothing wrong with that.
Agree with you a hundred percent about HOW he sings the lyrics. Sometimes the words by themselves don't burn themselves into your consciousness, but when put together with the passion of the singing and in the context of the music? That's where the magic happens. I remember having a visceral reaction to this song the very first time I heard it...still love it to this day.
I read the song as being a lampoon of oldschool black blues song. Those songs would sing of poverty, death, lost love, etc. Middle-class young white Crosby's biggest concern was getting a haircut. I thought it was a very humorous song.
This was my first 8-Track tape when this album came out, the entire album makes me feel, like... I've been here before...
Folks saying he was having a laugh but everything I know about david Crosby tells me he was dead serious. It was a sign of solidarity, and a symbol of “not giving in an inch to fear.” He was earnest and passionate and plenty arrogant so thinking it was meaningful whether you cut your hair takes a little bit of ego yah? But his singing and the guitar blasting make it so urgent.
David Crosby .SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO underated as a Rock singer man, it's a joke ! JMHO Peace and Love :)
When Neil Young was suggested to join CSN it was ok with Stills and Crosby but Nash wasn’t so sure . So he “interviewed “ Neil and simply asked why he should join the band..Neil simply said , Have you ever heard me and Stephen play guitar together.. This song is a great example of their guitar duels
Stuck in the sixties/ seventies and ain’t nobody gonna sway me!
Stills ripping it up in one ear and Neil Young on the fuzz guitar in the other. Nash on organ. The scream during the solo is just the right accent. There's a long version too with extended soloing.
I think David could have sung this in a whole different language and I would still love it..... it's the emotion.
❤❤❤❤
Kids with long hair were regularly beat up by cops, shot at by the National Guard, yelled at by thugs.... It meant something political. It meant you were against the war in Viet Nam, you were for equality,. .. It meant many things.
Not sure how old Crosby was when he actually wrote the song, but he was 29 when the song was released in 1970. I don't think there is any song that I don't love by CSN&Y. They're all great. And like some of their songs, I always thought of this song as somewhat of a protest song -- in a sense, protesting mainstream society's attitude towards the hippie movement -- like you described, more a celebration of individualism; although, mainstream society didn't see it that way. It was during a time that people gave "long-haired hippies" so much grief. During that time, hippies were often referred to as "freaks". It was really kind of an endearing label, at least that's how I felt about it at the time. Thank you for this reaction, Daniel!
This album was a big part of my early teens. Still love it. Not a bad one of it. That’s David Crosby singing this one. Good old Neil on guitar. ☮️💟
Quintessential David C song
59. Almost cut my hair. Again.
THAT'S DAVID'S ( CROSBY ) SONG DANIEL! :) POWERRRRRR VOCAL HUH? :)
Davids's girlfriend, Christine Hilton, was killed at the end of September 1969. CSN&Y recorded this LP from June - December of that year. When he said he was a mess at the recording sessions, he was.
now you have to do Pavement - "cut your hair" which is an example of 90s slacker music.
When I finally get myself together….🎶✨🍑☀️
It happened just the other day
I'm not givin in an inch to fear
My brother had middle of the back long hare in the early 70's. Said cops pulled him over every day (brooklyn, ny).
Sorry, meant hair, not hare
It increases my paranoia when looking in my mirror and seeing a police car
Here is the full version with the ending jam uncut. Thanks to the person who posted this link in these comments. ua-cam.com/video/FK3TIYG9mqM/v-deo.html
croz sang this song whilst doin' time in the TX slammer...
'if i could only remember my name' .......
You need to listen to "Tonight's the Night" from Neil Young. Love your reviews.
Another great one you should listen to by David Crosby is Cowboy Movie, from his solo album “If I could only remember my name”
Juvenile? Yes my brother was a kid. Many, most draftees were children.
Check out Neil Young’s Country Girl tune on the same album as this tune.
These are the crib notes, in case you are writing an essay for senior year English
I sparked up my pipe for this reaction, …. Thanks
I know this may be a stretch but I always thought what Neil did for CSN&Y is what Joe Walsh did for the Eagles ? Right ?
Your best reaction is your facial expression 😆
Wow this brings back memories. Always loved the guitar and the funky vocals, not your typical CSNY.
A definite standout on this album, very Crosby.
I'm a bit confused about your reference to hair and the bible being that Jesus is usually portrayed as having long hair, strange.
Thank you Daniel
FUN !!
LOVE THE NEW ALBUM 🎶
I'm 7 months late but I'll add my 2 cents. The Beatles started the movement. Their style influenced cultures across the world but especially the US and the UK. Wearing long hair wasn't just about the Vietnam war. Back then you knew you were going to face a societal backlash, especial in the South. High schools didn't allow it. School rules only allowed men's hairstyles to be at a reasonable length. I was never a hippie but my twin brother was very close to being one. Seriously, you knew whether you were in the presence of one or not. But, the song is not overblown. We all related to it back then. All social movements have symbols which, in and of themselves, seem insignificant. For example, When I was teaching at a Catholic high School, I would take my students to a Buddhist temple (and Hindu temple, two Jewish synagogues, a Muslim mosque, and Orthodox church). Surprisingly, it was a convent temple run by Vietnamese Buddhist nuns that we visited. They wore habits like Catholic nuns used to wear but who threw off theirs. Buddhists and Hindus have been very careful to create the shape of their dharma wheels to the opposite of the Nazis. Prior to the the Nazis, they used the two kinds: swastika and sauwastika, to symbolize different aspects of their beliefs. Well, unfortunately, the artist carved the Nazi symbol into the inner temple walls and only one was correctly carved. The nuns were embarrassed. It was too late. Hair and swastikas and crucifixes and rosaries/prayer beads. People have been killed, executed, and murdered for these symbols. No, the song is not self-indulgence. By the end of the sixties it was no longer the issue it was in 1965.
heres a 10 min studio alternate version.....theres nothing wrong with a bit of overblown hippy rhetoric especially when backed up with some cookin hippy music
Link?
@@Hartlor_Tayley doh! sorry ua-cam.com/video/R2wXiu_Nb2U/v-deo.html
@@ostrichman thanks.
You babies give me some hope
Dig.
It could have been a 9 minute Neil song.
Keep in mind that back in the day you could get pulled over just for having long hair so wear your freak flag fly young man. Others paved the way for you…
All of us who grew our hair long back in the day at times on introspection would question what we were doing in life in general. This was, I guess, because of the incessant nagging from the right. Regardless of what we did with our hair, one thing we took away from that period was that it was ok to ask questions of authority & of anything in life especially yourself.
neil young guitar
Is someone dropping hints on you, Daniel? 😁😁
I may have been the most recent to suggest this song, so thanks Daniel. No hints were intended. In fact, as someone who comes from a follically challenged family, I often tell the young nephews to “let their freak flags fly”.
@@rtwbikerider I WAS joking. And I had my hair longer than that when I was 18-19.
@@firebird7479 I suspected that you were kidding 😊. I had some cancerous skin removed from my scalp a few months ago. So, I’m even more of an advocate for letting the hair grow now.
Long hair made a political/social statement everywhere. Identifying with the tribe of counter culture.
Having long hair was very political for me back then.
guys were literally getting the crap beat out of them because their hair was long.
Ahh yes! “Cathedral” is another religious type song
separate the wheat from the chaff
samson lost his strenght with a haircut