Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps Album Lyrics

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out than to fade away
My my, hey hey

Out of the blue and into the black
They give you this, but you pay for that
And once you're gone, you can never come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black

The king is gone but he's not forgotten
This is the story of a Johnny Rotten
It's better to burn out than it is to rust
The king is gone but he's not forgotten

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture than meets the eye
Hey hey, my my

They were hiding behind hay bales
They were planting in the full moon
They had given all they had for something new
But the light of day was on them
They could see the thrashers coming
And the water shone like diamonds in the dew

And I was just getting up, hit the road before it's light
Trying to catch an hour on the sun
When I saw those thrashers rolling by
Looking more than two lanes wide
I was feelin' like my day had just begun

Where the eagle glides, descending
There's an ancient river bending
Through the timeless gorge of changes
Where sleeplessness awaits
I searched out my companions
Who were lost in crystal canyons
When the aimless blade of science
Slashed the pearly gates

It was then that I knew I'd had enough
Burned my credit card for fuel
Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand
With a one way ticket to the land of truth
And my suitcase in my hand
How I lost my friends, I still don't understand

They had the best selection
They were poisoned with protection
There was nothing that they needed
Nothing left to find
They were lost in rock formations
Or became park bench mutations
On the sidewalks and in the stations
They were waiting, waiting

So I got bored and left them there
They were just dead weight to me
Better down the road without that load
Brings back the time when I was eight or nine
I was watchin' my mama's TV
It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode

Where the vulture glides, descending
On an asphalt highway bending
Through libraries and museums, galaxies and stars
Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
Waits with heated pool and bar

But me I'm not stopping there
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrasher comes, I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine

Remember the Alamo
When help was on the way
It's better here and now
I feel that good today

I'd like to take a walk
But not around the block
I really got some news
I met a man from Mars
He picked up all my guitars
And played me traveling songs

And when we got on ship
He brought out something for the trip
And said, It's old but it's good
Like any other primitive would

I'm gonna ride my llama
From Peru to Texarkana
I want to ride him good
In my old neighborhood
I'm gonna ride him good
In my old neighborhood

And when we got on ship
He brought out something for the trip
And said, It's old but it's good
Like any other primitive would

Aurora Borealis
The icy sky at night
Paddles cut the water
In a long and hurried flight
From the white man to the fields of green
And the homeland we've never seen

They killed us in our teepees
And cut our women down
They might have left some babies
Cryin' on the ground
But the fire sticks and the wagons come
And the night falls on the setting sun

They massacred the buffalo
Kitty corner from the bank
Taxis run across my feet
And my eyes have turned to blanks
In my little box at the top of the stairs
With my Indian rug and a pipe to share

I wish a was a trapper
I would give a thousand pelts
To sleep with Pocahontas
And find out how she felt
In the mornin' on the fields of green
In the homeland we've never seen

Pocahontas

I could live inside a tepee
I could die in penthouse thirty-five
You could lose me on the freeway
But I would still make it back alive

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away

See the losers in the best bars
Meet the winners in the dives
Where the people are the real stars
All the rest of their lives

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away

There's a road stretched out between us
Like a ribbon on the high plain
Down from Phoenix through Salinas
'Round the bend and back again

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away

Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river
With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
And it's making big waves

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou
So the Powers That Be left me here to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wondering what to do
And the closer they got
The more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring
He told me, Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing
But when the first shot hit the docks I saw it coming
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black
And my face splashed in the sky

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Think of me as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love
I know I'll miss her

Welfare mothers make better lovers
Welfare mothers make better lovers

People, pick up on what I'm puttin' down now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Down at every laundromat in town now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
While they're washin' you can hear this sound now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Divorcee

Hard to believe that love is free now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Out on the street with the whole family now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Hard to believe that love is free now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Divorcee

Welfare mothers make better lovers
Welfare mothers make better lovers

People, pick up on what I'm puttin' down now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Down in every laundromat in town now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
While they're washin' you can hear this sound now
Welfare mothers make better lovers
Divorcee

Last night, I was cool at the pool hall
Held the table for eleven games
Nothing was easier than the first seven
I beat a woman with varicose veins

She stopped to see herself in the mirror
Fix her hair and hide her veins
And she lost the game

Next day, I went to the dentist
He pulled some teeth and I lost some blood
We'd like to thank you for the cards you sent us
My wives and I were all choked up

I recall how Caesar and Cleo
Made love in the Milky Way
They needed boats and armies to get there
I know there's a better way

I saw the movie and I read the book
But when it happened to me
I sure was glad I had what it took
To get away

Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, had to get away
Gotta get away, gotta get outta here
Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, gotta get away
I gotta get away

I'm making another delivery
Of chemicals and sacred roots
I'll hold what you have to give me
But I'll use what I have to use

The lasers are in the lab
The old man is dressed in white clothes
Everybody says he's mad
No one knows the things that he knows

No one knows, no one knows
No one knows, no one knows
No one knows, no one knows
No one knows, no one knows
No one knows

I'm sleepin' in every hallway
I just can't accept the stares
I'm using too many covers
I'm warm now so I don't care

I'm thinkin' of no one in my mind
Sedan delivery is a job I know I'll keep
It sure was hard to find

Hard to find, hard to find a job
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find, hard to find
Hard to find
Oh

Hey, hey, my, my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye
Hey, hey, my, my

Out of the blue and into the black
You pay for this, but they give you that
And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black

The king is gone but he's not forgotten (Johnny Rotten, Johnny Rotten)
Is this the story of Johnny Rotten? (Johnny Rotten, Rotten Johnny)
It's better to burn out 'cause rust never sleeps
The king is gone but he's not forgotten

Hey, hey, my, my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye