"Out on the Weekend" is a song written by Neil Young that was the opening song of his 1972 album '' Harvest''.

Music and lyrics

"Out on the Weekend" is a

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ballad. Music lecturer Ken Bielen describes it as an "easy-flowing pop song". The Stray Gators provide the backing music. Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes

Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...

's playing on

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to be a highlight of the song. Young biographer

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describes his pedal steel playing as having a "blue-sky purity." According to Greenwald, the music has a "searching, yearning melody that has the element of infinity and journey" that perfectly reflects the theme of the lyrics. ''

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'' editor Sam Inglis describes the mood of the song as being "one of resignation, perhaps even exhaustion." The song starts by describing a man getting away from the big city. Although the singer is traveling, he is reflecting on his past with what Downing describes as being "full of joy he can't relate to, floating in a dreamy sort of sadness." The lyrics then take on the theme of lovers who are lonely because they can't connect. Music critic Nigel Williamson describes the lyrics as reflecting an "emotional ambivalence." There is a contrast between comforting images such as a woman who is "so fine she is on

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mind" and "her big brass bed" and a "brand new day" against images of "a lonely boy" who "can't relate to joy" and is "so down today." Young recognized this contrast, stating "Even when I'm happy it sounds like I'm not and when I try to say I'm happy I try to disguise it." About the boy who can't relate to joy Young stated that it "just means I'm so happy that I can't get it all out. But it doesn't sound happy. The way I wrote it sounds sad, like I tried to hide it." Young has stated that this song, as well as " Harvest" and " Heart of Gold" from the same album, were inspired by his then blossoming love for actress Carrie Snodgress.

Reception

Bielen claims "Out on the Weekend" has a "catchy

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" and could have been a hit if it was released as a single. According to music critic

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, the opening line of "Think I'll pack it in and buy a pickup" is one of Young's best expressions of "laid-back star-weariness." Inglis describes it as "a relatively slight song" but acknowledges that it "exemplifies the finesse at the heart of the ''Harvest'' sound. Inglis feels that combination of Young's "garage-band aesthetic" with "Nashville professionalism" "worked perfectly" on "Out on the Weekend." On the other hand, in his initial review of the ''Harvest'' album, ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' critic John Mendelsohn criticized the Stray Gators playing as a "flaccid imitation" of Young's other backing band of the period, Crazy Horse.

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covered a verse from "Out on the Weekend" within her song "Fooled Me Again, Honest Eyes."

References

{{The Stray Gators 1972 songs Songs written by Neil Young Neil Young songs Song recordings produced by Elliot Mazer Song recordings produced by Neil Young