"The Loner" is a song by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

, his first solo single. It was released on his solo debut album in November 1968, and then an edited version as his debut solo

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

three months later on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. It missed the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart completely, but over time has become a staple of his performance repertoire. Both it and " Sugar Mountain", its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

recorded live at the Canterbury House in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, were released on album together for his 1977 compilation, ''

Decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

''.

History

"The Loner" was written while

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...

was in its last throes. The widely held assumption that the song was written about

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

(who covered the song on his 1976 album ''

Illegal Stills ''Illegal Stills'' is an album released by American musician Stephen Stills on 7 May 1976. This was Stills second album on Columbia Records and his fourth solo album overall. After it was released he would start an album and tour with Neil Youn ...

'') can perhaps not be disproved (Young himself rarely provides clarity on such issues), but it is perhaps more likely that the song is autobiographical in nature, especially since Young was, of all Springfield members, the most bothered by playing as a member of a band. Recorded with former Springfield member Jim Messina (bass) and

George Grantham George Grantham may refer to: * George Grantham (baseball) * George Grantham (musician) George Grantham (born January 20, 1947) is an American drummer and vocalist best known for his work with pioneering country rock band Poco. Grantham and p ...

(drums) (they were uncredited on the album sleeve), it is the first Young track produced by David Briggs, with whom Young would collaborate until Briggs's death. Strings were arranged by David Blumberg, whom Young met through Briggs. Young's guitar is in

Double drop D tuning Double drop D tuning: DADGBD, also known simply as double drop D, is an alternative guitar tuning: both E strings are tuned down ("dropped") one whole step (2 frets) to D rather than E as in standard tuning (EADGBE). Uses of double dropped D tu ...

; "psycho guitar noises" were made, according to Briggs, by putting the guitar through a

Leslie speaker The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided ...

(the sound has also been referred to as a "fuzztoned rave-up"). The lyrics are characterized by dread and disorientation, coming from an "immobile protagonist" who "witnesses extraordinary visual displays". Praise came quickly. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said: "'The Loner' is a contemporary lament that features a nice blending of Neil's guitar with strings in non-obtrusive fashion, allowing Young's balanced ice-pick vocal to chip effectively at the listener." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that there was "tremendous power in the instrumentals and oung'svocal." Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald stated that "lyrically, it's one of Young's finest autobiographical songs, a virtual self-portrait. The song is still played live, as is one other song from ''Neil Young'', "The Old Laughing Lady". Stephen Stills has played the song live with and without Young. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie ''The Strawberry Statement'' and is included on the movie soundtrack album.

Notable covers

"The Loner" has been covered by the following artists: *

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...

on their debut album (1968) *

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

on Mixed Bag II (1974) *

on ''

'' (1976) * Henry Kaiser on ''Heart's Desire'' (1990) *

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

on his tribute album ''The Loner - Nils Sings Neil'' (2008) *

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

on their 1979 album ''

Bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily flu ...

'' *

Ty Segall Ty (stylized as ty) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to speci ...

on his 2018 covers album '' Fudge Sandwich''

References

External links

AllMusic review
Songs about loneliness 1969 debut singles Neil Young songs Three Dog Night songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by David Briggs (record producer) 1968 songs Songs written by Neil Young Song recordings produced by Neil Young {{1960s-rock-song-stub