"For Yasgur's Farm" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

. It was released as a single from their debut studio album, and peaked at No. 107 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in 1970. The song quickly became a staple of the band's live performances.

Writing

The lyrics of the song were inspired by the group's performance on the

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

music festival. According to Pappalardi: "It was written over a long period of time... We played Woodstock and because of the emotional impact it had on us, we sort of changed the words around to fit that occasion." When the band performed the song on Woodstock, it didn't have a title, but when they recorded it for their debut album, they dedicated the song to

Max Yasgur Max Bernard Yasgur (December 15, 1919 – February 9, 1973) was an American farmer. He was the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held on August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and ...

, the man who owned the land where Woodstock was held.

Release

"For Yasgur's Farm" was first included on the band's debut studio album, '' Climbing!'', which was released on March 7, 1970. The song was then released as the group's second single in August 1970, with "To My Friend", as the B-Side. The single peaked at No. 107 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Critical reception

The song was received well by critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Matthew Greenwald writes "Cast in a heavy, blues-rock rhythm, the song is delivered with a subtle yet extremely powerful atmosphere," and that "lyrically, the song essentially recounts the festival and the sense of buoyancy that filled the hearts of most of the artists and attendees." A

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

magazine reviewer writes "Considerably different from the group's "

Mississippi Queen "Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1970. The song is included on the group's debut album and se ...

" hit, this new Mountain offering subdues its rhythmic drive for a more lyrical venture."

References

{{Mountain (band) 1970 songs Mountain (band) songs Song recordings produced by Felix Pappalardi