Sugar Mountain Lyrics
With the barkers and the colored balloons
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
You're leaving there too soon
But all your friends are there
And the candy floss you had
And your mother and your dad
With the barkers and the colored balloons
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
You're leaving there too soon
Oh, to turn and see her smile
You can hear the words she wrote
As you read the hidden note
With the barkers and the colored balloons
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
You're leaving there too soon
And you're givin' back some glares
To the people who you met
And it's your first cigarette
With the barkers and the colored balloons
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
You're leaving there too soon
'Cause you want to be alone
Ain't it funny how you feel
When you're findin' out it's real
With the barkers and the colored balloons
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon
You're leaving there too soon
dparks is getting to the point.
There was indeed a club in Canada the Neil and his friends used to frequent. After he turned 21 he was no longer allowed to enter the club.
However this songs goes well beyond that incident which mearly acted as a catalyst for this song.
This song is a lament for childhood and the innocense lost. Something I think we can all relate to in one way or another.
Neil speaks of Young Romance, Days at the Fair, Your First Smoke, and Moving out with such passionte and heartache.
It just doesn't get any better than this. This song embodies all things that make Neil great. Meaningful Lyrics, Colorful Imagry, Storytelling at it's finest and killer guitar.
Screw American Idol! This is REAL musical talent.
Tons of people can get on stage and sing someone elses song.
You take a man who writes/sings his own song, give him an accoutic guitar and harmonica and he sits down and bust out something this poetic and powerful: One in every few million can do that and very few can it do it like Neil.
Plain and Simple: Neil is a musical master.
This is the unofficial theme song of the camp that I've been attending for half of my life. Sugar Mountain is the place that we go where eventually we grow out of, even if we don't want to or aren't ready to. This song talks about realizing when it is your time to go.
You're all right, but I can reveal a little more. I believe that Joni Mitchell (who knew neil back in canada to) once said that neil and his friends used to hang out at this place, club or something called sugar mountain. The agelimit was 20, so when he turned twenty he was out on the streets alone. Joni actually wrote her song "the circle game" about this song.
@powderfinger I am listening to Neil's Archives Vol. 1, and in there is a little live rap by him in which he confirms what you are saying, that Joni's "Circle Game" is a response to this song.
@powderfinger I am listening to Neil's Archives Vol. 1, and in there is a little live rap by him in which he confirms what you are saying, that Joni's "Circle Game" is a response to this song.
Man, I love this fucking song. Never gets old.
people talked about back in canada when he would hang out at a place called sugar mountain. .. he went to lawrence park in toronto for high school which isn't a horrible walk from an awesome candy store called sugar mountain...i dunno how long it's been there...could be
Neil deserves a statue erected for him in commeration of this brilliant song (along with his countless other ones) though I'm preety sure he probably already has some sort of monument in his honor.
the candy store is named after this song
www.sugarmountain.ca
I think one of the key parts to the lyrics for me at least is :
Now you say you're leavin' home 'Cause you want to be alone Ain't it funny how you feel When you're findin' out it's real
to me, this was myself wanting independence so bad, saying "I can't wait to get out on my own" and then when it was a reality, and my bags were packed I was saying to myself "am I ready?, is this really happening?
For me this song reflects the coming of age where its time to move on, but once you've moved on you realize there is no turning back, ready or not. Now that i'm 30 years old, I find myself reminiscing alot about years past and when I was a teenager, things were so simple then. Now, everything is different and it seems like the clocks are sped up, I keep wishing there is a way to slow them down.
Its about young man watching clouds float by in the blue sky , remembering his childhood days, the sunshine is warm and breeze is quietly moving west. The young man staring up in the sky, he can recall the good and bad time that have passed - by in his mind like - its real as the day these memories were lived. He's now almost 21years old in few days, he realizes he will never be 17,18,19,20, ever again in his life. His mind is developing into an adult, a man, and his spirit, all those combined are giving him a chance to put the past behind him though music that he makes up as he walks towards the lake to remember a old fishing spot. On the lake there is huge flock of ducks and geese it's a beautiful mid October day. He runs toward the flocks like a reliving a childhood moment and scares all the birds into fight. He keeps on running by the edge of lake until he's out breath and comes to a walk. The world around him even looks a little different, The music begins to coordinate with his activity's, and he keep repeating " you cant be 20 on surge mountain though you think your leaving there to soon" He turns around and starts walking back to the spot he stared chasing the birds. He feel a little chilly, the grass is brown, and the geese, and ducks start landing back on the lake. He keeps walking until he gets back to the house and decides to put his thoughts in words on paper. Mr. Young's is his favorite singer. One day when he's 50 years old - plus- he found his old note book of poem's and sends that particular poem to Mr. Neil Young's office. Requesting that Mr. Young reads it and could it possibly be turned in to a song. Mr. Young writes back about 3 weeks later and say's " Hey man if you don't mind - Let see what I can do" and the rest of the story is history.
Stop with the literal interpretations! This song is about the yearning to return to childhood and the fear of becoming an adult.