Neil Young Lyrics Analysis Neil Young News
"Mr. Soul" lyrics by Neil Young
[Note: This is one of a series of articles which provide an explanation of the meaning of Neil's "Mr. Soul". While the interpretation of lyrics presented here is composed of several viewpoints, there is little consensus on the exact meaning of Neil's songs. The themes and symbolism of Young's songwriting provide a rich tapestry on which to project various meanings and analysis. ]
FROM: The Warped Vinyl Junkie "Oh, hello, Mister Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason This seems to be the prayer of the artist who has suddenly discovered that
the price of acceptance is fame, and is doing his best not to lose his
"soul," his artistic focus and honesty, even trying to "pick up a reason"
that could explain why this has to be the case. Mister Soul's identity
does not seem to be important to the development of the song...it could be
that the singer is having a talk with himself, or that he is asking a wiser
mentor, or even getting encouragement from other sources, such as music.
"I'll cop out to the change,"
The admission of his own guilt at wanting success and its trappings, and
the realization that this change is actually happening to him.
"But a stranger is putting the tease on."
Here we are given the focus for the remaining 2 verses: a stranger (who
appears to be possibly a groupie, or more particularly a female fan who
manages to gain the singer's attention in a direct way) is giving the
singer a reason and an occasion to raise this very question in his mind.
"I was down on a frown when a messenger brought me a letter."
The depression of the tortured artistic soul, or more probably the simple
depression of the first glimpse of the realization that fame brings its
limitations in the artist's ability to move among the groups that have been
the source of his inspiration, is momentarily interrupted by a communique
from one person, brought by a member of his entourage or someone who is
able to forward such a message to him.
"I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her."
The letter has lifted the spirits of the artist, who has realized that he
has indeed managed to make contact, most likely through his art, with one
other person...upsetting her here in the sense of confronting her with
thoughts that make her search her own psychological makeup and/or belief
systems.
"Any girl in the world could have easily known me better."
Here is the line that raises the question of just who this female fan, or
groupie, is. While she is apparently not someone who is intimately
familiar with the singer in a multiplicity of ways, she apparently is
familiar with one aspect of him, and (as we shall see) is unwilling to let
go of that aspect in favor of others that he might possess. Perhaps she
has known him as a singer, a songwriter, an instrumentalist, even a lover,
but in one way or another has not been willing or able to move past that
one aspect to others, or to deal with his artistic change or growth. The
telling point here is that we are not told that this female fan does not
know him at all, but rather that any other female (or any other person?)
could have known him better, and easily--apparently by familiarizing
herself with more of his oeuvre and what stands behind it.
"She said, 'You're strange, but don't change;' "
The fan has paid a left-handed compliment to the artist, acknowledging that
he has upset her way of thinking, but adding that she does not wish him to
go on probing her psyche through his art...that she wants him to remain
just as he is, possibly because being able to pigeonhole the artist is
easier than adjusting to the changing personae he may adopt. (Amazing how
prophetic this line sounds, through a look back across Neil's career, isn't
it?)
"And I let her."
The most cryptic line in the song. I let her...what? Question her own
being because of my art? Deal with my changing personae? Go on believing I
would never change? Visit me in my dressing room? Dictate how my music
would be played and my life lived? Or possibly even, I let her...where the
artist was when the communique reached him...down; I let her know that I
would indeed change...and I let her change, knowing that I would, too.
"In a while will the smile on my face turn to plaster,
Stick around while the clown who is sick does the trick of disaster.
For the race of my head and my face is moving much faster."
Here we are treated to an almost self-analytical look at the difference
between the inner and outer parts of the singer's life. Although the
letter has managed to make the singer lifted and made happy (the smile),
that smile must soon harden (notice this is not a question but a statement:
the smile on my face will, in a while, turn to plaster) as he once again
confronts his public with the pieces of his art that he has prepared for
them, his outward and public side (face) competing with the demons inside
him (head) that make him productive and his art meaningful--the clown who
is sick referring to the tortured mental state of the productive artist and
his changing conceptions of beauty and truth; the trick of disaster
referring to the amazing ability to make that supreme jump from one mind to
another through the artistic connection of production and presentation--and
that competition between the public person and the artistic talent becoming
ever more stretched and tense as the artist's fame grows and his ability to
express himself artistically blossoms.
"Is it strange I should change?"
With all this turmoil, and this ability to make others think, can I the
artist legitimately afford to stand still?
"I don't know, why don't you ask her?"
Rather than give you an easy answer, why not look at what this one simple
human contact has accomplished? Not only has the art I have put out
altered this lady's conception or herself and those around her, but her
reaction to it has caused me to confront who I am as an artist, and
determine that I have no choice but to contribute. Just as I have changed
her, as she has said in her note, so she has changed me by asking me not to
change, and making me once again realize the power of art to make a
difference. Of course I will change, just as she has changed.
That's my short take on it...if I wasn't clear in any points of my
interpretation, please ask me for clarification.
Johnny
(TWVJ)
_______________________________________
come gander at my pulchritude and perversity
DATE: Saturday, November 09, 1996 3:03 PM
TO: rust@novia.net
SUBJECT: Re: Mr. Soul (long post)
For the thought that I caught that my head was the event of the season,
Why in crowds just a trace of my face could seem so pleasin',..."
at The Wacky World of Professor Wagstaff:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/5230
"Mr. Soul" lyrics by Neil Young
Thrasher's Wheat - A Neil Young Archives