All the sailors with their seasick mamas
Hear the sirens on the shore
Singin' songs for pimps with tailors
Who charge ten dollars at the door
You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day
Though your confidence may be shattered
It doesn't matter
All the great explorers
Are now in granite laid
Under white sheets for the great unveiling
At the big parade
You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day
Though your confidence may be shattered
It doesn't matter
All the bush league batters
Are left to die on the diamond
In the stands the home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles
For the turnstiles
For the turnstiles
Hear the sirens on the shore
Singin' songs for pimps with tailors
Who charge ten dollars at the door
You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day
Though your confidence may be shattered
It doesn't matter
All the great explorers
Are now in granite laid
Under white sheets for the great unveiling
At the big parade
You can really learn a lot that way
It will change you in the middle of the day
Though your confidence may be shattered
It doesn't matter
All the bush league batters
Are left to die on the diamond
In the stands the home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles
For the turnstiles
For the turnstiles
Lyrics submitted by libragrl4music
For the Turnstiles Lyrics as written by Neil Young
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"For The Turnstiles" sees Neil Young pondering the fleeting nature of fame/stardom - if not life itself.
In the First Verse, Neil sings about "sailors" out to sea longing for their wives/girlfriends only to visit a prostitute upon getting to shore - their love/longing for their woman quickly an afterthought as soon as they hit shore.
In the Second Verse, Neil sings about "great explorers" who are now deceased - their accomplishments now seemingly forgotten as soon as their bodies got cold.
In the Third (and final) Verse, Neil uses a baseball analogy. He sings about "bush league batters left to die on the diamond". And "the home crowd scatters for the turnstiles". I interpret the "bush league batters" dying on "the diamond" as famous musicians, actors, entertainers etc...who are now used-up and no longer producing art and who, when they pass away, fans just gracefully forget about them and move on.
So despite all of the great accomplishments, at the end of the day (as the final line of the chorus states) "It doesn't matter".
Musically, the song uses a variety of roots music instruments - banjo, dobro, fiddle and acoustic guitar. This instrumentation convey the sadness and hopelessness of the lyric.
This is one of Neil Young's greatest, if not lesser known, songs.