Neil leaving CSN and the hippie generation as it descended into hopeless depravity, because the ideals had been shattered and there were still plenty of drugs left. While the hippies lost sight of the goal and turned toward their addictions to get them through, Neil searched for the deeper truths by seeking a simpler, more honest life.
"I searched out my companions, they were lost in crystal canyons," sounds like a reference to CSN's cocaine habits. The line "They were lost in rock formations," furthers the sentiment.
Throughout the song, there are endless references to an earlier return to nature and a more simple life. This song was written long before Rust Never Sleeps, so perhaps he was foreshadowing his future return into the past (ie. Comes A Time as a reprise to Harvest).
The line, "When the thrashers come and I'm stuck in the sun like dinosaurs in shrines/Then I'll know the time has come to give what's mine," is loaded with meaning. It sounds like Neil stating he'd rather live an honest, simpler life rather than deal with the huge rock star excess he experienced during the early-mid 70s. He would rather choose a life outside the limelight and articulate his own personal vision (no matter how unpopular), rather than be written down in history books as a faded rock god whose only work will be remembered as an artifact from the 60s/70s ("dinosaurs in shrines"... a huge theme regarding Rust Never Sleeps). And he succeeded in doing his own thing rather than pleasing the critics (see his discography throughout the 80s). Ironically, by rebelling against the norm and never selling out, he became a rock god.
Sorry this is long, but this is one of the most loaded songs ever written.
Neil leaving CSN and the hippie generation as it descended into hopeless depravity, because the ideals had been shattered and there were still plenty of drugs left. While the hippies lost sight of the goal and turned toward their addictions to get them through, Neil searched for the deeper truths by seeking a simpler, more honest life.
"I searched out my companions, they were lost in crystal canyons," sounds like a reference to CSN's cocaine habits. The line "They were lost in rock formations," furthers the sentiment.
Throughout the song, there are endless references to an earlier return to nature and a more simple life. This song was written long before Rust Never Sleeps, so perhaps he was foreshadowing his future return into the past (ie. Comes A Time as a reprise to Harvest).
The line, "When the thrashers come and I'm stuck in the sun like dinosaurs in shrines/Then I'll know the time has come to give what's mine," is loaded with meaning. It sounds like Neil stating he'd rather live an honest, simpler life rather than deal with the huge rock star excess he experienced during the early-mid 70s. He would rather choose a life outside the limelight and articulate his own personal vision (no matter how unpopular), rather than be written down in history books as a faded rock god whose only work will be remembered as an artifact from the 60s/70s ("dinosaurs in shrines"... a huge theme regarding Rust Never Sleeps). And he succeeded in doing his own thing rather than pleasing the critics (see his discography throughout the 80s). Ironically, by rebelling against the norm and never selling out, he became a rock god.
Sorry this is long, but this is one of the most loaded songs ever written.