Don't Let It Bring You Down

First I would like to mention how beautiful this song is. I don't know how to describe the sound of this song or Young's voice on it when I hear it, but it's one of those songs where his singing and words sound like the voice an incredibily wise spirit. I think jke45's analysis works very well with the night/day motif, which I think is a very important part of the song. However my impression is not as literal. I think I get the song more in terms of what bobdylaniscool was saying. I'll try to communicate my understanding of it.

Well I think this song is largely about human life and it's cycles. And death (literally as well as metaphorically). And also how things we expect in life don't turn out that way, or things we hold true don't come out that way, but everything is OK because everything is, and it is no reason to give up hope. The atmosphere of the song and the landscape it paints is very desolate. Okay. Breakdown.

"Old man lying by the side of the road With the lorries rolling by,"

The old man is someone who has been on earth a long time and has participated and experienced it and is closer to his death.
Having participated in the life, he is 'by the side of the road' of life, still a witness to it, but in contrast to the lorries that are rolling by, he is not on the road and he is still, he is not moving. This to me shows that this is a man that is at peace and must be in possession of understanding.

"Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load And the buildings scrape the sky,"

Well a blue moon as an expression means something that is a rare occurence (once in a blue moon), and it is when the moon appears to be visibly bluish, normally because of smoke or dust particles that are in the atmosphere. In my own opinion this is kind of foreshadowing the chorus with the theme of illusions. The blue moon is something that is special and rare, but it is caused by an obscuring layer of particles between you and the moon. It is sinking from the weight of it's load because everything that rises must come down and the moon has cycles. Perhaps the load it carries is the significance we give it as being something special, and it is causing the moon to sink and give way to daylight. The buildings scraping the sky also foreshadows the edifices of the 'castles' in the chorus. It is a creation, something that man made. (In the name of progress? To get closer to the sky?) perhaps an allusion to meaning, as people create their own meanings out of things.

"Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn, And the morning paper flies,"

This is kind of setting up an atmosphere of being alone. The cold wind is something harsh and real, like the harsh reality that ultimately every human in the world is alone. The morning paper flying is a nice touch to show desolation. It has no will. It does not resist the currents of the wind or try to create its own path. It is an inconsequential insignificant object that is simply to a force that is more powerful than it is.

"Dead man lying by the side of the road With the daylight in his eyes,"

I think the Dead man could be the Old man that was mentioned previously. The moon sinking gives way to the daylight, which is like a transition from being an old man to a dead man. The Dead man is the natural progression of the Old man's cycle just as the day light would proceed the the dawn and the moon's sinking. Having experienced life (his night) he has gained wisdom and understanding (his dawn) and an acceptance of the way things are so he can die peacefully (and he comes into the day). The daylight in his eyes could be perception of what is eternal and lives longer than everything that revolves around it. The dead man in the daylight is a contrast to the blind man in the night. There is an interesting contrast here as our normal impulse would be to associate day with life and night with death, but here death and daylight are the same as if during are lifetime we are in the night (just like how sometimes ponder about if lifetime is really only a dream or an illusion we are passing through and when we die we might wake up from this dream.)

"Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning and you will come around."

Now Neil Young is implying that death (physical death or the death of something you created) is natural and we shouldn't be brought down by the of the passing away of a dear one, or when expectations we held high are not met, or something we believed in strongly is not real. Castles are something that are established, a creation of man that is supposed to be stable with a strong foundation and resist the forces of nature and time. So when they are destroyed by a force such as fire it is a shock. But Neil says it's ONLY castles burning. Like hey man, did you really forget that nothing is permanent and lasts forever? Don't you know that you don't live forever, you are impermanent and the foundation of your knowledge is only as solid as everything else, which is susceptible to destruction and decay. But don't let it bring you down, just find someone who's turning and you will come around. Find someone else who is coming to realizations. When the great illusion is shattered, its not the end, it's another beginning. It is a chance to evolve. Find someone else who is changing, evolving, someone else who is TURNING and you will come AROUND. Find someone else who is turning in the cycle and you will turn as well, you will come around and complete the cycle again.

"Blind man running through the light of the night With an answer in his hand,"

The blind man is the contrast to the old and dead man. He is not still. He is running. Running in what? In the light of the night. Not only is it the night, where the light is rare and precious, leaving you very little to see and guide yourself with, he also blind. This man is supposed to represent us. Having not participated in life as long as the old man has, we are still in motion (running). We are still looking for and creating meanings. We seek truth. We do not have a strong sense of perception of truth so we are blind in a world that is already dark. And the answer in his hand could be the meanings we hold on to to attempt to guide us through the night or without sight (the white cane mentioned later).

"Come on down to the river of sight And you can really understand,"

The river is like the wind in the first part. It is a force, a current, and it just flows. It has and will exist longer in time than the man. If you come to where true perception flows, you can have a true understanding, instead of cluthing on to an answer, which would be like using your hands to see when you can't use your eyes. You can see the river, but you can't hold it.

"Red lights flashing through the window in the rain Can you hear the sirens moan?"

I don't think this is too dense with meaning. Pretty much a call to alarm? Something is calling. Perhaps the call of truth or reality or that something is not right.

"White cane lying in a gutter in the lane, If you're walking home alone."

Having gained true sight he has no need to use a cane as a guide to move around. The cane was 'the answer in his hand', the answer to the problem of not having the sense of sight. The cane is discarded in a gutter in the lane because he no longer needs it as a subsitute for sight while he is on the road. (The motifs merge beautifully in this song and reflect Neil Young's brilliance.) The last line "If you're walking home alone", reiterates the loneliness of everyone on his own path to understanding, and this path is a return to home. Implying that it's something that we had all along but at some point we forgot and became lost as a result. Perhaps the castle can be the illusion of a home, but we are really at home when we can accept our loneliness and be at home anywhere, like the old man.

"Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning and you will come around."

Having lost his blindness the man gained sight. That is the blind man's castles burning. In his reality all he knew was darkness and had to use his cane to guide himself. Destruction breeds creation. His blindness burning down, he can now use his eyes to see the world.
Having lost illusion we gain reality. Having lost our meanings we gain truth. When our castles burn we can no longer use them to hide, protect, or shelter us from the world. The castle is no longer our home and thus the world becomes our home, and when the world is your home you can always be at home with yourself. Then perhaps you will have inner peace like the old man/ dead man. And the cycle is completed you have come around in the cycle of life and learning. But one cannot lose hope when something they perceive to be important is lost, because it is the way everything is. It is part of the natural progression of one's evolution, and if you don't let it bring you down you don't have to sink, you can rise and come around. And have a greater understanding the next time castles are burning and approach it with acceptance. When the understanding of this is gained one no longer needs to run around blind seeking, one can be still by the side of the road surrounded by motion, not resisting the force of the wind and let one's self flow with the river.

   Well.  This turned out longer than I thought, and every song is open to everyone's interpretation.  Some of this might ring true and some of it might be shadier.  I hope I didn;t over do it at parts.  This is what I feel when I listen to the song (without all the analysis in my head, haha, i just kind of get it this way).  I would love to hear other people's interpretations, or agreements, furthering of points, other observations about what I've said or disagreements with points I've made.

There really aren't that many posts for this song, which is strange as its one of those songs that I think stands out for people and carries a lot of meaning.