verse 1
I caught you knocking at my cellar door
I love you baby can I have some more?
Oooh, the damage done
I love you baby can I have some more?
Oooh, the damage done
verse 2
I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone the damage done
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone the damage done
verse 3
I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk it to keep from running out
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk it to keep from running out
verse 4
I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkies like the setting sun
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkies like the setting sun
song info:
Verified yes
LanguageEnglish
GenreRock
Rank−
Duration00:02:03
Charts
Copyright ©WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC, Broken Fiddle Music
WriterNeil Young
Lyrics licensed byLyricFind
Added
Last updatedMarch 7th, 2022
About"The Needle and the Damage Done" is a song by Neil Young that describes the destruction caused by the heroin addiction of musicians he knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die later that year. It previews the theme of the Tonight's the Night album that reflects Young's grief over the heroin overdose and death of both Whitten and Bruce Berry, a roadie for Young and Crazy Horse.
"The Needle and the Damage Done" first appeared on the Harvest album in 1972. Rather than rerecording it, he selected a live version from January 1971 that had him singing and playing acoustic guitar. It appeared on the compilation albums Decade and Greatest Hits. On the handwritten liner notes included in Decade, Young had this to say about the song: "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men."
Young performed the song in a 2005 Nashville concert, released in Jonathan Demme's 2006 documentary Neil Young: Heart of Gold. The DVD of the film includes Young's 1971 performance of the song from The Johnny Cash Show. The song also appears on the 2007 album Live at Massey Hall 1971. On this album, Young introduced his song:
Ever since I left Canada about five years ago or so and moved down south, I found out a lot of things that I didn't know when I left. Some of 'em are good, and some of 'em are bad. Got to see a lot of great musicians before they happened, before they became famous, y'know, when they were just gigging, five and six sets a night... things like that. And I got to see a lot of great musicians who nobody ever got to see for one reason or another. But, strangely enough, the real good ones that you never got to see was... 'cause of heroin. And that started happening over and over. Then it happened to someone that everyone knew about. So I just wrote a little song.
"The Needle and the Damage Done" first appeared on the Harvest album in 1972. Rather than rerecording it, he selected a live version from January 1971 that had him singing and playing acoustic guitar. It appeared on the compilation albums Decade and Greatest Hits. On the handwritten liner notes included in Decade, Young had this to say about the song: "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men."
Young performed the song in a 2005 Nashville concert, released in Jonathan Demme's 2006 documentary Neil Young: Heart of Gold. The DVD of the film includes Young's 1971 performance of the song from The Johnny Cash Show. The song also appears on the 2007 album Live at Massey Hall 1971. On this album, Young introduced his song:
Ever since I left Canada about five years ago or so and moved down south, I found out a lot of things that I didn't know when I left. Some of 'em are good, and some of 'em are bad. Got to see a lot of great musicians before they happened, before they became famous, y'know, when they were just gigging, five and six sets a night... things like that. And I got to see a lot of great musicians who nobody ever got to see for one reason or another. But, strangely enough, the real good ones that you never got to see was... 'cause of heroin. And that started happening over and over. Then it happened to someone that everyone knew about. So I just wrote a little song.
Album Details
![Neil Young - Greatest Hits [2004]](https://cdn.lsistatic.com/img/pixel.gif){kind=tracking}