Another one of my favorite singer-songwriters is Canadian artist Neil Young. He first came on the scene as a member of the 1960s folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield. After the band broke up in 1968, Young began an illustrious career as a solo artist, working with his band, Crazy Horse, and as an on again, off again member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
His first two solo albums didn’t make much of a mark, but his third, After the Gold Rush (1970), finally put his talents on full display. The title was inspired by an unproduced screenplay by the same name, written by actors Dean Stockwell and Herb Bermann. The plot centers around an ecological disaster that washes away a community in California. Young read the screenplay, which in turn inspired a dream, and from that he wrote the song. 
One of the things that makes this song special to me is the lyrics. They are both beautiful and cryptic. Sung in Young’s tenor voice and accompanied by only a piano and a flugelhorn, the lyrics metaphorically describe isolation, sadness, longing, loss, and hope. There’s also an underlying ecological message in there that resonates as much now as it did then. Maybe even more.
To me, each verse reflects a stage of life. When we’re young and idealistic, the world is beautiful and wondrous. The we grow older, we become introspective and jaded. Eventually, we look for something more, enlightenment, a chance for a new beginning.
Funny anecdote: During their recording of the song, the ladies were wondering about the meaning behind the lyrics, so they contacted Young to ask. His response? “I have no idea.”
Here is a video of the song and I’ve posted the lyrics below. As a bonus, I’ve included a second video of a fantastic cover version (with slightly adjusted lyrics) that was done by the amazing Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. I’ll let you decide which version you prefer.
Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming
Sayin’ something about a queen
There were peasants singin’ and drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree
There was a fanfare blowin’ to the sun
That was floating on the breeze
Look at mother nature on the run in the nineteen seventies
Look at mother nature on the run in the nineteen seventies
I was lyin’ in a burned-out basement
With a full moon in my eyes
I was hopin’ for replacement
When the sun burst through the sky
There was a band playin’ in my head
And I felt like getting high
I was thinkin’ about what a friend had said
I was hopin’ it was a lie
Thinkin’ about what a friend had said
I was hopin’ it was a lie
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships lying
In the yellow haze of the sun
There were children crying and colors flying
All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun
Flyin’ mother nature’s silver seed
To a new home in the sun
Flyin’ mother nature’s silver seed
To a new home