TS: Cowgirl In The Sand vs. Down By The River

cowgirl

Now here's a Neil poll I can vote in. Kane over Ambersons, Mays over Mantle, "Cowgirl" over "River."

river. probably. hmm i don't know.

the cowgirl on the fillmore live disc is all time, probably one of neil's top 5 guitar moments.

i like the production of Cowgirl better - those psych/hendrix guitars and drums - Molina never played his drums like that before or after!
BUT the melody of River is a little better imo, and theres somethins spooky and great about the almost minimal approach to the production.

i dont know

Was just gonna post about the Cowgirl on the Fillmore disc. Simply awesome.

xxpost

lets focus on the LP versions..

opening chords of down by the river always grab me. best two chords.

cowgirl on fillmore reminds me a little of television, somehow.

love the version of river by low/dirty three

Fillmore Cowgirl is all-time Neil. Would pick that over Fillmore River, and studio River. But prefer studio River to studio Cowgirl.

Can one love Young as much as I and never listen to these tracks?

no

It's highly unusual, but legally permissible.

I'm with you on this, Alfred. Voted "Cowgirl" but really not a big fan of either song.

I mean, I never feel like listening to them. He mastered these longform jams a few years later.

Two people--now we have a problem.

that's crack talk, alf

nah I just prefer "Danger Bird" and "Over and Over."

i love later epic but whitten-era horse on the long stuff? neil never had something that good again

and I love EKTIN! But I skip these two. I'd give the edge to "..."River" though.

it's one thing to prefer hurricane or ragged or whatever but to suggest the poncho stomp is relative mastery is to suggest crack talk

neil young 60's/70's guitar epic POLL

will cowgirl get more votes here too?

well of course the Whitten bunch were better musicians. That's why I said Young mastered these things; the later tracks are better developed, better written, although it's clear he's arranged the solos around Poncho et al's weaknesses. "Down by the river/I shot my baby" is Young inching into blues tropes.

Folk tropes! Still, Cowgirl for the sweet/scary vibe.

and I love EKTIN! But I skip these two. I'd give the edge to "..."River" though.

― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, October 19, 2012 4:01 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if you skip these two, you don't love Everybody Knows, bub. These two songs are like 90% of the record

Cowgirl

It's really easy to love a half-good record.

Compared to "Cowgirl", "River" always kinda bored me..

3 fucking months ago, you goofballs: A World of Constant Strangers: The Neil Young Results Thread

Yeah, but the big polls has their own peculiar logic. One on ones are different.

they're different in that when they're done later, they're either redunndant or a win by the previous loser will instantly look like reactionary

the fact that River got more votes in the that poll doesnt necessary mean he will get more in this one

he? is this about River Phoenix?

River.

theres a difference between choosing a list for all time favorite Neil songs to a "one on one" thing.
esp. for the ones who chose both an their list (the majority?!)

nah it's some pointless 'i demand a recount' shit

or it's just "i demand a discussion" about those two particular songs.

I mean, I never feel like listening to them. He mastered these longform jams a few years later.

― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, October 19, 2012 11:58 AM

just curious, have you heard the 2009 remaster?

ILM had been so light on neil young discussion this year, too

damn, some dude shutting it down.
but anyway, how about the one-note machine gun thing neil does to kick off the first down by the river solo? as a kid in a garage band we were all so excited to get to that part.

yeah, its a great moment

whatever that famous early TV performance of "River" is, with the incredible solos, that's my fave live version (River over Cowboy for me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QsSc95pPPY

yeah the live videos with CSN got me into that song. (i recall a live outdoor video also.)

yeah there's a big sur fest performance (not quite as good as the one iago posted but still rad).

My microscopic preference comes down to music, for the most part, but I also think "Cowgirl" yields more unforgettable lines: "purple words on a grey background," "when so many love you, is it the same," "can I see your sweet, sweet smile"--pretty much every line.

is this a joke? cowgirl is a hundred thousand times better than DBTR

maybe from a song craft POV, but I just kinda barrelled ahead to "what jam do I prefer?"

i went for down by the river. not sure if that was the right choice. both songs are phantastic. were there any other songs with lyrics in the 1960s longer than nine minutes?

Desolation Row, Sad Eyed Lady

(Huh...never noticed before that those are about the same length)

I really need to get into this album, i have it on LP somewhere. I've listened to it once or twice but always in the background and halfway through "Cowgirl" i stop what i'm doing and this "Oh this must be that 'Cowgirl in the Sand' song everyone always talks about! Cool!"

this is a freaking tough on

*one

cowgirl

Listened to studio and Fillmore versions of both and I guess it's Cowgirl, barely.

Voted cowgirl. DBTR has always felt like a newly solo artist performing a popular standard. I don't think that is an accurate impression, but I've always held that bias. Besides, cowgirl is all time.

Scott Miller, from Game Theory/Loud Family, had this great line about how creepy it was to start out a murder ballad with "Be on my side/I'll be on your side"

I mistakenly thought that buddy miles wrote this song. I will do my research next time, ILX. I apologize to you and Neil both.

cowgirl

Cowgirl. I used to like Down By The River more, but after a long drive playing both at top volume for close to an hour, I came around.

its close. but i think cowgirl wins it for the foreboding way each chorus ends with that "bah bah - bum! bah bah - bum!" riff.

isn't it "bah bah - dum! bah bah - ram"?

i cannot muster an argument either way tbh

voted River on account of its creeping intro which I favor over Cowgirl's abrupt entry

i vote cowgirl cause sexy

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"Cowgirl In The Sand" though i feel i would vote for "Down By The River" if i listened to both now.

interesting vote

akin to 'vogelsong is our ace unless i'm watching cain'

lol, classic execpt. i have said: Vogelsong is the Giants best pitcher (this year) but Cain is our the ace of 2012.

more now on ILB...

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Not close. In the Neil poll, it was "Down by the River" (448 points/41 votes) over "Cowgirl" (34/351). "Down by the River" must have had a calamitous first debate or something.

something something something people who will take time to fill out a ballot vs. people who will click a radio button something something something

I think the something something something button-clickers got it right!

i disagree. people who want the easy convenience of a click-button poll have no business going near Neil Young

also DOWN BY THE RIVER 4 LYFE! FUCK THA HATERzzz!!!

Button clickers:ballot voters::cds:pono

Why the hell wasn't Cinnamon Girl not included in this poll?

Cinnamon Girl wasn't not included in this poll!

Will always be "Down By The River" for me (I voted btw). Just love the feel of it to death, and those guitars circling each other throughout the song remain all-time-greatest of the great. Love "Cowgirl" as well, just not as much as the guitars in DBTR.

will someone please string together all of the solos from cowgirl in the sand and turn it into a groovy can-like dance number and call it cowgirl in the club or in the can or something?
i was going to post this on the your terrible ideas thread but i think it's a good idea

How about overlaying some country dance rhythms and calling it "Boot-Scootin' Cowgirl"? (Also meant for the terrible ideas thread.)

now that is a terrible idea.

i still think this is a good idea
wondering if anyone had tried it, i just searched for "cowgirl in the sand" + solo and found this thread on the third page of results

haha, I did. there was one transition that didn't work and I never got around to going back and fixing it. sounded pretty cool tho.

I wanna hear it!

^

"Cowgirl in the Sand" in a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK31JPnSWeg

recorded 50 years ago today (river)/tomorrow (cowgirl)

I've always thought that Cowgirl was the sound of the last big log being thrown on the last campfire on earth.

Cowgirl 4eva

i agree with both of the previous posts! it has a crackle and a sizzle and an air of The End! i never ever get sick of cowgirl, sometimes i tire of the river (just a little)

happy 50th birthday to these two great songs!!

i realize that post was inane but obvs inspired by love

i love you, down by the river and cowgirl in the sand!
if you want to listen to two very lo-fi (but very HOT) live versions from 1970, here you go: https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/182086674297/down-by-the-river-cowgirl-in-the-sand-neil

at some point in the mid-80s i saw this version of 'river' (with the international harvesters in 1984) on austin city limits. in retrospect probably pales beside other live performances with other backing bands but as a 13yo i remember being utterly hypnotized by it. which is why i probably voted 'river'

On the album, "Cowgirl" easily. But as a jam that's 47 years long, this is shivers when they finally hit the chorus after suspense that goes longer than the whole studio version of "River".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI2ey2g8pcM

River is moodier but Cowgirl has more interesting stiff going on musically. That Dm7 stomp underneath “it’s rhe woman in you...” is so great

Also, River is moving, but is hardly alone as a "shot my woman song", where on Cowgirl, the fever-dream altered state is palpable and strange.

Ha, I just listened to this record a couple hours ago.

River is the sound of the coming apocalypse; Cowgirl the sound of everything lost in it.