Neil Young has shared a video of him performing ‘Silver and Gold’ for the first time in almost two decades.
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The track was released in 2000 on his album of the same name, but written in 1981. Since then, it’s rarely been performed live, with the last time he sang it to an audience being in 2007.
Following ‘Silver and Gold”s release in 2000, Young explained the process of writing the song to KGSR Radio. “I tried it several ways. And it was such a nice, it’s just such a song, you know. It just kind of lives with the guitar. It’s just there,” he said.
He went on to say: “I really recorded, I think, a total of 11 times with different people in all kinds of different configurations. And we got ’em all, none of them are worth listening to. But this one here finally just got back to the roots of it and just sat down with my guitar and played it and said, ‘That’s it.’ Because I love the song and I feel the song now and it means something to me now.”
The video, which was shared yesterday (December 25), shows Young playing guitar and softly singing while sitting by a fire. As it cuts off at the end, he can be heard saying: “Is that our first fireside session?”
Check it out below.
In other news, in October Young and Stephen Stills – formerly his bandmate as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – reunited to perform their song ‘Hung Upside Down’ for the first time in 57 years.
The on-stage appearance was part of the 2024 Harvest Moon benefit gig in Lake Hughes, California. Hosted by Neil Young, the event saw various famous musicians come together to raise funds.
in September, it was reported that Young had performed his elusive 1977 song ‘Hey Babe’ live for the first time ever.
He wrote and released ‘Hey Babe’ along with Crazy Horse, Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson as part of his eighth studio album ‘American Stars ‘N Bars’. For the 47 years since its release, the song was just one of two tracks off the record that had never been performed live, alongside ‘Will To Love’.
Earlier this year, he also finally commented on his recently axed Crazy Horse tour dates, explaining that it was due to an undisclosed illness. Following the tour’s cancellation, the ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ singer returned to the stage to perform at this year’s edition of Farm Aid at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York on September 21.
