The first verse speaks to the bitter-sweet emotion of recalling old friends and better times, and of only having memories of both to cling to. A good friend died yesterday who love Neil Young and this song came into my head. The good times of the past are gone, friends die, you can't get them back, then you die. If he or she was sure, he or she wouldn't say "maybe". Sure, those other days are gone, but there are memories of happiness, lingering on. "Yet still a light is shining Maybe the star wasn't 'merely' a star, there really was something more to it.

All your dreams and your lovers won't protect you

Star Of Bethlehem. The second verse speaks to the fact that those memories are fleeting.

And chilly night of gloom - Remastered, When You Dance, I Can Really Love - Remastered. The materialist, naturalistic worldview that just rips the life out of you, there is no hope for anything. "Yet still a light is shining" means that although things are bad, there is still hope. Rather that there IS hope for the future. The protagonist is not sure.

"Star Of Bethlehem" is yet another song of anguish inspired by Young's discovery that his girlfriend (and mother of his child), Carrie Snodgress, had been cheating on him. For anyone that hasn't dealt every morning with the reality through their spouse having an affair, this cuts it to the core. div_id: "cf_async_" + Math.floor((Math.random() * 999999999))

Wasn't a star at all" Bite The Bullet. /* TFP - lyricinterpretations */

Lingerin' on adunit_id: 100001411, artist: "Neil Young", All lyrics provided for educational purposes only. )-math of Neil's breakup with Carrie Snodgress, I take it as the raw feeling he experienced every morning of his life during that time.

I think it reinforces my interpretation. I have read other interpretations on other sites, one of which relates the song to the crucifixion and suffering of Christ.

"From that lamp on down the hall". Here is my interpretation. var opts = { Let's take the last verse line by line. Maybe the star of Bethlehem wasn't a star at all, Neil Young: “I cut this in Mashville where I cut "Harvest”, but much later in ‘74. Wasn't a star at all, Neil Young Lyrics provided by SongLyrics.com.

All you have is memories of happiness All you have is memories of happiness lingering on By virtue of the fact that the protagonist is questioning what the star was, he or she is questioning a key symbol associated with the birth of Christ, and therefore the birth of Christ itself.

AZLyrics. Hey Babe. In my view he or she does.

I hope so. This is a chilling truth: our memories remind us of the good times, and of the fact that they are gone.

The "star" (actress Snodgress) upon which he had placed his love that made a "fool of a man" (see Love in Mind) maybe wasn't a star at all. All you have is memories of happiness Lingeri 22,960 views, added to favorites 331 times. Anyway, enough precursor. All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. Whereas the first two verses are very depressing, the third is actually quite uplifting in the sense that, in my view, it offers hope. Thinking of the better times without hope for the future will take a toll on you emotionally, but inevitably you will return to those memories because they are all you have. And the light from him is still shining. Similarly, if the "light" is what the protagonist sees as he or she approaches heaven or the afterlife, therein lies the hope and comfort. Note: When you embed the widget in your site, it will match your site's styles (CSS). Cannot annotate a non-flat selection. The protagonist is alone, cold and lonely. It may be a metaphor for the overriding message of hope. In the case of the first, the epiphany could be the realization that there is an afterlife, or some better place, or just something else besides sadness, loneliness, or death. Star of Bethlehem Neil Young [ D ] Ain't it h [ G ] ard when you w [ A ] ake up in the m [ D ] orning and you fi [ G ] nd out those o [ A ] ther days are g [ D ] one? In this line, the protagonist is questioning what the star of Bethlehem was. In association with that optimism, the protagonist is seemingly saying, "wait a second here. Yet still a light is shining Hope is not a message I get from this song. Yet still a light is shining from that lamp on down the hall starts and ends within the same node. Hold Back The Tears. So does the protagonist believe in Christ, or metaphorically, hope? And wait for you to come back again "Maybe the star of Bethlehem Wasn't a star at all" ... maybe it really was a guiding light. Neil Young - Star Of Bethlehem Lyrics. "Maybe the star of Bethlehem wasn't a star at all". You might wonder album: "American Stars & Bars" (1977) The Old Country Waltz. Song meanings ©2003-2020 lyricinterpretations.com, Creedence Clearwater Revival song meanings. Who can he or she turn to? From that lamp on down the hall Make sure your selection Hope may be your belief in religion, or it may be your belief in something else, or nothing. On this cold Maybe things aren't so bad." I submit that it doesn't matter. Is nowhere in this room I don't think this needs further explanation. Will To Love. Sure, those other days are gone, but there are memories of happiness, lingering on. "Star of Bethlehem" Track Info They're only passing through you in the end G A D All you have is memories of happiness E A G F#m7 linger in' ... Star Of Bethlehem chords by Neil Young. 1 contributor total, last edit on Feb 25, 2019.

Neil Young: “I cut this in Mashville where I cut "Harvest”, but much later in ‘74. He or she would say, "the star of Bethlehem is XYZ." But perhaps there is something better out there. More figuratively, I could see the light being either: (1) the proverbial light one sees when they have an epiphany; or (2) the light that Christians would typically believe they would see when they are dying and going to heaven. However, due to the prior line about 'light from a 'lamp down the hall' I think that is clearly the wrong interpretation.

I don't know whether Neil is religious/Christian, or whether he is using a Christian narrative as a metaphor for hope generally.

Like A Hurricane. No hope, no 'Star of Bethlehem', just good memories that haunt you then leave wishing for more but actually finding death. Tambourine Man’; June 21, 1965, Lyricapsule: Nirvana Drop ‘Bleach’; June 15, 1989, Lyricapsule: Derek and the Dominos’ First Gig; June 14, 1970, Are You Ready For The Country? I think the point is that no matter how bad things seem, there is always hope.) song: "Star of Bethlehem", Post script: The chorus to the song is not on the studio recording.

has just got to be a message of hope. They'll leave you stripped of all that they can get to They'll leave you stripped of all that they can get to

But after all, he's only a Dreamin Man. })(); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); funny how you might interpret this with opposing meanings. Maybe the star of Bethlehem Wasn't a star at all Submit Corrections. They're only passing through you in the end Written in the after(during? I am intrigued by the shocking truth this song conveys about life, but uplifted by what I perceive to be its overriding message of hope. N. Neil Young Lyrics. This tore Young up at the time, but he came to a different perspective as he faced up to the fact that he cheated on her, too. Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning

Seems to me it could be the key phrase 'maybe the star of Bethlehem wasn't a star at all' could mean that this well known symbol of hope for the future is actually just fake news - a farce. I doubt Neil is an evangelical Christian and actually believes the historical accuracy of the Biblical accounts, probably just a literary reference for him. Author Unregistered. And you find out that those other days are gone?

They are a lament from the perspective of those whose best days are behind them.

He or she is saying, "yet, there is light, it is coming from over there." An annotation cannot contain another annotation.

The first two verses are simple enough. STAR OF BETHLEHEM / D G A D Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning G A D and you find out those other days are gone?

This is just a preview! Nobody in the room. It is from the rereleased album “Homegrown”, sort of a sequel to Harvest."

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The answer to that question Lyricapsule: The Surfaris Drop ‘Wipe Out’; June 22, 1963, Lyricapsule: The Byrds Drop ‘Mr.

I hope so. Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning And you find out that those other days are gone?