In 1977, New York Times writer John Rockwell wrote, “[Neil] Young is still about as individual, talented and touching a musical poet as American popular music has produced, worthy of comparison with Bob Dylan.” Though compared to one another earlier in their careers, Bob Dylan and Neil Young built a mutual respect for one another and remained friends for decades.
The two have performed together and covered one another’s songs. Dylan supported Young, Willie Nelson, and John Mellencamp‘s inaugural Farm Aid on September 22, 1985, playing with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Nearly 40 years later, Dylan returned to the benefit concert in 2023 with a surprise three-song set, backed by Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Steve Ferrone of The Heartbreakers.
Despite their decades-long connection, there was one song by Young that Dylan said he hated hearing: “Heart of Gold.”
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Dylan in the Desert
Released on Young’s fourth album Harvest, “Heart of Gold” topped the chart in Canada and was his only No. 1 in the U.S., yet Dylan had a hard time listening to it when it first came out.
“The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about ’72 and the big song at the time was ‘Heart of Gold,” said Dylan in 1985. “I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to ‘Heart of Gold.’ I think it was up at No. 1 for a long time, and I’d say, ‘Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me.'”
[RELATED: The Only Song Bob Dylan Regretted Writing]
At the time Dylan wanted to escape the chaos of New York and went to the desert for some respite. “There I was, stuck in the desert someplace, having to cool out for a while,” said Dylan. “New York was a heavy place. Woodstock was worse, people living in trees outside my house, fans trying to batter down my door, cars following me up dark mountain roads.”
Dylan continued, “I needed to lay back for a while, forget about things, myself included, and I’d get so far away and turn on the radio and there I am, but it’s not me. It seemed to me somebody else had taken my thing and had run away with it, you know, and I never got over it. Maybe tomorrow.”
Young’s Issues with ‘Heart of Gold’
Recorded in 1971, the Harvest version of “Heart of Gold” features backing vocals from James Taylor and Linda Rondstadt, and it was also a song Young had mixed feelings about early on, which he shared in the liner notes for his 1977 compilation record, Decade.
“[‘Heart of Gold’] put me in the middle of the road,” said Young. “Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch,” added Young referencing his “ditch trilogy” of albums—Time Fades Away, On the Beach, Tonight’s the Night—that followed Harvest.
“A rougher ride,” said Young, “but I saw more interesting people there.”
Photo: Bob Dylan (l) by Michael Kovac/WireImage; Neil Young by Kevork Djansezian/WireImage
