Neil Young - Cortez the Killer (Acoustic) w/ Lyrics

[@robertreynolds1167]

From the very first time I heard him ( my bedroom junior year HS 1971; album “After the Gold Rush” ) I was in love. He took my breath and heart in 30 minutes. The way he writes, plays, sings is beyond this life. I’m his and he’s mine til I die.

[@Mojave702]

When the dream came I held my breath with my eyes closed I went insane like a smoke ring day when the wind blows. Now I won't be back till later on if I do come back at all But you know me In a strange game I saw myself as you knew me When the change came And you had a chance to see through me Now the other side is just the same You can tell my dream is real Neil Young- Buffalo Springfield 1968

[@ManiacRacing]

This song makes me cry. Longing for a time and place I never knew, a woman I never touched, a people long gone in the mists of time. This music touches my soul.

[@roseannes2967]

The beauty of Neil in this song, my favorite of his, this performance, touches my heart with his artistry of being perfectly Neil bringing me to tears, feeling, more than can be said.

[@sonofprovence]

So hear you my friend. Whenever I need to grieve, this is the song I go to. Whenever I need to warm up my guitar playing this is to the song I go to. Whenever I need to remember when I heard it first, it brings me back to the home I grew up at, on the French Riviera. I was only 12 yo. It was 1976. Whenever I need to hear what the first invaders of this country did to natives, this is the song I go to. Whenever I go to the Acoma Pueblo in NM, and I see the large logs on the ceiling of the church Spaniards had the natives build for them, forcing natives to drag the logs over 60 miles under slave conditions, that is the song I go to for my reference on how harsh our former monsters werer to natives.

[@1BDP2B]

What a luxury to live in his lifetime. What a blessing to have the experience!!! The greatest!

[@Itsjustme-j4o]

I prayed to God today and thanked him for his beautiful Gift to us mortals.

[@sharonbaird3764]

If we could all learn from this song..

[@stevec5586]

Incredible! My favourite version. It's absolutely mesmerising, hypnotic ... Neil Young at his best, guitar and voice.

[@OnlyClassics_Rock]

Couldn't agree more!

[@kathywhiteleather5230]

@@OnlyClassics_Rock 1qaaaaaaaa@+qqqqq@n@@~~

[@aestheticsounds3676]

rubbish bro.

[@hollybischoff7490]

Many people have done this song but NO ONE can do like Neil. Beautiful, Perfect!!!

[@harrydelange1821]

I play it acoustically but I find it very difficult to get the right 'magic' feeling as like the original electric version (album 1975).

[@TheUbikwitus]

You know Neil Young wrote that song, right?

[@alexwalton593]

@@TheUbikwitus holly is referring to the many covers of this

[@libragal1750]

FACTS❤

[@libragal1750]

​@@TheUbikwitusI wasn't aware he wrote this song. Ty❤

[@dikbozo]

Stunning, just stunning. The toughest gig is solo acoustic. Here we have tan unquestioned master playing a song widely held to be an electric masterpiece. It Is different in treatment but not in feel. If anything the feeling here is deeper and more mesmerizing than his studio original. He slowly draws in the listener with his slow intro and never really breaks the pace throughout the entire piece. The sounds he coaxes from his guitar are of a different temperament than the electric version but every bit as powerful and involving. I wish I had been to this concert.

[@daddykipperflipper4600]

Wow… not even 45 seconds in and i’m entranced. Thank you neil

[@walterschmitz3091]

"Hate was just a legend and war was never known , people worked together they lifted many stone " could we all not learn something from this ?

[@bellinghammond]

Shhh @Morgan Allen ...don't disturb the hippie narrative ;)

[@sharonbaird3764]

Yes we need to learn from music .. it comes from the heart deep within... It's all truth..

[@kevinpaez5324]

George Harrison " with every mistake we must be learning "

[@Redhotshawntexas]

Too bad it’s not true and Neil Young has said he wrote the song not knowing the history, so typical liberal. A Canadian one to top it off, as well 😂

[@brianpadilla1981]

Simple earns peace.

[@kevinmccarthy6392]

i fucking love neil young so much. this song is perfection

[@maryhecht1550]

One of his Best Performances...

[@Sitgesful]

Listening to Neil Young ever since!! Still that great man standing straight and tall. One love!

[@tclark3639]

Great song man

[@RB-qv2jd]

outstanding version of an amazing classic

[@annep5861]

It cannot get any better than this.

[@SamKhan-vu9wy]

Amazing musician. The music he wrote in the 1960's & 1970's was particularly brilliant

[@johnfranklin5785]

Wrote the song while still in high school... such talent to come,,,, close your eyes,, let it take you away

[@sharonbaird3764]

It truly does take you away...

[@jayroper460]

making the most of what you got simple chord progression beautiful subject matter abstract interpretation a angle on history defined unique what a sound on his guitar voice notes to cry for!

[@wearing7bells463]

notes I cry with

[@cliffhorton1198]

Nine comments? This is brilliant music. Unbelievable in every sense. Tonally magnificent, lyrically masterful and resonating to the soul.

[@gordonm7038]

Cliff Horton Amen, Cliff!

[@abradfordajb]

Young is a genius on acoustic.

[@abradfordajb]

Young is a genius on acoustic.

[@1BDP2B]

Soul shaking magnificent! Thank you for the privilege of experiencing this.

[@Xplisyt]

Yeah. Things like this don't need comments

[@sharonhouser7838]

Magnificent, powerful .. Mesmerizing!!!!! I love this song . Acoustic or electric. This is my favorite song. Makes you float in the air . 😅😅😅

[@Maxinator11-11]

It grows on you and each version is unique - like Neil.

[@willgo7898]

NY with a dreadnought is an amazing rhythmic orchestra

[@avtobus1234]

well said!

[@dipRoller]

beautiful sound... Nothing sounds like this now days :)

[@mauroparis8526]

assolutamente una delle piu' belle versioni live...non la piu' perfetta ma la piu' emozionante.neil forever

[@sukkermadstisser6245]

So good it almost hurts.

[@sharonbaird3764]

Hurts deep in the soul..

[@stephenbrown1389]

If it doesn't hurt, it's no good

[@darrylstrudwick6542]

Beautiful

[@davidanderson6712]

I can listen to Neil all day long, takes me back.

[@alexwalton593]

the greatest song from the greatest genius never heard this version before... absolute genius

[@jamesyoung7103]

Thanks neil young !!

[@oppothumbs1]

Neil wrote many songs in high school including Don't Cry No Tears which he updated for the album Zuma. I have heard him doing earlier versions or demos of songs from After the Goldrush such as Birds well before they were on his album. What a Killer songwriter and no one can sing a Neil song as Neil can. Most of his greatest songs are from the 60s and 70s not to knock his later output. Here Neil is trying to repair the version of Cortez in history books but of course, Montezuma was not a kind gentle leader. Monty II had a society that was based on human sacrifices on a scale unmatched by any other civilization in history. Thousands of ritualized sacrifices could happen in a day. The Aztecs also engaged in ritual cannibalism on a regular basis. They conquered other tribes for the purpose of forcing them to pay tributes that included people being sacrificed.

[@no1streams]

fantastic, amazing song

[@theedgeofbreakup5192]

This song is so good.........I wish I could have seen it live.......its raw perfection.........

[@mickt1230]

Beautiful.

[@JimonMoran]

beautiful song

[@gofishout]

Neil Young ROCKS MY WORLD

[@laparios12]

Neil is magical ❤️

[@randymcneil4321]

In Neil young god built with his own hands That can't be duplicated today .... this man is my religion

[@blue3994]

Goosebumps and shivers down my spine Music is everything

[@davidtheinventor]

Simply one of the best, and what inspired me to pick up the guitar when I was nine.

[@ericmeacham9532]

Pure Music ~

[@dianekennedy2444]

so special. UNBELIEVABLE

[@chrisrose7282]

Speechless...

[@roseannes2967]

Thank you for this great work of Neil's, my favorite piece of his book, and this, done so, so beautifully to perfection. You, Rock Only Classics are awesome for not ruining what you share with ads throughout the piece like other you tubers who try to profit off of Neil. You are one of the good ones worth subscribing...Peace.

[@samsamtheguitarman]

Oh My. Just discovered this, what a rendition - if that's just Neil on a 12-string guitar (I'm guessing) it's just unbelievable. As if I didn't already know it, the greatest living musician on the planet 🥰

[@keltiawind21]

ohhhhhh..... this is Young at his very best ...thank you so much for sharing

[@sirpancho]

the missing verse from an original version that could never be fully recorded ...included from 7:07 onwards "Ship is breaking up on the rocks/ Sandy beach . . . so close" which just add even more magic

[@daled8221]

Soo clean! I wish he would revisit his early music & record it!

[@donnaperry7448]

Awesome

[@johnflaherty9348]

This is an amazing version of a truly amazing and mesmerizing tune and one of my all time favorites of Neil's. I'm so captivated by the line "I know she's living there and loves me to this day." Brilliant! Also should check out the live version from the Paramount Theater (Oakland) in 1999 that Cameron Crowe slipped in masterfully into "Almost Famous" for the scene at the airport in which the band has just landed after a near death experience in their chartered airplane - totally perfect scoring - haunting and beautiful...

[@sharonbaird3764]

I still cant remember how or where I lost my way... Are the words that go through me...

[@indiobastardo]

este musico es grandioso uno de mis preferidos!

[@michaelthompson5782]

After reading the comments, I feel at home. Neil shreds.

[@cgavin1]

Where did this all go? Where is music now? Where are humans singing about humanity and telling tales of longing and loneliness and regret? I weep for the future.

[@mzeenemo]

Nothing else to say. Magic.

[@MsMonja]

love it

[@GPCoe-ct5rz]

Sounds like one 12 string acoustic guitar specially tuned with what’s known as a drop D tuning. Taking the bottom E string to a lower D note. This version includes an extra verse about breaking up on the rocks, coming so close. Might be Neil’s vision of going back to see the girl that still loves him to this day and not quite making it back there.

[@RandomVelocity]

I believe it’s a double drop D tuning both low and high E strings tuned down to D. And I agree it sounds like it’s played on a 12 string as well

[@sonofprovence]

Probably his 12-string Taylor.

[@paan36ty]

@@sonofprovence taylor 855

[@darrenwilliams2921]

He's with Daryl Hannah the actress.

[@luckyfamilyman]

Eloquent master of the caesura and tenuto!…yes it does sound like his 12 string so in tune and the droning drop d with crispy high notes letting them linger there to enjoy ultimate less is more playing

[@wbwills2]

GRANDFATHER OF GRUNGE.the Aztecs would have loved his music

[@sirpancho]

nope....the commercial move of Pearl Jam, trying to find history, a lineage, did not added up soul to the lab produced label "grunge". Tha was just a promo to sell discs. You need to sell something, a movement, "something happening in Seattle" and generate then an audience....Neil is ove and above that

[@govertvandelaar8024]

Jan Akkerman said.NY sound like fly in a bag. Wrong a musical angel in this world.!

[@avefiggy2128]

the best

[@darrylstrudwick6542]

The beauty of man

[@gordonm7038]

I have gallons of Neil. He writes weird tunes but they make sense to a weird mind. Cortez is a real off the beaten track jag. Long may you run Winnipeg Wonder...

[@stevestringham1095]

got that right. heard it first on "live rust" many years ago...

[@Sparkeycarp]

Not just a weird mind.

[@renzoiarussi1315]

Inequivocabile e inarrivabile

[@josephmoreno8625]

I wish I could have seen neil, love his music

[@johnnsmith3784]

he's not dead mate. haha go see him

[@kirstenlogan5175]

2019 2020 2021 2022 ................. 💜

[@sololikethe90s7]

2023 2024 2025 2026 & Beyond

[@maxwellfan55]

All the comments here are warm and appreciative, rightly so, I especially like the one that reads 'nothing sounds like this now days'. So true, the art of great innovative songwriting seems to have become lost somewhere in packaging, mimicry and mediocrity compared to this. People are being fooled. When did you last hear anything as profoundly good as this with meaning as well as melody? One of NY best works and a fantastic acoustic arrangement. Also check out Gillian Welch Dave Rawlings version, guitarists will be looking for a harmonist to sing along!

[@henrikengsner]

maxwellfan55 i

[@MrStrider91]

Soo true, well said!

[@rouquettenicolas8690]

Réveil en douceur

[@sirpancho]

Does someone know where this outstanding performance was recorded...which gig/concert/session?

[@carlcruysberghs2298]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@JTSunriseMusic]

Imagine, the puffy shirt from Seinfeld and all. Beautiful 12 sting player

[@Mountainrock70]

I have a hunch Neil wrote this song on 12 string.

[@zacharygerber8352]

Does anyone know where this was recorded

[@thomasmcconnellogue5405]

Hamburg, Germany. 29th April 2003

[@jrh11254]

Anyone know where/when this was recorded?

[@ericmeacham9532]

Just inside the Pearly Gates , where the streets are paved with gold ✨

[@thomasmcconnellogue5405]

Hamburg, Germany, 2003

[@jrh11254]

@@thomasmcconnellogue5405 - thank you

[@roblogosz1]

when & where was this?

[@AppleLeib]

What are the rest of the lyrics that pickup about the 7:00 mark?

[@keltiawind21]

Is that another language he is singing in?

[@wearing7bells463]

no I will post lyrics as I've known them for many moons. Believe poster of this AWESOME vid did post lyrics for what was an will always be a Classic Neil Young Song. I'm older than 50 and freaking proud to be alive, never imagined it would be this way, am hearing each and every NY song I used to own. Stolen but Never Forgotten. Bless!

[@1091Floyd21]

Is this one or two guitars?

[@Sparkeycarp]

Two

[@marenkopsch9251]

Sure ? I think, it is one....

[@andreapolverini4466]

12 string guitar

[@1BDP2B]

God playing at his best!

[@Caperhere]

No lyrics?

[@marcomaddox]

Lyricks please

[@user-zk2mv8tw9e]

God's voice on a D18. This is not from this World.

[@1BDP2B]

Absolutely!

[@sharonbaird3764]

Agree ..

[@paan36ty]

Taylor 855-12 strings

[@randymcneil4321]

1000 percent agree . If there's a more,talented lyricist guitarist singer than mr. Neil young. It's not on this planet .And would bet my life it's not on any other one either !!!!!!!!!!!

[@itsthepainstupid1065]

It is absolutely one of favorite songs, but guitar solo? You mean like the one note guitar solo on Cinnamon Girl?

[@jimmypsychonaut9530]

:-)

[@christinekelley3620]

Maybe next time put details about the recording in the summary rather than a Wikipedia page.

[@gamingtime8091]

read on for a surprise lol u thought

[@aestheticsounds3676]

Read more

[@aestheticsounds3676]

Read more

[@gamingtime8091]

pp poopoo