A cold snap enveloped much of the country this week, with large amounts of snow dropped on states that are unaccustomed to such precipitation like Louisiana, Texas and Florida. The Song of the Week, therefore, is a great 1973 deep cut from Neil Young called “Winterlong.”
The yearning country rock love song was first performed solo acoustic by Young in 1968 in a Michigan club and then recorded with his backing band Crazy Horse the next year, but it was never released. It was re-recorded in 1973 with Ben Keith’s pedal steel replacing the lead guitar work of Danny Whitten, who died the previous year. Young didn’t release that version until 1977, when his triple-album compilation Decade came out.
“I waited for you winterlong/You seemed to be where I belong/It’s all illusion anyway.”
The song became a fan favorite and was later covered by the Pixies as part of The Bridge, a 1989 tribute album to Young. Both versions are excellent and hopefully will help you warm up a bit.