Homegrown

Album: American Stars 'N Bars (1977)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This short acoustic track is a double entendre; Young's biographer Johnny Rogan described it tactfully as a tribute to "rural farmers and those members of Young's audience who prefer to cultivate their own weed." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • "Homegrown" is about marijuana. Young makes little attempt to beat around the bush about this (pun intended).

    Homegrown is a good thing
    Plant that bell and let it ring


    Since at least the 1960s, "home grown" is common parlance for weed that a person grows and harvests at home (or on land they own).
  • The song is the title track of an album Young recorded in 1974 and 1975 in the midst of parting ways with Carrie Snodgress, the mother of his first child. Young later likened the experience to making a record in the middle of war-time Vietnam. It was so painful that he didn't release the album until 2020, nearly 50 years after recording it.

    Along with "We Don't Smoke it No More," "Homegrown" is one of two songs on the album that have nothing to do with Young's breakup with actress Snodgress; both songs unambiguously deal with marijuana. Nearly every song on the album is marked by Young's feelings of love, loss, and pain regarding Snodgress. "Homegrown" and "We Don't Smoke it No More" are the exceptions.
  • Young recorded another version of the song in November 1975 that he released as the last track on the 1977 album American Stars 'n Bars. This version was recorded with Crazy Horse and is much more aggressive than the original Homegrown version. At 2:20, it's the shortest song on the album.
  • American Stars 'N Bars was released in favor of the shelved and more musically eclectic Chrome Dreams. While the record never saw release, Neil eventually put out a spiritual successor to it, 2007's Chrome Dreams II.

Comments: 3

  • Tom from Los Angeles, CaOne of those hidden gems of tossed-off genius from Canada's great idiot savant. There's no double entendre and it's not acoustic, so those are interesting or interestin song facts. I always went back and forth between bell/ring and pill/rain when he says "plant that ______" and let it _________. If this song didn't have such pace and brevity it would rival "Willin'" as a druggie anthem.
  • Andy from Glen Burnie, Mdacoustic track? er, uh, OK...in the key of A? THAT was a surprise--great clip though
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaGotta love this. I remember when I heard this on the radio in '76. Very f--king cool...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."