Songfacts®:

• This was one of two singles released off After The Gold Rush (the other was "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"). It has remained a regular live-performance staple and favorite among Young fans ever since, which is interesting because lyrically it contains none of the subtle poeticism that characterizes most of Young's writing. As Randy Newman puts it, "'When you dance, I can really love' - I mean, that's a stupid thing to say to a girl. It's really low-end IQ - it isn't above 100 - and Neil is not a low-IQ guy. He did it on purpose. That's funny."
• The unforgettable piano on the song is played by Jack Nitzsche. "That's a unique take," Young has said, "'cause that's the only take ever done in the studio by the Horse with Jack playing."
  
  Nitzsche was very skeptical about his piano role. Nils Lofgren described him as "a little looped, and not convinced he should be playing piano on this song. One minute he would be up for it and just love the music, the next it would 'I'm not gonna do it.'"
  
  He may have actually quit before getting the final record down, but Young continued pushing him.
• This is the last record, to Young's recollection, that Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten played on. "He wasn't lookin' too good at that point," Young said.
  
  Whitten was the central inspiration for "The Needle And The Damage Done" and one of the key inspirations for the Tonight's The Night album.
• According to Jimmy McDonough in Shakey, the band can be heard talking during the song's solo. His ears might be better than ours, but we can't discern it.