For me this is Youngs most delectible ballad. It makes me shiver. Orchestral country is a seam which has not been mined enough. The spirit of the song will strike a deep resonance with anyone young enough to feel childlike wonder but old enough to feel regret.
The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for $350,000 in 1970. The song compares a young man\'s life to an old man\'s and shows that the young man has, to some extent, the same needs as the old one. James Taylor played six-string banjo (tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, and Linda Ronstadt also contributed vocals