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Needle and the Damage Done (WORD)
Needle and the Damage Done (PDF)
Needle and the Damage Done (alternate version for June 21)(WORD)
Needle and the Damage Done (alternate version for June 21)(PDF)
YOU CAN PLAY ALONG WITH THE FIRST VIDEO using the first songsheet posted. Be sure to play the D7 as indicated in the chord diagram.
Chris Hill will lead the group in this song at the June 2023 BUG Jam using the alternate version songsheet with the chords he likes to use when playing this song.
"The Needle and the Damage Done" previews the theme of the Tonight's the Night album that reflects Young's grief over the heroin overdose and death of both Whitten and Bruce Berry, a roadie for Young and Crazy Horse.
This song first appeared on the Harvest album in 1972. Rather than rerecording it, he selected a live version from January 1971 that had him singing and playing acoustic guitar. It appeared on the compilation albums Decade and Greatest Hits. On the handwritten liner notes included in Decade, Young had this to say about the song: "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men."