Neil Young And Bob Dylan Songs That They Mentioned Each Other

CSNY icon Neil Young and famous rock star Bob Dylan have been very close friends for fifty years. They always admired and praised each other’s skills as songwriters and musicians. While Bob Dylan has named Young one of his greatest influences throughout his musical career, Neil Young defined himself as a B student while comparing his talents to Dylan’s.

The duo performed concerts and went on tours many times, and enjoyed collaborating on different projects. Also, last year two legendary musicians released their studio albums on the same day. Both Dylan’s 39th studio album ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ and Young’s 40th album ‘Homegrown’ were released on June 19, 2020, but their fans believe this wasn’t the first coincidence.

Neil Young And Bob Dylan Used Each Other’s Names In Their Songs

Bob Dylan released his 30th studio album entitled ‘Time Out of Mind’ on September 30, 1997. In one of its tracks, ‘Highlands,’ he highlighted his friendship with Young and his remarkable talent by saying, ‘ I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound.’ A few years later, Young responded to Dylan’s kind words about him in his own way.

‘Bandit,’ featured in Neil Young’s 25th studio album, is based on hope and trying to get what you want. However, the lyrics also mention the name of the CSNY icon; ‘Bob Dylan said that.’ Young then mentioned Dylan in his 27th studio album’s song, ‘Flags of Freedom,’ while depicting people listening to Dylan’s singing performance.

‘Highlands’ lyrics read:

“Well, my heart’s in The Highlands / I can only get there one step at a time / I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound.”

‘Bandit’ lyrics read:

“No one can touch you now. / I can touch you now. / You’re invisible.

You’ve got too many secrets. / (Bob Dylan said that. / Or something like that).”

‘Flags of Freedom’ read as follows:

“Their bond is everlasting / Listening to Bob Dylan singin’ / In 1963 / Watchin’ the flags of freedom flying”

Consequently, Bob Dylan and Neil Young’s songs that mentioned each other’s names and praised their skills are solid proof of their everlasting friendship. Therefore, we can assume that they will continue to be friends and collaborate on their upcoming projects.

You can listen to the songs below.