The Neil Young song Roger Waters wishes he wrote

Pink Floyd may have been known for their psychedelic and exploratory approach to rock music, and while the troubled genius of Syd Barrett may have kick-started this direction in the earliest days of the band, it was certainly carried on by his bandmates as they continued to grow following his departure. As the band’s most prolific songwriter, bassist Roger Waters can be thanked for much of their most celebrated material and, as a consequence, is regarded as a hero in the progressive and psychedelic rock circles.

However, that doesn’t mean that everything that Waters was listening to himself was within the same realm, and, quite often, he was spending his time away from the band listening to the singer-songwriters of the era, such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and quietly taking cues from their approaches.

In fact, Waters would declare that it was a song by Young that he wished could have been one of his own, and while he’s got plenty of expansive epics that he can be proud of, the simplicity and pared-back nature of Young’s songwriting was something he had always admired. There are, of course, moments within Pink Floyd’s catalogue that are more acoustic, and it’s probably thanks in part to this appreciation of these artists.

There are plenty of other parallels to be drawn between Waters and Young’s music, most notably their shared political beliefs and staunchly anti-war stances within their lyrics. But while the former would often cover up his true meanings with some slight ambiguity, Young was more explicit in his messaging. Despite this intrinsically different approach, Waters was envious of the storyline that he crafted for his 1979 song, ‘Powderfinger’, and wished it were one of his own.

During a YouTube Q&A session with fans in 2023, he proclaimed that the track, which was originally released on the Rust Never Sleeps live album, was one that he “would have given my right arm to write”, and said that he was left at a loss for words from the moment he first heard the opening lines of the song. The narrative follows a man attempting to protect his family in the South from a boat that is firing at them, which is signified by the opening line: “Look out, mama, there’s a white boat comin’ up the river”.

As the song progresses, the narrator is forced to take matters into his own hands, taking his father’s rifle and retaliating against the shots being fired, before turning the weapon on himself in a tragic and gruesome end to the tale. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, and a heartwrenching tale that only someone like Young could possibly tell, but it still stuck with Waters from the moment he first heard it.

Surprisingly, the singer has never offered up his own rendition of the song in a live capacity, and perhaps it’s because he also fears he wouldn’t be able to do it justice; regardless, it’s a song that bowls him over every time he hears it.