Greendale cover art

  Studio Album · No. 26

Greendale Songwriting Credits by Neil Young

2003 10 tracks 78 min
RockFolk rockRock opera
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Neil Young carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Neil Young 0 tracksoutside writers
Neil Young's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
1
Lyricists
2
Producers
2003
Released
Data Insight

Greendale is a concept album written entirely by Neil Young, a ten-song rock opera that follows the fictional Green family in the imaginary California coastal town of Greendale. Recorded mostly live with Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina, the album traces a single storyline across long, loose tracks built on three central characters: Grandpa Green, the artist Sun Green, and the murderer Jesse Green, with themes of environmentalism, corruption, mass media, and small-town life running throughout. Young extended the project well beyond the record, directing an accompanying Super 8 feature film and mounting a full theatrical stage production that he took on the 2003 Greendale tour, where actors and singers acted out the narrative while the band played the album in sequence. The story was later adapted into a 2010 Vertigo graphic novel.

"Greendale" is a 2003 rock album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, structured as a ten-song musical novel set in a fictional California seaside town and following the Green family through stories of corruption, environmentalism, and media consolidation. Neil Young produced the album with filmmaker L.A. Johnson, backed by Crazy Horse members Ralph Molina on drums and Billy Talbot on bass, with Young handling guitar, organ, and harmonica and rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro absent. The record opens with "Falling from Above" and includes "Devil's Sidewalk," "Grandpa's Interview," and the closing "Be the Rain." Recorded between July and September 2002 at Young's Broken Arrow Ranch and released August 19, 2003 on Warner Bros., it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 2 in Belgium. A 2004 reissue added the documentary DVD "Inside Greendale," and critics compared the concept to Thornton Wilder's "Our Town."

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Falling from Above
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
2
Double E
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
3
Devil's Sidewalk
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
4
Leave the Driving
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
5
Carmichael
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
6
Bandit
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
7
Grandpa's Interview
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
8
Bringin' Down Dinner
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
9
Sun Green
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
10
Be the Rain
Neil Percival Young Neil Percival Young Neil YoungL.A. Johnson Neil Young (Lead Vocals, Guitar)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 3 contributors

NP
Neil Percival Young
Writer
On this album10 written
LJ
L.A. Johnson
Producer
On this album10 produced
NY
Neil Young
Producer · Vocals
On this album10 produced

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Frequently Asked Questions Greendale

When was Neil Young's Greendale released and who performed on it?
Greendale was released on August 19, 2003, on Reprise Records, credited to Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Young handled guitar, organ, harmonica and vocals, backed by longtime Crazy Horse members Billy Talbot on bass and Ralph Molina on drums, with backing vocals from the Mountainettes.
What is the story behind Neil Young's Greendale?
Greendale is a concept album that tells a continuous story about the fictional Green family in the imaginary town of Greendale, California. Across its ten songs it follows characters including Grandpa Green, his granddaughter Sun Green, and Jesse Green, touching on environmentalism, media consolidation, corruption and the rhythms of small-town American life.
Who wrote the songs on Greendale?
Neil Young wrote all ten songs on Greendale himself. It is one of his fully self-written concept works, with the lyrics and music tied together into a single narrative rather than a collection of unrelated tracks.
What happens in the song "Sun Green" on Greendale?
"Sun Green" introduces the album's young environmental activist, a granddaughter of the Green family who becomes the story's idealistic protester. The roughly twelve-minute track follows her awakening and protest against corporate power, and she became the emotional center of the album's later songs and stage show.
What is the song "Grandpa's Interview" about on Greendale?
"Grandpa's Interview" is the album's longest track at nearly thirteen minutes and depicts Grandpa Green confronting the media and outsiders who descend on Greendale after a killing in the family. It captures the record's themes of privacy, sensationalism and a small community overwhelmed by the press.
How does Greendale end?
Greendale closes with "Be the Rain," a nine-minute environmental rallying cry led by Sun Green that urges people to protect the planet and act for change. It functions as the album's call to action and the climax of the Green family's story.
Did Neil Young make a film and a stage show of Greendale?
Yes. Young directed a Super 8 feature film of Greendale, with cast members lip-syncing to the songs, and a feature-length DVD followed in 2004. He also staged the album as a full theatrical rock opera on the 2003 Greendale tour, where actors and singers performed the story onstage while the band played the record in order.
Were any singles released from Greendale?
Greendale did not produce a charting single. Tracks including "Sun Green" appeared in promotional form, but no song from the album reached the major singles charts; the record was conceived to be heard as a single continuous story rather than broken into hit singles.
How did Greendale chart for Neil Young?
Greendale reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It performed strongly in parts of Europe, peaking at number 2 in the Flanders region of Belgium and number 5 in countries including Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.
Why are the songs on Greendale so long?
Because Greendale is a narrative concept album, Young let many songs stretch out to develop the story and characters. Several tracks run past ten minutes, including "Carmichael," "Grandpa's Interview" and "Sun Green," giving the album a total running time of over 78 minutes.

Sources

Wikipedia: Greendale (album) Wikipedia - Return to Greendale (2003 tour and stage show) MusicBrainz - Greendale release group Cover Art Archive - Greendale front cover Cover Art Archive: Greendale by Neil Young