The Needle and the Damage Done

"The Needle and the Damage Done"
German "Old Man" / "The Needle and the Damage Done" single cover art
Single by Neil Young
from the album Harvest
A-side"Old Man"
ReleasedApril 17, 1972
RecordedJanuary 30, 1971
VenueRoyce Hall, UCLA
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length2:03
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)
Neil Young singles chronology
"Heart of Gold"
(1972)
"The Needle and the Damage Done"
(1972)
"War Song"
(1972)

"The Needle and the Damage Done" is a 1972 song by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die of an overdose the same year the song was released. The money that Whitten used to buy the drugs was provided by Young. The song would preview the theme of Young's 1975 album Tonight's the Night, which would reflect on the fatal heroin overdoses of Whitten and Bruce Berry, a roadie for Young and Crazy Horse.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Top 10 Neil Young Songs".
  2. ^ "Harvest". Discogs. February 1972. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  3. ^ "The Meaning Behind Neil Young's Devastating "The Needle and the Damage Done"". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tonight's the Night". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2024.