In Nashville, Young resumed his sessions at Quadrafonic, and on December 2, 1974 [sic], came the ultimate ballad of failed romance: “Separate Ways.” The song begins in the middle of a doomy chord; Tim Mulligan lunged for the record button just as Young and the band dove into the song. Levon Helm rattles out a slow counterpoint as Ben Keith spins up a stark, bird-on-the-wire steel solo that has to be one of the lonesomest sounds ever recorded. “I won’t apologize / The light shone from in your eyes / It isn’t gone / And it will soon come back again,” sings Young, sounding dead. This was powerful, painfully sad stuff, and it was goodbye. Jimmy McDonough "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonough 2002