I'm going to bring out my one-man band. I'm not very good at this. I just started playing the harmonica yesterday. You ain't heard nothing yet. It's a new song called I'm Searching for a Heart of Gold.
[from the first known performance of Heart of Gold on acoustic guitar and harmonica after previously playing it for a few weeks on piano as part of a medley with A Man Needs A Maid]
Neil Young
Macky Auditorium - University Of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
January 26, 1971
I stole the idea for "Heart Of Gold" from "Love Is Blue".
Neil Young
Muziekkrant Oor/Constant Meijers
September 25, 1974
This song put me put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there.
Neil Young
Decade liner notes
1977
Well, Ben and I we met back in 1970 - was it '69? - it snowed that year [it was 1971]. Twenty years ago we met. Ben was just in town. I was in Nashville - I was doing a TV show - I think it's the last TV show I ever did. I might have done some other ones. I'll probably do another one some day - the Dating Game - I think I'm going to be on that. Yeah - Wheel Of Fortune - maybe that will do it. Anyway, I ran into Ben and we recorded this song here. And I'd like to do this one for Roy [Orbison]. Here you go Roy. Roy always said that he didn't mind doing his hits because there was a time when he didn't have any hits. So he considered his hits to be real good friends of his.
Neil Young
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
January 11, 1989
Well Roy Orbison did interview before he died. The guy asked him, "Roy, don't you ever get tired of playing all your old hits?" Roy said, "No - I enjoy playing my old hits because there was a time when I never had a hit. All I wanted in the world was a hit. Just one hit." So Roy - this hit's for you.
Neil Young
Hult Center, Eugene, Oregon, USA
February 19, 1989
Speaking of old guitars, here another one. This one here [his Martin D-45] - this was brand new when I first played the Ryman - that was the Johnny Cash Show in 1970. When I was there I met up with James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. They were doing the show too. And I was on tour at the time. I'd just written a bunch of new songs for my next album. And I'd recorded a live album of it - of all the new songs - up in Toronto just a few of days before. And we thought we had a great live album. But that never came out because when I got down here I met Ben - my old friend Ben Keith. And I met up with some other players - Tim Drummond and the legendary Kenny Buttrey. And we got together and recorded some songs. This is one the first day we got together.
Neil Young
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
August 19, 2005
NY: I hope you like this next one.
Audience: We love 'em all!
NY: Oh, I've got something you don't like. I know I do. I'll find one.
Neil Young
United Palace, New York City, New York, USA
December 16, 2007