Neil Young with Crazy Horse ----- Shut It Down 2020
Neil Young has released a new version of “Shut It Down” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The track, originally released off last year’s Colorado with Crazy Horse, has been renamed “Shut It Down 2020.”
Young and his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, made a striking new video to accompany the song. It features clips of the band at Colorado’s Studio in the Clouds — where they shot the Mountaintop documentary — interspersed with scenes of the world in crisis.
Healthcare workers are seen wearing masks and stacking boxes of medical supplies in England, as packed beaches in Florida flash across the screen. “People tryin’ to save this earth/from an ugly death,” Young warns. “Have to shut the whole system down/all around the planet.”
The “Shut It Down 2020” video was made “as a document of Earth’s reaction to 2020’s pandemic,” Young wrote on his Archives site. It was inspired by fans, who submitted letters to the site to express that the track has taken on a new meaning in this difficult time.
“Ignore the actions of world leaders who are too vain to wear masks,” Young wrote. “They are not leading. Putt your own vanity away for the good of your fellow man; wear a mask in public to stop the spread.”
Young has been aiding fans who are unable to see him live by posting vintage concerts and performing his excellent Fireside Sessions, taped at his home in Telluride, Colorado. His second show, released on March 26th, included a rare “On the Beach,” marking the fourth time he’s performed the song since 1975. A third set will be released in the coming weeks.
Have to shut the whole system down
Have to shut the whole system down
People tryin' to save this earth
From an ugly death
Have to shut the whole system down
People tryin' to live, working
In a world of meat factories
Have to shut the whole system down
All around the planet
There's a blindness that just can't see
Have to shut the whole system down
They're all wearing climate change
As cool as they can be
Have to shut the whole system down
Shut it down, shut it down
Shut it down, shut it down
Have to shut the whole system down
That's the only way we can all be free
Have to shut the whole system down
Start again and build it for eternity
Have to shut the whole system down
What about the animals?
What about the birds and bees?
Have to shut the whole system down
What about the bookshelves?
What about the history?
Have to shut the whole system down
Shut it down, shut it down
Shut it down, shut it down
Shut it down, shut it down
Shut it down, shut it down
Have to shut the whole system down
When I look at the future
I see hope for you and me
Have to shut the whole system down
Working, working for eternity
Work it now
Have to shut the whole system down
When I look at the future
I see hope for you and me
Have to shut the whole system down
Working for eternity
Gonna shut the whole system down
Got to shut the whole system down
Got to shut the whole system down