"Don't Let It Bring You Down" is the seventh track on Neil Young's album After the Gold Rush. It was written by Young. It also appears on the 1971 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young live album 4 Way Street as well as Young's 2007 album Live at Massey Hall 1971, which was recorded in 1971, and Young's 2013 album Live at the Cellar Door, which was recorded in 1970. John Reed wrote an arrangement of this for The Hampton String Quartet in 2006.
The song is played in double drop C tuning, which is similar to double drop D; however, the whole guitar is down tuned a whole step first, making the guitar strings C, G, C, F, A, and C.
Lyrics
Old man lying
By the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by
Blue moon sinking
From the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky
Cold wind ripping
Down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper flies
Dead man lying
By the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Blind man running
Through the light
Of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down
To the river of sight
And you can really understand
Red lights flashing
Through the window
In the rain
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying
In a gutter in the lane
If you're walking home alone
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around
