Singing Soft and Low

Stephen Stills wrote ‘Rock and Roll Woman’ and it came out on Buffalo Springfield’s second album Buffalo Springfield Again.  This song allegedly includes vocals by Crosby who was not in the band and he supposedly had a hand in writing this tune.  This song was a minor hit and it does not feature Neil Young, but after David Crosby got fired from the Byrds he sang the background vocals along with Stills and Richie Furay.  In this song, Stephen Stills pays tribute to a “Rock & Roll Woman” who epitomized cool hipness.  The lyrics were inspired by one of the biggest female rock superstars of the age, Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick.  The idea for the music came from jamming with David Crosby at his house.  Buffalo Springfield does some great “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba ra-pa-pa” harmonies on this song.

Buffalo Springfield got their name from a company that manufactured steamrollers when they noticed one doing local road repairs.  Neil Young said, “The name started as a joke, when we saw it on the side of a steamroller.  Me and Stephen and Van Dyke Parks were walkin’ along and we saw this Buffalo Springfield steamroller.  ‘What the fuck are we gonna call our group?’  Either me or Stephen said, ‘Buffalo Springfield!’ to which Dewey Martin replied, ‘Great man, a steamroller. Let’s go for it!’”

There’s a woman that you ought to know
And she’s coming, singing soft and low
Singing rock and roll, she’s a joy to know
‘Neath the shadow of a soothing hand
I am free there, just to make my plans
Dream of faraway lands, anything close at hand
And she will follow me wide, do you know
Familiar places she’s been by, that I know
Could it be, she don’t have to try
And tomorrow, she’s a friend of mine
And the sorrow, I see her face is lined
She’s no longer blind, she’s just hard to find

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie MM Music challenge For What It’s Worth.