Explain this drug reference

[Skorpio]

so my friend and I were talking about the Neil Young song “The needle and the damage done,” and he was wondering what the line “milk blood to keep from running out” means.

It comes from this middle stanza.


I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk blood to keep from running out


My friend said he read that it referred to a practice of drawing a syringe of blood up after shooting up, to use later when you come down. That doesn’t sound right to me, as I would expect it to clot and be useless (also it probably would not contain a worthwhile amount of drug in the shot).

Generally stumped by this - any advice?

 

[chippermonk]

I would have thought just drawing blood in to the syringe to make sure you hit the vein ok, so you get a good hit and don't run out. It's sort of like milking your vein for blood, I guess

 

[Skorpio]

That makes sense- definately is something that is actually common.

 

[3DQSAR]

That makes sense- definately is something that is actually common.

I honestly have not come across the practice.

When you consider when the song was composed in 1971 (or earlier), H wasn't common and as I understand it, was mostly high-purity South East Asian provenance and could be snorted (it was the hydrochloride salt).

So while not directly stating it, the song writer might be telling us even more about the subjects than we know?

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Maybe donating blood for the money, not humanitarian reasons.
So the person could buy some more dope,
giving blood is in NL is of free will, no pay.
AFAIK.

 

[Quasimoto]

My guess is also a play on drawing blood before injecting, however with the "keep from running out" part referencing to practice and take caution, make sure you get it right, so your blood life doesn't run out (metaphor for death). I don't think the second part is referencing literally running out of heroin.

Blood has fairly consistently been used as a written metaphor for life, the living, the soul.

That's just how I interpreted it. I've never heard that song.

 

[foodcrisis]

i feel like it could be the thing the OP's friend was referring to and it's just a gross sounding urban legend like lsd gets stored in the spin.

i'm pretty sure neil young was into coke for a while, and then got clean. if i understand correctly he smoked weed, but didn't do lsd cause he had seizures or something and was worried about it... i'm guessing he wasn't into heroin, but i might be incorrect... with how he wasn't that into drugs, i'm thinking he might've just heard rumours about stuff junkies were doing and it ended up as a lyric.. who knows though.

 

[Jnowhere]

so my friend and I were talking about the Neil Young song “The needle and the damage done,” and he was wondering what the line “milk blood to keep from running out” means.

It comes from this middle stanza.


I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk blood to keep from running out


My friend said he read that it referred to a practice of drawing a syringe of blood up after shooting up, to use later when you come down. That doesn’t sound right to me, as I would expect it to clot and be useless (also it probably would not contain a worthwhile amount of drug in the shot).

Generally stumped by this - any advice?

Like mothers milk that sustained his junkie friend? That he needed to live like a baby and a mother's milk?

 

[Jnowhere]

My guess is also a play on drawing blood before injecting, however with the "keep from running out" part referencing to practice and take caution, make sure you get it right, so your blood life doesn't run out (metaphor for death). I don't think the second part is referencing literally running out of heroin.

Blood has fairly consistently been used as a written metaphor for life, the living, the soul.

That's just how I interpreted it. I've never heard that song.

How can you have not heard that,bro, it is a classic with Neil Young's winey little
voice.

I love how he and Carly Simon were like boycotting Spotify or something, like they have been relavent except one Neil Young song in the late eighties. Keep on Rocking in the free world. Is Neil special needs?

Also heroin was huge in America especially in NYC and Detroit, and other major cities and probably L.A. where Janis JoplinOD'd and Jim Morrison OD'D in Paris, same dumbass dealer who was a young French Noble Jet setter type who OD'D in Morocco or Algeria a year a two later and dated what's her name Mick Jagger's ex who was a singer and Pam Corson, Jim Morrison junkie girl friend who was the reason that alcoholic Jim Morrison was introduced to it by her and through him a self proclaimed dealer to the stars Count something. A piece of shit and a lousy dealer, you don't accidentally kill off your customers especially famous ones. He was young and stupid but had a connection and didn't cut it properly and until recently the French were really strict about drugs even though it was and is a major drug hub. Also never trust a French dealer, they will narc too save their own ass, and many do.

 

[Quasimoto]

How can you have not heard that,bro, it is a classic with Neil Young's winey little
voice.

It's before my time. I'm a millennial. My dad listened to him a lot, maybe that's why I never did...



I listen to Bob Dylan and other similar sounding classic rock artists a lot, but I've never intentionally played a Neil Young song.

Neil Young, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffet, and a few more, are all artists I intentionally don't listen to because it brings up bad memories of my father getting drunk in the back yard instead of giving me the tiniest speck of attention as a child.

/end therapy session

 

[Jnowhere]

It's before my time. I'm a millennial. My dad listened to him a lot, maybe that's why I never did...



I listen to Bob Dylan and other similar sounding classic rock artists a lot, but I've never intentionally played a Neil Young song.

Neil Young, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffet, and a few more, are all artists I intentionally don't listen to because it brings up bad memories of my father getting drunk in the back yard instead of giving me the tiniest speck of attention as a child.

/end therapy session

My, dad wasn't around he worked so much. I didn't mind I didn't like to be around grown ups. Then after high school I had contempt for anyone younger, they couldn't buy me beer, seriously if I can't get what I wanted, what use are they?

 

[Skorpio]

It's before my time. I'm a millennial. My dad listened to him a lot, maybe that's why I never did...



I listen to Bob Dylan and other similar sounding classic rock artists a lot, but I've never intentionally played a Neil Young song.

Neil Young, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffet, and a few more, are all artists I intentionally don't listen to because it brings up bad memories of my father getting drunk in the back yard instead of giving me the tiniest speck of attention as a child.

/end therapy session

Neil young is pretty good. Definately disliked him as a kid because my parents really played his folly stuff a lot, but he’s got some tunes that are really rockin (Cinnamon Girl, Waiting for You, The Loner, and Down by the River (more of a jamming out tune)).

I recall tripping in college and really connecting with some of those tunes.

 

[Skorpio]

i feel like it could be the thing the OP's friend was referring to and it's just a gross sounding urban legend like lsd gets stored in the spin.

i'm pretty sure neil young was into coke for a while, and then got clean. if i understand correctly he smoked weed, but didn't do lsd cause he had seizures or something and was worried about it... i'm guessing he wasn't into heroin, but i might be incorrect... with how he wasn't that into drugs, i'm thinking he might've just heard rumours about stuff junkies were doing and it ended up as a lyric.. who knows though.

That song and “Tonight” were written in tribute to one of his bandmates who OD’d. I don’t think think he was totally straight though, but I’ve heard stories that don’t really match up with the era (once was told he got pulled over in a Cadillac with a bunch of ketamine, and talked the cop away due to the cop liking the car, which doesn’t track with the era imo).

 

[Jnowhere]

Neil young is pretty good. Definately disliked him as a kid because my parents really played his folly stuff a lot, but he’s got some tunes that are really rockin (Cinnamon Girl, Waiting for You, The Loner, and Down by the River (more of a jamming out tune)).

I recall tripping in college and really connecting with some of those tunes.

Love classic and hard rock, some metal.
Forgot about cinnamon girl, down by the river and don't know others, I just don't like him as a person, not political, some people that I have never even met, just rub me the wrong way( figuratively speaking smart asses)

 

[Jnowhere]

That song and “Tonight” were written in tribute to one of his bandmates who OD’d. I don’t think think he was totally straight though, but I’ve heard stories that don’t really match up with the era (once was told he got pulled over in a Cadillac with a bunch of ketamine, and talked the cop away due to the cop liking the car, which doesn’t track with the era imo).

Depends on the car, are you American ( yes I know he is Canadian) but the real fame and money was in America and we had bad ass muscle cars. Europe had little sports cars that handled well, UK cool poorly built little slow ass 'sports cars' even Ferrari of the era could touch the baddest 65-70 corvettes, Shelby mustangs particularly 500 gt kr's and with four speeds and boss 429 and also boss 302 mustangs, big block Mopar especially the hemi's of the era. Couldn't handle curves or brake well but at a stop light even the 1964-1966? GTO Ferrari would only go 0-60mph in6.8 seconds. My car would waste that and it isn't a muscle or sports and new under 40k, more of a sporty family car, front wheel drive 0-60 mph in 5.2 or 5.3 seconds.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

i feel like it could be the thing the OP's friend was referring to and it's just a gross sounding urban legend like lsd gets stored in the spin.

i'm pretty sure neil young was into coke for a while, and then got clean. if i understand correctly he smoked weed, but didn't do lsd cause he had seizures or something and was worried about it... i'm guessing he wasn't into heroin, but i might be incorrect... with how he wasn't that into drugs, i'm thinking he might've just heard rumours about stuff junkies were doing and it ended up as a lyric.. who knows though.

He hated Heroin after first a good friend died and many followed.
He was not anti- drug, but had sense clearly. The song was part:
warning, part processing loss my guess.

Reminded me bout Lemmy who never did Heroin, but almost every other drug.
'Why, well because what fun bout using a drug you know makes people die !. '

 

[foodcrisis]

That song and “Tonight” were written in tribute to one of his bandmates who OD’d. I don’t think think he was totally straight though, but I’ve heard stories that don’t really match up with the era (once was told he got pulled over in a Cadillac with a bunch of ketamine, and talked the cop away due to the cop liking the car, which doesn’t track with the era imo).

i dunno. i just heard he didn't use lsd cause he was worried about seizures... pretty sure he was into coke for a while... i have the book shakey, but only skimmed through it. what i remember is a mix of that and rumours from the net. not even sure what is what at this point.