A cheerful little tune about humanity’s seemingly inevitable goal of self-extinction.
This was written for an EP we never got around to making called “Hello Young Lovers” to be comprised of songs not-yet-written by Neil Young (we went ahead and wrote some of them for him) for albums he will never record. “Four Degrees” would have been from the album “Heart of Gold II: The Golder Heart”; subtitled “After the After,” it would have been an answer song to “After the Gold Rush.”
For reference:
Here’s the full list of non-Neil Young non-albums:
LIST OF LEAST ESSENTIAL NEIL YOUNG RECORDINGS
1. “Neil Young Sings ‘Cha Cha Slide’ and Other Party Favorites”
2. “Out and About (We Canadians Love To Shout)”
3. “The Discourses of Brigham Young, as Read by Neil Young” (Namesake Series of Books on Tape)
4. “Archer Daniels Midland: Also Not So Great”
5. “There’s a Town in North New Brunswick, Too”
6. “Why I Think The Exorcist Could Never Actually Happen” (spoken word)
7. “A Ghost Is Born”
8. “Heart of Gold II: The Golder Heart”
9. “A Man Needs a Maid (This Gun’s for Hire)” (Arthur Baker 12-inch remix)
10. “Sleep Apnea Study: Raw Sound Files. Subject # N.Y.636”
11. “Ivanhoe”
12. “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone: A Tribute to Glass Tiger”
One of a small subset of songs I originally wrote on piano. Here’s an early demo, heavily influenced by the Kitty Lester version of “Love Letters”:
The Viper & His Famous Orchestra 