"I'm a million miles away from that helicopter day..."

This is from "Roll Another Number" by Neil, but I'm puzzled. Not having been at Woodstock or lived through it all in the US, I'm maybe missing something. I'd always thought that Neil and Hendrix flew there in a helicopter to perform. But no, it seems, they went there in a light airplane and that it landed at the wrong airfield, so the helicopter that was supposed to meet them and take them to Woodstock wasn't there. It seems that they "borrowed" a pick-up truck with the connivence of some lawyer they were with and got there that way, otherwise they wouldn't have made it. So now I know. It's a great story, but if this really were the case, why would he write that line about "that helicopter day" so many years later?

Perhaps he was reminded of the experience while writing this song. It's about getting high which is also what is known for occuring at Woodstock. It sounds like it was memorable and he's talking about it being long ago. Sounds like he's just looking back.

or did I misunderstand your question?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jusork,

Yes, I agree, but my question was specifically to the helicopter reference.

"I'm not goin' back
to Woodstock for a while,
Though I long to hear
that lonesome hippie smile.
I'm a million miles away
from that helicopter day
No, I don't believe
I'll be goin' back that way."


In addition to the drugs thing and the implied declaration that he's taking his music on and away from the Woodstock experience these days instead of resting on his laurels and rewriting Harvest, I always took the helicopter reference solely at face value, i.e. the day he and Hendrix flew in to play at Woodstock. But now I learn that they actually used a light plane and a pick-up truck and not a helicopter after all,which was the story that went the rounds at the time. Is "that helicopter day" purely figurative then (i.e. getting high on marijuana). It's a nice image, but it really does seem too much of a coincidence. Unless he means that everyone else was flying in by helicopter because the roads were so jammed because tso many people were going to Woodstock...
Sorry to go on at such length about something probably no one else in the world is wondering about, but every time I hear the song these days, I ask myself the question...

Oh I see. Why would he refer to it as 'that helicopter day' if he was never around a helicopter. Maybe he's saying he's a million miles away from the helicopters that brought the others in?

Hmm, maybe it's like refering to it as the mistake. Instead of saying the helicopter mistake, its helicopter day. Eh, I don't know.

Wish I could answer this one, as it is interesting. My first thought would be that he is not the same person who was waiting for that helicopter on that day.

I found it interesting that one of the other groups on the bill on the same day as Young was Ten Years After, and they sang their song "I'm Going Home" as "I'm Going Home, By Helicopter". Maybe it had more to do with all the helicopters in and around by the end of the festival. Supplies had to be choppered in and some medical emergencies were choppered out.

Anyhow... awesome question.

I think Dog may have nailed it...

quote:

Maybe it had more to do with all the helicopters in and around by the end of the festival. Supplies had to be choppered in and some medical emergencies were choppered out.

I was not yet a year old when the festival happened, but a number of my mom's friends and literally dozens of my co-workers have told me about their memories of that weekend and almost all have mentioned the helicopters.
We have to remember that, at that moment in time, helicopters figured prominantly in the military operations in Vietnam and so hearing choppers had great emotional impact, especially if one happened to be among those opposed to the whole mess.... and that it was not just the audience indulging in... uhm... better living through chemistry... half the performers were trippin' hard and there's really no telling what their perceptions were as those helicopters circled the concert site.