The soundtrack to the Tom-Hanks-gay-lawyer-with-AIDS film Philadelphia was notable for, among other things, two Oscar-nominated songs: Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” which won. (The film was directed by Jonathan Demme, the rock-friendly maestro behind Stop Making Sense and later, Neil Young: Heart of Gold.)
Hard as it is to believe, the Academy got it wrong. The Boss’ tune, while decent enough, sounds straight from the streets of Asbury Park. There isn’t an ounce of gay in it. Neil’s haunting, heartfelt piano ballad, however, perfectly captures the despair and loneliness Hanks’s character feels as his life slips away and those whom he has loved and trusted abandon him.
In the second verse, Neil brilliantly recontextualizes (take that, Webster’s) Philly’s motto, “City of Brotherly Love” to illuminate the chasm between the world as it is portrayed and the way it is in reality.
“Philadelphia” is one of Neil’s most beautiful songs, right up there with “After the Gold Rush” and “A Man Needs A Maid.” Among rock giants, Young is arguably second only to Paul McCartney in his ability to seemingly pull a beautiful melody out of thin air.
“Philadelphia” was a high point in Neil’s renaissance as a popular and creative artist after some very interesting but commercially dubious detours in the 80s (more about that later in the week). His resurgence began with Freedom in 1989 and included Harvest Moon, the Kurt Cobain requiem Sleeps with Angels and the Pearl Jam collaboration Mirror Ball.
Herewith, for your thought-provoking socially-conscious, empathetic listening pleasure is the soundtrack version of "Philadelphia" and Neil’s performance on the 1994 Academy Awards telecast.
MP3: Neil Young, "Philadelphia"
YouTube: "Philadelphia," 1994 Academy Awards
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