Needle
and the
Damage Done


L Y R I C S

I caught you knockin'
at my cellar door
I love you, baby,
can I have some more
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.

hit the city and
I lost my band
I watched the needle
take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done.

The ‘Needle’ is a metaphor for a heroin shot.
Young's lyrics "I watched the needle
take another man," is very open-ended;
it could refer to the state of euphoria
obtained through the drug, or the physical
death as a result of overdoses of heroin.

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.

The needle also has a deeper meaning,
a record needle. Young sings this song
to show that he has seen the consequences
of fame in his friends. Berry was just a
roadie; he was not famous by any means.
However, he was always around famous people.
When Young sings “I sing the song because
I love the man. I know that some of you
don’t understand,” he says that he plays
music for himself and for his fans, rather
than for fame.

I've seen the needle
and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's
like a settin' sun.