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.