[regarding working at Coles Book store in Toronto in late 1965] NY: I was a stock boy. I wasn’t very together. I used to stay out late and come in in the morning … I wasn’t meant for that kind of life. NY: I remember sitting on the floor and writing “Clancy.” And for sure “Peggy Grover” and “Don’t Pity Me, Babe.” JM: Were you gaining an awareness that songs could be as complex as you wanted to make them? NY: Yeah. About the last eight months I was in Toronto. When I wrote “Clancy.” I thought it was pretty good. Because obviously there was so much to it. I knew it was long. JM: Did anything provoke “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing“? NY: I don’t know. It’s just a product of my life at that point. That’s all I can say. There was a lot on my mind. JM: What do you think you were trying to accomplish with that song? NY: I don’t know. Just writin’ a song. It’s so long ago. I don’t remember much about Clancy. I really don’t … except what he looked like, a little … He’s an incidental character who somehow had his name in it—no more important than all the characters that didn’t. Neil Young "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonough 2002