Emmylou Harris is a songwriter and therefore studies poetry, prose and music. None of the media lives in isolation. Rather, they all coexist in the crucible of Emmylou Harris’ brain. Given this almost literary approach to music, Harris is naturally a fan of all the greats, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. However, there is one folk musician who has stolen her heart musically and that is Neil “Don Grungio” Young.

In the ’60s and ’70s, Young and Harris lived in the same genres and had the same fans. So it’s no surprise that Harris was a big fan of Neil Young. However, talking about her admiration for Young might be doing her “fan” a disservice, as she appears to be praising the man’s cross-generational songwriting skills.

Of many, Emmylou Harris puts one song above all else

Emmylou Harris praised Neil Young during her interview with the BBC’s Desert Island Discs Series. Given the title of the interview, one can hypothetically imagine how important this selection is to the artist who chose it. Still, Harris pretty quickly named Neil Young’s “Emperor of Wyoming” as a song she would bring.

Of Young, Harris said: “Here is an artist who is literally and figuratively one of the great voices of rock and roll, American music and world music, who, as he says, has never stopped following the muse . Everything flows into the music.” “Neil Young has always inspired me,” added Emmylou Harris.

Given their lyrical and musical similarities, it makes sense that Harris finds Young so inspiring. After all, they deal with the same theme that represents the social and naturalistic images of the more rural parts of the world. In the interview, Harris also said, “Neil Young has always been an artist that if I want to listen to something, I can just close my eyes and pick one of his records.”

It’s unclear what other Neil Young songs Emmylou Harris loves. However, given her incredibly generous comments, it seems like she has quite a long list of them. Young and Harris have shared the stage several times but have never written a song together. Even though and despite her older age, it is never too late. So let’s keep our fingers crossed because a lyrical collaboration between the two would be an intellectual meeting of some of the greatest musical minds.