Neil Young Releases COVID-19 Inspired Music Video

A New Version Of His Song From 2019’s “Colorado”

Neil Young released a new version of his 2019 track “Shut It Down” from his 39th studio album “Colorado” with Crazy Horse.

Renamed as “Shut It Down 2020,” Young and his wife Daryl Hannah made a compelling music video to accompany it and it features various clips of what’s going on around the world amid the coronavirus crisis. Starting off with the band playing at Colorado’s Studio in the Clouds, there are scenes of frontliners working at the hospital, people wearing masks while walking outside, cities on lockdown, and deserted streets & highways.

In a statement posted on his Neil Young Archives website, Young shared that this was inspired by fans “reaching out to Young expressing the elevated poignancy the song has come to represent during this pandemic.” The video was also made to serve “as a document of Earth’s reaction to 2020’s pandemic.”

He added: “Ignore the actions of world leaders who are too vain to wear masks. They are not leading. Put your own vanity away for the good of your fellow man; wear a mask in public to stop the spread.”

Check out the new version below and let us know what you think.