Helplessly Hoping

Album: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from the first Crosby, Stills & Nash album, "Helplessly Hoping" was written by Stephen Stills. It's a great example of alliteration, something he learned about in high school English class:

    Helplessly hoping
    Her harlequin hovers nearby


    Stills explained in the liner notes to their 1991 boxed set: "This song was inspired a long time ago by my 10th grade English teacher in Tampa, Florida. She was a real knockout, so much so that she got all the football players to stand up and read poetry, trying to impress her with how sensitive we were and how much we loved this awful stuff. Some of it must've rubbed off on me."
  • Neil Young, who was Stephen Stills' bandmate in Buffalo Springfield, contributed guitar to this track. Young joined the band for their next album, making them Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
  • This is one of the songs Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played at Woodstock, which was just their second gig. They didn't go on until 3 a.m. on the last day, hours before Jimi Hendrix closed out the festival in the morning.

Comments: 2

  • AnonymousIt was written By Joesph"Gold Hill" Richards with a co'-writer. Stills BOUGHT THE SONG and put his name on it! Common practice on the 60's and 70's. Joey played it for Judy Mahan immediately after writing it. Stills was visiting Mayhan when Joey played it for them.
  • Mark B. Stoned from Desperate Hot Springs, CaAnother amazingly beautiful song by Stephen Stills.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.