Neon (song)
Encyclopedia
"Neon" is a song performed by John Mayer
John Mayer (musician)
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

 and written by Mayer and his former songwriting partner Clay Cook
Clay Cook
Douglas "Clay" Cook is a songwriter, producer and musician who co-wrote several songs with Grammy-winner John Mayer including "No Such Thing", "Comfortable", and "Neon"...

. The two wrote the song while they were known as LoFi Masters. The studio edition of the song appears as track five on Mayer's platinum album, Room for Squares
Room for Squares
Room for Squares is the debut studio album of American musician John Mayer, released September 18, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. Originally released independently through Aware Records on June 5, 2001, the album peaked at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart...

.

Versions

The song appeared twice in Mayer's initial indie EP, Inside Wants Out
Inside Wants Out
Inside Wants Out is the debut extended play and very first overall release by American blues rock musician John Mayer. Released by Mayer Music on September 24, 1999, the album was later re-released by Columbia Records on August 2, 2002 with the omission of "Neon 12:47 AM"...

, once simply under the title "Neon", which is a vocal acoustic version, and a second time as "Neon 12:47 AM" which is a live version with a full band as well as altered versions of "Neon" main riffs, but was notably much shorter than the first version. Mayer then re-recorded the song for his first full studio album, Room for Squares
Room for Squares
Room for Squares is the debut studio album of American musician John Mayer, released September 18, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. Originally released independently through Aware Records on June 5, 2001, the album peaked at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart...

, merging elements of the two EP versions (i.e., the length and lyrics of the first and full band from the second). The song has later appeared on three of Mayer's live albums; Any Given Thursday
Any Given Thursday
Any Given Thursday is a live CD/DVD by John Mayer, recorded in Birmingham, Alabama at the Oak Mountain Amphitheater on September 12, 2002, during the Room for Squares tour. The album quickly peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart...

, and returning to its acoustic form as a guitar and vocal duet between Mayer and David Ryan Harris
David Ryan Harris
David Ryan Harris is an Atlanta, Georgia based singer-songwriter. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Harris moved to Atlanta at a young age. Harris has had a varied career as a musician. He is married and has 4 sons: Miles, Life, River, and Truman.-Influences:...

 on the albums as/is and alone on Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles "Neon" remains one of only a few of Mayer's early songs which has been featured on many of his releases and is still included in his regular setlist after it was given a more acoustic and solo style revision as heard on Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles.
Starting as early as 2007, the Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band is an American country music, southern rock, and folk band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown , Jimmy De Martini , John Driskell Hopkins , Coy Bowles , Chris Fryar and Clay Cook...

 began covering this song at shows, before co-writer Clay Cook
Clay Cook
Douglas "Clay" Cook is a songwriter, producer and musician who co-wrote several songs with Grammy-winner John Mayer including "No Such Thing", "Comfortable", and "Neon"...

 even joined the band, and for a while it remained the only song in their set list that he had a hand in writing.

Guitar used on "Neon"

The guitar from the cover of Room for Squares
Room for Squares
Room for Squares is the debut studio album of American musician John Mayer, released September 18, 2001 on Columbia Records in the United States. Originally released independently through Aware Records on June 5, 2001, the album peaked at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart...

is a Novax Expression Solidbody 6 guitar with fanned frets (for multiscale purposes along different strings) and is the guitar which Mayer plays on "Neon". "Neon" is the only song from the album that Mayer used this guitar for, and he has the guitar tuned uniquely with the low E string dropped to C. The style employed by Mayer for the piece is noted for the strumming hand only using the thumb and index finger. Whilst performing the song live, Mayer is known to play a lengthy introduction before beginning the song.

Lyrics and Meaning

The song tells the story of a woman who is addicted to nightlife, clubbing, and (presumably) drugs. The song tells this story from the point of view of a man, probably her boyfriend. The man is torn between his fear that she will hurt herself and his wish that she be a free spirit and do what she please. His indecision leaves him completely powerless, and he resigns himself to letting her become increasingly distant and slip away from him.

External links

  • "Neon" lyrics at Yahoo! Music
    Yahoo! Music
    Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...



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