Out on the Weekend

"Out on the Weekend" is a country ballad.[1] Music lecturer Ken Bielen describes it as an "easy-flowing pop song".[2] The Stray Gators provide the backing music.[3] Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes Ben Keith's playing on pedal steel to be a highlight of the song.[1] Young biographer David Downing describes his pedal steel playing as having a "blue-sky purity."[4] According to Greenwald, the music has a "searching, yearning melody that has the element of infinity and journey" that perfectly reflects the theme of the lyrics.[1] Sound on Sound editor Sam Inglis describes the mood of the song as being "one of resignation, perhaps even exhaustion."[3]

The song starts by describing a man getting away from the big city.[1] Although the singer is traveling, he is reflecting on his past with what Downing describes as being "full of joy he can't relate to, floating in a dreamy sort of sadness."[4] The lyrics then take on the theme of lovers who are lonely because they can't connect.[2] Music critic Nigel Williamson describes the lyrics as reflecting an "emotional ambivalence."[5] There is a contrast between comforting images such as a woman who is "so fine she is on [the singer's] mind" and "her big brass bed" and a "brand new day" against images of "a lonely boy" who "can't relate to joy" and is "so down today."[5][6]

Young recognized this contrast, stating "Even when I'm happy it sounds like I'm not and when I try to say I'm happy I try to disguise it."[5] About the boy who can't relate to joy Young stated that it "just means I'm so happy that I can't get it all out. But it doesn't sound happy. The way I wrote it sounds sad, like I tried to hide it."[5][6]

Young has stated that this song, as well as "Harvest" and "Heart of Gold" from the same album, were inspired by his then blossoming love for actress Carrie Snodgress.[7]

Bielen claims "Out on the Weekend" has a "catchy hook" and could have been a hit if it was released as a single.[2] According to music critic Johnny Rogan, the opening line of "Think I'll pack it in and buy a pickup" is one of Young's best expressions of "laid-back star-weariness."[6] Inglis describes it as "a relatively slight song" but acknowledges that it "exemplifies the finesse at the heart of the Harvest sound.[3] Inglis feels that combination of Young's "garage-band aesthetic" with "Nashville professionalism" "worked perfectly" on "Out on the Weekend."[3] On the other hand, in his initial review of the Harvest album, Rolling Stone Magazine critic John Mendelsohn criticized the Stray Gators' playing as a "flaccid imitation" of Young's other backing band of the period, Crazy Horse.[8]

Lady Gaga covered a verse from "Out on the Weekend" within her song "Fooled Me Again, Honest Eyes."[9][10]