Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s Best Protest Songs

Renowned for their songs depicting societal defiance and individuality, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s protest songs are vast and consistently strong. These three, however, hit a certain mark that best represents the ingeniously talented songwriters and their fight for freedom and courage in a time where productive counterculture was on the rise:

Ohio
Neil Young wrote “Ohio” in reaction to the 1970 Kent State shootings, when the Ohio National Guard shot at students protesting the American invasion of Cambodia. Four students were killed, and nine were wounded. “Ohio” received radio play not even three weeks after the shootings, as audiences found Young’s impassioned lyrics and swanky guitar accompaniments an apt way to shed light on the incident. As is often the case, the government was reluctant to admit wrongdoing on their end, so Young sang about what most of the youth was singing – more eloquently than most. “Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming, we’re finally on our own,” he sings feverishly to begin the song. “This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio.” Young was bold enough to blame President Nixon directly, and for many it was a relief to hear such a venerated artist expressing such sentiments in a time where opinionated governmental opinions were brushed aside as a product of youth. “It was the bravest thing I ever head,” David Crosby said in response to Young actually name-dropping Nixon. Now we call that sort of thing ballsy.

Teach Your Children
“Teach Your Children” is Graham Nash’s successful stab at capturing the grave impact of adult role models in a time where the media and government had a pivotal role in molding a child’s perception of war, sexuality, and independence. Nash was inspired to write the song from his own difficult relationship with his father, who spent time in prison. He wonders aloud how one’s upbringing molds their outlook on life, and life’s controversies. “You, who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by,” he sings, acknowledging that although everyone departs the nest eventually, the experiences there continue to thrive and influence. The song has a twangy hint of country that Nash attributes to Stephen Stills. “’Teach’ started out as a slightly funky English Folk song but Stephen (Stills) put a country beat to it and turned it into a hit record.” Although it may not technically be a protest song in the vein of “Ohio” or “Almost Cut My Hair”, “Teach Your Children” protests against narrow-minded parental figures who view it as an obligation rather than a privilege. And there have been few better lines than this one to describe the love that parents have for their children: “Teach your parents well, their children’s hell will slowly go by, and feed them on your dreams, the one they picks, the one you’ll know by.”

Almost Cut My Hair
If David Crosby’s sensual howl isn’t enough, the powerful lyrics of “Almost Cut My Hair” convey a time when any form of counterculture was under attack, particularly by those fearful of change. Off Crosby, Stills & Nashs second album, Déjà Vu, “Teach Your Children” and “Almost Cut My Hair” pack a powerful one-two punch that help establish one of the band’s best albums. It was certainly one of their most receptive of protesting. The track features a howling guitar that seemingly echoes Crosby’s voice, as he questions cutting his hair before deciding: “But I didn’t and I wonder why, I feel like letting my freak flag fly / And I feel like I owe it to someone.” Much of the fear among protestors and anyone with unconventional views is the threat of authority, particularly an unjust one intent on maintaining a faltering status quo. “You know, it increases my paranoia, like looking in my mirror and seeing a police car,” Crosby sings during the second verse, one of the most apt indicators of paranoia one could find. “Almost Cut My Hair” is an anthem for anyone courageous enough to defy societal norms, and risk backlash in the process.