Having been a freshman at Kent State in 69-70, of course we were all in a state of shock afterwards. My roommate's girlfriend was killed. It really boosted my spirit and determination when I heard, "Ohio."
thoughts are with you sir. as a child of the 90s who's fully entrenched in the plight of the modern era, i can say with full confidence that Ohio, and more importantly the horrors it spawned from, remain a core motivation for us today.
An amazing account of what happened at Kent State University by Graham Nash. Even after all these years those of us who were younger then have not forgotten. Hopefully none of us ever will.
The scariest aspect of those murders was that a National Guard commander threatened to kill more students if the survivors did not disperse. Later a poll showed that 57% of those Americans polled thought the National Guard actions that day, May 4, 1970 were justified. I learned that day @ 17 and know today at 71 this country is still at war with itself. 😊
I was in a little town called Ansonia Ohio. The day the whole Junior High and High school walked out of class in protest. That is the first time I had an opinion on the war and my parents didn't like it.
I was not even a teenager when Kent State happened. I will NEVER forget the picture he's referring to. I'll never forget this song; either.. Blessed be to all of us who dreamed of peace in the midst of such monstrous death and destruction...
I was 8 when it happened but I remember it like yesterday. I live about 30 miles from Kent State. The story and horror of it were everywhere in this area. It still haunts to this day. Governor Rhodes should have been prosecuted.
I was only 5, so I don't remember when it happened. However in 1980/82 I got heavily into researching the 1960s and 70s courtesy of a most excellent collection of TIME magazines in my High School Libary! I was quite smart so whenever I had a study class (or any spare time at all), off I would go to the library to pick up the next issue. In this way I taught myself the history of North America in the mid to late 20th century! Kids today gave no idea how lucky they ate to have information so easily available! Back then it was like putting pieces of a complex puzzle together, that only I was making, alone! Thus Kent State. Altamont. Woodstock, Martin Luther King Jr, The 1968 Chicago Democrat Convention, JFK Assassination, The Weather Underground, The Black Panthers. Patty Hearst etc etc etc.....all are almost as if I remember them...
@@williamzinser2378 8th grade. Heard about it on the radio on the school bus going home. I knew then that I would never feel safe around anyone in a uniform again.
Yes, I was a junior in college in California when the news came out and soon thereafter the song. It still brings tears to my eyes today in 2023. It was the essence of the protest from there on.
I knew the guy who took that Picture and the Pulitzer ....his parents were tenants in my Father's commercial building for several years as a Pittsburgh Paints Store considering the PPG plant was local. Their son was the ONE and he was working at the Local News Paper with a little help and mentoring....and went to Kent State...and it is what it is. Very Surreal..... Later in life I had a conversation with a local Bass player of notoriety with a Famous Pittsburgh Band here locally....and our conversation was that he was just off camera and THERE when it happened......coming full circle in my life and things that cross my path.....But VERY SURREAL
"The kids were angry *now*. We wanted to speak and scream about this *now*. We wanted to put the record out on top of our other record. We killed it stone dead and we didn't care." Now that's principle.
@@kevintaylor791 Empathy, civility, morality, simple humanity have always been a minority, and have always been seen as an obstacle to be overcome by the empowered.
I will never forget Kent State and the lessons it taught me about American politics, politicians, the military, and the "morality" of "the American way". I suspect they're going to try it with today's young; let's not allow it again.
I remember Kent State. I was a teenager and now with the current protests, I'm just afraid some students are going to lose their lives again in the same way. Netanyahu has a lot to answer for!!!!!
David, you've done it again. A superb capture of this story about this song "Ohio". I'd just listened to it, and then came to this stunning footage. Many thanks; a fine addition to your other film footage.
Thank you Antoine for your comment. Please consider joining the David Hoffman UA-cam Community to receive daily photo posts and monthly entertaining and provocative Livestreams. Click the join button on my channel homepage - upper right corner. David Hoffman Filmmaker
It's something you'll never see today! An artist that will forsake money and a number one hit single to send a message...an important message, and all consequences be damned!! God bless Neil Young for writing this song and God bless Crosby Stills and Nash for helping him perform it!!!
@@goldwing7714 It was simple. Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam war and killed four of them. Doesn't have anything to do with some other riot that you would want to connect somehow and we'd like to see some proof and evidence that those four students were arrested and charged for rioting.
@@goldwing7714 The dead boy was not even part of the protest he was walking to class, the guardsmen shot OVER the people that were 75 feet away, they were not intending to kill anyone, but a Garand rifle is deadly up to 800 yards. Sad day in America. The real story behind this incident was not told until many years later, the optics of the photo shaped the attitudes and thoughts of many Americans.
true, but what's even more incredible is that the management of Atlantic Records agreed with CSNY and also willingly cut into its own profits to put the record out early and kill off Teach Your Children. that would definitely not happen today in the recording industry.
I consider myself generally not one to outwardly express emotion, but the live in Massey hall version of the song nearly ( or has in the past) brought me to tears. I’m only in my twenties as well , I have no historical connection to the song. Neil Young is a masterful songwriter
@@DJKinney Then yes murdered will & does fit. Remember two of the students were just out of a class & walking to another class when they were gunned down by shots fired by the national guard. If that's not murder then you can give up & offer up your son or daughter to be executed by the government & military.
I love this interview so much. It still hurts and makes me angry to this day about what happened in Ohio. CSNY were brilliant and selfless beyond words.
Arthur Soria, you are so right about the tragedy at ksu. I live in NE Ohio and the national guard or the university has in my opinion never apologized for it. Shame on them. The four who were killed, I have heard, were just walking to class.
Back in a time when musicians had the balls to speak out against the madness. They let Teach your Children die on the vine while Ohio was ingrained into the american consciousness. Back in a time when artists wrote great songs and made political statements. The good old days.
I cannot hear Ohio and not get choked up. I was in college at Ohio Univ then. We were shut down after the murders at Kent State. The same guardsmen took up positions in our small college town.. war was declared against us
The morning of the killings was the last time I said the Pledge of Allegiance in my life. I knew "liberty and justice for all" was a cruel joke for the dead students and for me as a gay boy in that era, so the next morning in homeroom I stood silently, as I did every morning until I graduated high school two years later. Amazingly, none of my homeroom teachers questioned my abstaining from the morning ritual.
This is amazing to see. Thank you for uploading all of these videos. I’m enjoying going through them... there’s something so special about hearing history through the mouths of those who lived it. Gives me goosebumps every time ❤️
I was 15. It was so shocking and tragic to think of the National Guard against students/protesters. I remember seeing the daily death toll on the evening news telling us how many soldiers were killed in Vietnam. Remember the protests at the White House, "Hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" As an adult, I've often thought no brutal that was for Pres. Johnson's kids to hear. After all, he didn't start the war. They were tough times and it was the young people who had to step up and force their elders to see the changing world through their eyes. Just like today...
I was 15. It was so shocking and tragic to think of the National Guard against students/protesters. I remember seeing the daily death toll on the evening news telling us how many soldiers were killed in Vietnam. Remember the protests at the White House, "Hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" As an adult, I've often thought no brutal that was for Pres. Johnson's kids to hear. After all, he didn't start the war. They were tough times and it was the young people who had to step up and force their elders to see the changing world through their eyes. Just like today...
it is one of my candidates for 'most important popular song ever recorded'. it sounds great and it just could not be more poignant and relevant to its subject matter. who is doing a song, like this, for Ukraine?
3 of the dead students were not even protesting they were walking on campus after a class SO HORRIFIC I still have FLASHBACKS about the news in the 60's & 70's
And the protesters were not Kent state students. They targeted Kent state specifically to rile people up. Remember there are always two sides to every story.
@@hknisley2000 Do tell us the other side of the Holocaust next, will you, please? And you're dead wrong about the protesters; certainly there were "outsiders" in the crowd, but the majority were KS students and faculty. To those of you who happen to see this, I recommend you seek out John "Derf" Backderf's graphic novel: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derf_Backderf#Kent_State:_Four_Dead_in_Ohio
David Hoffman, I have to ask you a question about your interviewing style. Do you prefer to leave out the footage of your questions to the subject(s) from the final production, so that the viewer sees and hears only the subject's answers?
Hello Gregory. Most often, I prefer to leave in my questions and when I am asking the questions, I am aware that I am going to be leaving the question in so I ask it in such a way that the viewer can see what provoked the response but in these videos from interviews done in 1989, I did not expect my questions to be included and very often they are long-winded and irrelevant to the experience you and others are having watching individuals from this time. David Hoffman-filmmaker
Always enjoy listening to interviews by Graham Nash he and John Sebastian has always spoken well of the late Cass Elliot and miss her to this day. Would love to hear more from Graham Nash and John Sebastian. Thanks David Hoffman. The names below are the 4 college students who lost their lives at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 Jeffrey Glenn Miller March 28, 1950 - May 4, 1970 Allison B. Krause April 23, 1951 - May 4, 1970 William Knox Schroeder July 20, 1950 - May 4, 1970 Sandra Lee Scheuer August 11, 1949 - May 4, 1970
And now America at War is as American as apple pie. What have we become? If you ever think they won't arrange your meeting with God, just remember this, and Waco, and Ruby Ridge, Bryan Malinowski...
In today's day's of protesting the Israel / Gaza conflict, I continue to remember the words and songs of Ohio, and hope that the response to protests never escalate to that level. I hope never to witness something like that again in my lifetime.
Just for the record..Crosby went even further. He identified and NAMED one of the guards who shot and murdered at Kent State. Crosby said the guard said "he never fired his gun" except it was proven he had indeed fired his gun, more than once and murdered two people. That person was never charged with anything.
What bothers me is the lack of accountability to this day, which I interpret as a coverup by all responsible and involved. Today every time a unarmed citizen is killed by the police, they repeat "Never Again". That is the new song.
The iconic photo (although altered) of 14 year old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio standing over Jeffrey Miller’s body, won a Pulitzer Prize. 28 National Guardsman shot 67 rounds in 13 second, resulting in 4 dead and 9 wounded.
Ohio has become my anthem. I was there that day, tear gassed, and ran up the hill to avoid the gunfire that mowed down 13 students (4 dead, 9 wounded). My mother was mistakenly told by my dorm mates that I was dead. They mistook my name (Ande) for Sandy's. Allison's room was directly above mine. I made it back, she didn't.
Yeah, well a big message that i picked up at that time, and since - is to live in the moment. And so, it is evidence to the ongoing reasonableness of that perspective to learn the story of how Neil Young composed "Ohio" as he heard of the shootings. Music is a pure art, in the practice of its inspiration. The song, "Ohio" as Graham Nash describes as a fellow band mate of Neil's, along with "Find the Cost of Freedom", were a creatively effective response influential in protests that helped to end the war in Viet Nam. But in my mind what makes it most powerful is the direct manifestation of the human condition in response to a moment of importance and meaning. Variously described as loss-of-self, or 'inspiration'. But ultimately describable in that sense only from a distance. Just as Wittgenstein wrote at the end of the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." But a song is given in the moment.
"What if you knew her And found her dead on the ground" theres a BIG MISTAKE HERE,,,,,,,,,it should also include a male improvisiton as i write below "What if you knew HIM/S And found HIM/S dead on the ground" because there was 2 females and 2 males shot dead
I believe that Vietnam was a big reason for the dumbing of American citizens and students because of the protests about the war. Politicians can control the under and uneducated easier
Side note. I prefer the 4 Way Street version. It just rocks. Sides 3 and 4 of that album is pure rock gold. Wasn't around when Kent State happened, b. 1975. But I've always been fascinated by the 1965-73 period...LBJ, Tonkin, Nixon, Vietnam, Space Program, McNamara, Paris meetings, Pentagon Papers...all of it.
ua-cam.com/video/Aoo3dk1_8LY/v-deo.htmlsi=-th7_R6RsnAuBGhl (11:00) -- *"Ohio" -- Isley Brothers version. But of course major respect goes to Neil Young for writing the original & CSNY for first performing it* .
I will never forget picking up that magazine maybe the same time Neil did, the image burned into my "young" brain in a way that I will Never be able to erase! At that time I (we) couldn't understand how or why this would happen in the "land of the free". A few years later, our garage band in Burbank would play the same song in the same spirit. (remember guys, Steve, Ken, Rick, yeah, you?) Now, Americans are killing Americans on their own soil. Think about that!
When I was finishing high scool in 1968 I applied to three colleges. One of them was Kent State University but I chose one of the other schools. As it turned out, I dropped out of college after my freshman year and joined the Air Force. At the time of the Kent State shootings, I was in Air Force training at Keesler AFB in Biloxi MS. I had a sobering reality check that had I chosen to attend Kent State, I would have been a sophomore and could have become a fatality.
I was at Princeton for the student strike. Monday, Jerry Rubin got on stage and told us that kids had been killed in Ohio. We went back to NYC expecting the revolution to begin. Instead most Americans thought it was a good thing. I left for Europe 6 months later.
If it were todays musician, they would have bothered cos money comes first and killing their own songs isnt going to of interest to them...thats the last thing they want to do. Respect to CSNY for putting national interest first above money.
& it was begun by the MURDERER EISENHOWER in '54------whose speech in '61 warning of the 'military industrialism complex' he began; HYPROCRITE and MURDERER !!!
I have heard people say that Neil was using a tragedy to float a hit for himself. That wasnt true at all. CSNY honestly were angry about the murder of children. " Ohio" is a more violent expression of the lovely and gentle sentiments in " Teach Your Children". I didnt realize the new release overpowered " Teach Your Children". While "Ohio" is my favorite song of Neil's, TYC is my favorite post- Hollies song of Graham's.
*The war in Ukraine is a U.S.-provoked proxy war using Ukrainians as the cannon fodder. It's Americans who should also stand up against the U.S. arming & paying 100's of billions of dollars for that war to keep it going too* !
There are many meanings and meaningful interpretations of this song - that's what makes it a great song, there's something for everyone. It just depends on your outlook and experiences; and what youre feeling in the moment. There is definitely a religious component, and the litteral losing of religion, and the figurative sense. This is a song of love and loss. Of longing for another, but also the longing for wanting to be longed for by another. Of love that is freely given, but not returned. Of being in, and falling out of love. Forsaking what you once championed. There are references to science and religion, and even an allusion to the story "The very old man with enormous wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Theres more, but thisnis YT😂
You are right on, AS. Was 17 when this happened; so angry, went home and paced my back yard, dog thought I was crazy. ToDaY 2024- we BOOMERS, The PROTEST GeneratioN!-Need our SPIRIT as ever before!!! RISE UP BOOMERS!!! & Destroy the enemy
For some reason, it bugs me to hear British people speak about American government issues... but then I remember that Graham Nash has been an American citizen for longer than I’ve been alive, therefore longer than me... I’m an idiot
It was a sad day indeed. What I'll never understand is how the students of that generation (my generation), turned into supporters of the current state of affairs with the rise of nationalism, authoritarianism and racism.
Do you have any evidence to support that fact? You do realize that not everyone in my generation was on the same side as me. A hunk of our generation went to be Vietnam and another hunk of our generation didn’t like us much. I would say by the time of events moved on the majority of those, like me we’re fighting against war racism, and imperialism all kinds.
George Floyd was murdered by police 50 years and 3 weeks after the Kent State Shooting. The Bigger Picture by Lil Baby is the modern equivalent of this song being released as a response 2.5 weeks after the murder. Although I'm sure many of you don't appreciate rap & hip-hop, I hope that you at least read the lyrics and understand the significance that rap & hip-hop still maintain as the pop culture epicenter of this movement. David, if you ever read this, I hope you listen to this song and I'd love to see you sit down with the artist, Lil Baby. Although he is very different than the majority of your films, I think your diverse backgrounds and your interviewing skill will create a uniquely beautiful film.
Having been a freshman at Kent State in 69-70, of course we were all in a state of shock afterwards. My roommate's girlfriend was killed. It really boosted my spirit and determination when I heard, "Ohio."
thoughts are with you sir. as a child of the 90s who's fully entrenched in the plight of the modern era, i can say with full confidence that Ohio, and more importantly the horrors it spawned from, remain a core motivation for us today.
An amazing account of what happened at Kent State University by Graham Nash. Even after all these years those of us who were younger then have not forgotten. Hopefully none of us ever will.
The scariest aspect of those murders was that a National Guard commander threatened to kill more students if the survivors did not disperse. Later a poll showed that 57% of those Americans polled thought the National Guard actions that day, May 4, 1970 were justified. I learned that day @ 17 and know today at 71 this country is still at war with itself. 😊
I was in a little town called Ansonia Ohio. The day the whole Junior High and High school walked out of class in protest. That is the first time I had an opinion on the war and my parents didn't like it.
I was not even a teenager when Kent State happened. I will NEVER forget the picture he's referring to. I'll never forget this song; either.. Blessed be to all of us who dreamed of peace in the midst of such monstrous death and destruction...
And here we are.. [again]...
R.I.P. David Crosby... A brilliant, creative soul that dreamed of a better world where we could all live in peace🥺
I was 8 when it happened but I remember it like yesterday. I live about 30 miles from Kent State. The story and horror of it were everywhere in this area. It still haunts to this day. Governor Rhodes should have been prosecuted.
I was only 5, so I don't remember when it happened. However in 1980/82 I got heavily into researching the 1960s and 70s courtesy of a most excellent collection of TIME magazines in my High School Libary! I was quite smart so whenever I had a study class (or any spare time at all), off I would go to the library to pick up the next issue.
In this way I taught myself the history of North America in the mid to late 20th century!
Kids today gave no idea how lucky they ate to have information so easily available! Back then it was like putting pieces of a complex puzzle together, that only I was making, alone!
Thus Kent State. Altamont. Woodstock, Martin Luther King Jr, The 1968 Chicago Democrat Convention, JFK Assassination, The Weather Underground, The Black Panthers. Patty Hearst etc etc etc.....all are almost as if I remember them...
These guys were the voice of a generation. There is not a song of theirs that I hear today that doesn’t bring me to tears.
I've got tears in my eyes now. I remember when it happened, 11th grade. Found out about it in class from our physics teacher, Mr. Fowler.
@@williamzinser2378 8th grade. Heard about it on the radio on the school bus going home. I knew then that I would never feel safe around anyone in a uniform again.
Yes, I was a junior in college in California when the news came out and soon thereafter the song. It still brings tears to my eyes today in 2023. It was the essence of the protest from there on.
I was named Krosby after David. I'm only 32 and I absolutely love these guys!!!!
More than rock and rollers
I knew the guy who took that Picture and the Pulitzer ....his parents were tenants in my Father's commercial building for several years as a Pittsburgh Paints Store considering the PPG plant was local. Their son was the ONE and he was working at the Local News Paper with a little help and mentoring....and went to Kent State...and it is what it is. Very Surreal.....
Later in life I had a conversation with a local Bass player of notoriety with a Famous Pittsburgh Band here locally....and our conversation was that he was just off camera and THERE when it happened......coming full circle in my life and things that cross my path.....But VERY SURREAL
We need this spirit again now.
It's back with a bang...and hopefully this time change is also made...
The names of the 4 students killed at Kent State should be included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
"The kids were angry *now*. We wanted to speak and scream about this *now*. We wanted to put the record out on top of our other record. We killed it stone dead and we didn't care."
Now that's principle.
Those same (formerly) angry kids are now supporting politicians who drop bombs on poor countries.
Apparently only the squares survived the 80's.
@@kevintaylor791 that's what I'm saying where did all the chill people from the 70s go?
Also good business. Ohio was a bigger hit than reach your children. It’s lucrative to capitalize on tragedy and controversy.
@@kevintaylor791 Empathy, civility, morality, simple humanity have always been a minority, and have always been seen as an obstacle to be overcome by the empowered.
The likes of which you would not see among artists today.
One of the few protest songs that actually did make a difference. 👍
Also a great sounding song. Masterpiece
One of the best songs by one of the greatest bands ever. This song still makes me cry.
I will never forget Kent State and the lessons it taught me about American politics, politicians, the military, and the "morality" of "the American way". I suspect they're going to try it with today's young; let's not allow it again.
I remember Kent State. I was a teenager and now with the current protests, I'm just afraid some students are going to lose their lives again in the same way. Netanyahu has a lot to answer for!!!!!
David, you've done it again. A superb capture of this story about this song "Ohio". I'd just listened to it, and then came to this stunning footage. Many thanks; a fine addition to your other film footage.
Thank you Antoine for your comment. Please consider joining the David Hoffman UA-cam Community to receive daily photo posts and monthly entertaining and provocative Livestreams. Click the join button on my channel homepage - upper right corner.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
This video is pretty good. I just wish they could have zoomed into his face more.
Even to this day such an emotional time in Song Writing History! Thanks CSNY and UA-cam 😢
It's something you'll never see today! An artist that will forsake money and a number one hit single to send a message...an important message, and all consequences be damned!!
God bless Neil Young for writing this song and God bless Crosby Stills and Nash for helping him perform it!!!
@@goldwing7714 It was simple. Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam war and killed four of them. Doesn't have anything to do with some other riot that you would want to connect somehow and we'd like to see some proof and evidence that those four students were arrested and charged for rioting.
@@goldwing7714 The dead boy was not even part of the protest he was walking to class, the guardsmen shot OVER the people that were 75 feet away, they were not intending to kill anyone, but a Garand rifle is deadly up to 800 yards. Sad day in America. The real story behind this incident was not told until many years later, the optics of the photo shaped the attitudes and thoughts of many Americans.
Is this a joke? Protest music is bigger than ever right now...
true, but what's even more incredible is that the management of Atlantic Records agreed with CSNY and also willingly cut into its own profits to put the record out early and kill off Teach Your Children. that would definitely not happen today in the recording industry.
I think your optics are a bit screwed.
What CSNY did was pretty righteous, but you're completely trivializing every musician that has also done this.
I consider myself generally not one to outwardly express emotion, but the live in Massey hall version of the song nearly ( or has in the past) brought me to tears. I’m only in my twenties as well , I have no historical connection to the song. Neil Young is a masterful songwriter
It's a powerful song on its own. Imagine how those of us who remember the event feel about it.
I just got done seeing an ad on this video... For the national guard.
That terrible timing left me reeling for a hot minute.
I'm from Ohio and yes we needed that song quick, thank you. I will never forget.
They were murdered,not killed.
@@DJKinney Then yes murdered will & does fit.
Remember two of the students were just out of a class & walking to another class when they were gunned down by shots fired by the national guard.
If that's not murder then you can give up & offer up your son or daughter to be executed by the government & military.
I love this interview so much. It still hurts and makes me angry to this day about what happened in Ohio. CSNY were brilliant and selfless beyond words.
Arthur Soria, you are so right about the tragedy at ksu. I live in NE Ohio and the national guard or the university has in my opinion never apologized for it. Shame on them. The four who were killed, I have heard, were just walking to class.
Selfless behind words? Are you serious?
@@bobsmith-ji2uh They replaced a potential hit with a current protest song. It probably cost them money. Those are the words.
@@steveshiery1747 yeah I’m sure they lost a lot of money
Back in a time when musicians had the balls to speak out against the madness. They let Teach your Children die on the vine while Ohio was ingrained into the american consciousness. Back in a time when artists wrote great songs and made political statements. The good old days.
Well said.
I cannot hear Ohio and not get choked up. I was in college at Ohio Univ then. We were shut down after the murders at Kent State. The same guardsmen took up positions in our small college town.. war was declared against us
The morning of the killings was the last time I said the Pledge of Allegiance in my life. I knew "liberty and justice for all" was a cruel joke for the dead students and for me as a gay boy in that era, so the next morning in homeroom I stood silently, as I did every morning until I graduated high school two years later. Amazingly, none of my homeroom teachers questioned my abstaining from the morning ritual.
This is amazing to see. Thank you for uploading all of these videos. I’m enjoying going through them... there’s something so special about hearing history through the mouths of those who lived it. Gives me goosebumps every time ❤️
@@goldwing7714 ...interesting reading. I was 17 when this happened...
I was 15. It was so shocking and tragic to think of the National Guard against students/protesters. I remember seeing the daily death toll on the evening news telling us how many soldiers were killed in Vietnam. Remember the protests at the White House, "Hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" As an adult, I've often thought no brutal that was for Pres. Johnson's kids to hear. After all, he didn't start the war. They were tough times and it was the young people who had to step up and force their elders to see the changing world through their eyes. Just like today...
I was 15. It was so shocking and tragic to think of the National Guard against students/protesters. I remember seeing the daily death toll on the evening news telling us how many soldiers were killed in Vietnam. Remember the protests at the White House, "Hey hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" As an adult, I've often thought no brutal that was for Pres. Johnson's kids to hear. After all, he didn't start the war. They were tough times and it was the young people who had to step up and force their elders to see the changing world through their eyes. Just like today...
it is one of my candidates for 'most important popular song ever recorded'. it sounds great and it just could not be more poignant and relevant to its subject matter. who is doing a song, like this, for Ukraine?
History repeats itself again. Mankind never learns.
3 of the dead students were not even protesting they were walking on campus after a class SO HORRIFIC I still have FLASHBACKS about the news in the 60's & 70's
And the protesters were not Kent state students. They targeted Kent state specifically to rile people up. Remember there are always two sides to every story.
Sandy and Bill were walking to class. Allison and Jeff participated in the protest. I was a student at KSU.
@@hknisley2000 Please give us the side of the story that belongs to the murderers then? We're all waiting for you to tell us.
@@hknisley2000 Do tell us the other side of the Holocaust next, will you, please? And you're dead wrong about the protesters; certainly there were "outsiders" in the crowd, but the majority were KS students and faculty.
To those of you who happen to see this, I recommend you seek out John "Derf" Backderf's graphic novel: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derf_Backderf#Kent_State:_Four_Dead_in_Ohio
And calling out Nixon by name could have got him deported.
Thank you Crosby Stills Nash and Young for putting out that song and thank you Neil for writing it🥰🥰🥰🥰
It's a shame, 50 plus years later and we're still killing our kids. We've learned nothing.
David Hoffman, I have to ask you a question about your interviewing style. Do you prefer to leave out the footage of your questions to the subject(s) from the final production, so that the viewer sees and hears only the subject's answers?
Hello Gregory. Most often, I prefer to leave in my questions and when I am asking the questions, I am aware that I am going to be leaving the question in so I ask it in such a way that the viewer can see what provoked the response but in these videos from interviews done in 1989, I did not expect my questions to be included and very often they are long-winded and irrelevant to the experience you and others are having watching individuals from this time.
David Hoffman-filmmaker
Neil young wrote it
Good on you Graham . The single is great but the live version on Four Way Street is fantastic .
In a weird way , it is relevent to today .
Always enjoy listening to interviews by Graham Nash he and John Sebastian has always spoken well of the late Cass Elliot and miss her to this day. Would love to hear more from Graham Nash and John Sebastian. Thanks David Hoffman.
The names below are the 4 college students who lost
their lives at Kent State University on May 4, 1970
Jeffrey Glenn Miller March 28, 1950 - May 4, 1970
Allison B. Krause April 23, 1951 - May 4, 1970
William Knox Schroeder July 20, 1950 - May 4, 1970
Sandra Lee Scheuer August 11, 1949 - May 4, 1970
50 years May 4, 2020
It takes lots of integrity and human quality to let go a top chart song to create an anthem for a cause they all shared.
wow! That's a heck of a "B" side, too.
And now America at War is as American as apple pie. What have we become? If you ever think they won't arrange your meeting with God, just remember this, and Waco, and Ruby Ridge, Bryan Malinowski...
Teach your children with Jerry on steel lap is a masterpiece
In today's day's of protesting the Israel / Gaza conflict, I continue to remember the words and songs of Ohio, and hope that the response to protests never escalate to that level. I hope never to witness something like that again in my lifetime.
that emotion is still very raw, sleeping under the surface, this is how art is created, through raw emotion for a cause you truly believe in
Just for the record..Crosby went even further. He identified and NAMED one of the guards who shot and murdered at Kent State. Crosby said the guard said "he never fired his gun" except it was proven he had indeed fired his gun, more than once and murdered two people. That person was never charged with anything.
What bothers me is the lack of accountability to this day, which I interpret as a coverup by all responsible and involved. Today every time a unarmed citizen is killed by the police, they repeat "Never Again". That is the new song.
Cambodia streectly connected with Vietnam war, they are nesr
Thank you for putting this in real time A.K.A. now
Again thank you
James Michener's book "Kent State: What Happened and Why" is a very dry read, but very much a worthwhile read.
The iconic photo (although altered) of 14 year old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio standing over Jeffrey Miller’s body, won a Pulitzer Prize. 28 National Guardsman shot 67 rounds in 13 second, resulting in 4 dead and 9 wounded.
Ohio has become my anthem. I was there that day, tear gassed, and ran up the hill to avoid the gunfire that mowed down 13 students (4 dead, 9 wounded). My mother was mistakenly told by my dorm mates that I was dead. They mistook my name (Ande) for Sandy's. Allison's room was directly above mine. I made it back, she didn't.
Wow….
ua-cam.com/video/t25LkStnzvo/v-deo.html
Here because history is rhyming again
Yeah, well a big message that i picked up at that time, and since - is to live in the moment. And so, it is evidence to the ongoing reasonableness of that perspective to learn the story of how Neil Young composed "Ohio" as he heard of the shootings. Music is a pure art, in the practice of its inspiration. The song, "Ohio" as Graham Nash describes as a fellow band mate of Neil's, along with "Find the Cost of Freedom", were a creatively effective response influential in protests that helped to end the war in Viet Nam. But in my mind what makes it most powerful is the direct manifestation of the human condition in response to a moment of importance and meaning. Variously described as loss-of-self, or 'inspiration'. But ultimately describable in that sense only from a distance. Just as Wittgenstein wrote at the end of the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." But a song is given in the moment.
I WAS BORN IN OHIO THAT WAS A SAD DAY AND I WAS 17 YEAR OLD
Thank you, David. 💚 Great work always sir.
LYRICS for OHIO ....... BELOW⬇
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We're finally on our own
This summer, I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?
Na na na na
Na na na na
Na na na na
Na na na
Na na na na
Na na na na
Na na na na
Na na na
Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We're finally on our own
This summer, I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio (four)
Four dead in Ohio (four)
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio (how many more?)
Four dead in Ohio (why?)
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Neil Young
Ohio lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc, Zac Maloy Music, Broken Arrow Music, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, Broken Arrow Music Corporation
"What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground"
theres a BIG MISTAKE HERE,,,,,,,,,it should also include a male improvisiton as i write below
"What if you knew HIM/S
And found HIM/S dead on the ground"
because there was 2 females and 2 males shot dead
Think you mean Neil ....it was a song Neil wrote not David.
Still angry now.
I believe that Vietnam was a big reason for the dumbing of American citizens and students because of the protests about the war. Politicians can control the under and uneducated easier
Thank you so much for this footage, it is an important record of OUR history of resistance! 🌎✊🏽🌻
I was three years of age on that terrible terrible day. What brought me here was a passing of David Crosby rest in peace✌🏻😭
Here's a modern song about BLM protests and police brutality in 2020 - seems to parallel 1970 at Kent State a bit...
ua-cam.com/video/uPnbqzbJ2Ls/v-deo.html
Full version of the song:
ua-cam.com/video/VYqa38NPMmY/v-deo.html
"LET EM BE"
lyrics and music by Tom Krol
© 2020 Tom Krol Music
VonHiggenbottom Music Publishing, ASCAP
Gathering
Peacefully
Bravery is not
Easy
Bearing no arms
Hoping for change
Violence harms
End the rage
Let ‘em be
They’re not evil
Can’t you see
They’re being civil
Seeking for an
Answer
Apathy is a
Cancer
If injustice
Keeps happening to you
Then you might be
Out there marching too
Side note. I prefer the 4 Way Street version. It just rocks. Sides 3 and 4 of that album is pure rock gold.
Wasn't around when Kent State happened, b. 1975. But I've always been fascinated by the 1965-73 period...LBJ, Tonkin, Nixon, Vietnam, Space Program, McNamara, Paris meetings, Pentagon Papers...all of it.
ua-cam.com/video/Aoo3dk1_8LY/v-deo.htmlsi=-th7_R6RsnAuBGhl (11:00) -- *"Ohio" -- Isley Brothers version. But of course major respect goes to Neil Young for writing the original & CSNY for first performing it* .
I will never forget picking up that magazine maybe the same time Neil did, the image burned into my "young" brain in a way that I will Never be able to erase! At that time I (we) couldn't understand how or why this would happen in the "land of the free".
A few years later, our garage band in Burbank would play the same song in the same spirit.
(remember guys, Steve, Ken, Rick, yeah, you?)
Now, Americans are killing Americans on their own soil. Think about that!
The difference between yesterday and today is that songwriters were not afraid to reflect their time periods in a political sense.
When I was finishing high scool in 1968 I applied to three colleges. One of them was Kent State University but I chose one of the other schools. As it turned out, I dropped out of college after my freshman year and joined the Air Force.
At the time of the Kent State shootings, I was in Air Force training at Keesler AFB in Biloxi MS. I had a sobering reality check that had I chosen to attend Kent State, I would have been a sophomore and could have become a fatality.
I was at Princeton for the student strike. Monday, Jerry Rubin got on stage and told us that kids had been killed in Ohio. We went back to NYC expecting the revolution to begin. Instead most Americans thought it was a good thing. I left for Europe 6 months later.
David, you got this interview? Holy dang.
I need to know if the fabled Constitution cover with four bullet holes actually exists or was just a concept.
If it were todays musician, they would have bothered cos money comes first and killing their own songs isnt going to of interest to them...thats the last thing they want to do. Respect to CSNY for putting national interest first above money.
Wow. Thank you Mr. Hoffman!
My high school biology teacher was born that same day, only a few hours before.
I still fail to understand the lines, "Soldiers are cutting us down. Should have been done long ago."
History repeats its self, if you're not careful. Todays youth needs to learn "the cost of freedom"
They did what was right, a rare thing and almost non existing today.
Now the gubmint has us kill each other.
So it turns out they were all charlatans... 😢
Splendid.
They made Vietnam Nixon's War but actually there were 2 democrats JFK & LBJ who escalated it
& it was begun by the MURDERER EISENHOWER in '54------whose speech in '61 warning of the 'military industrialism complex' he began; HYPROCRITE and MURDERER !!!
That mullet though 😆😆.... legendary... not as iconic as Croz's mustache but it's kinda legendary through the mid 80-mid/late 90s.
I have heard people say that Neil was using a tragedy to float a hit for himself. That wasnt true at all. CSNY honestly were angry about the murder of children. " Ohio" is a more violent expression of the lovely and gentle sentiments in " Teach Your Children". I didnt realize the new release overpowered " Teach Your Children". While "Ohio" is my favorite song of Neil's, TYC is my favorite post- Hollies song of Graham's.
A life time ago and still as clear as a blue sky
The Russians citizen should stand-up for Ukraine in the same manner. Shame on the Russians for going about life as if its ok.
*The war in Ukraine is a U.S.-provoked proxy war using Ukrainians as the cannon fodder. It's Americans who should also stand up against the U.S. arming & paying 100's of billions of dollars for that war to keep it going too* !
There are many meanings and meaningful interpretations of this song - that's what makes it a great song, there's something for everyone. It just depends on your outlook and experiences; and what youre feeling in the moment. There is definitely a religious component, and the litteral losing of religion, and the figurative sense. This is a song of love and loss. Of longing for another, but also the longing for wanting to be longed for by another. Of love that is freely given, but not returned. Of being in, and falling out of love. Forsaking what you once championed. There are references to science and religion, and even an allusion to the story "The very old man with enormous wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Theres more, but thisnis YT😂
So much talent in that band I could see why they didn't get along, And the drugs.
Beautiful song it will make you cry☮️☮️☮️
History is repeating itself sadly on the 54th anniversary of this tragedy
You are right on, AS. Was 17 when this happened; so angry, went home and paced my back yard, dog thought I was crazy. ToDaY 2024- we BOOMERS, The PROTEST GeneratioN!-Need our SPIRIT as ever before!!! RISE UP BOOMERS!!! & Destroy the enemy
For some reason, it bugs me to hear British people speak about American government issues... but then I remember that Graham Nash has been an American citizen for longer than I’ve been alive, therefore longer than me... I’m an idiot
You're not an idiot. We all have things that bug us. ❤
@@knelson3484 lol
Teach your Children Well. 1rst song I loved with all you good blokes
Punk Rawk!
This made me cry thinking of those students. One of my favorite stories ever.
Curious how he felt about Pol Pot, and the legacy he left on Cambodia.
I remember the TV movie back in the 70’s about Kent State.
How can you click away when you know?
❤❤❤😢
Very sad story those kids were very brave god bless them
Great interview David. ❤
Every word days true
I REMEMBER❤️❤️❤️
Thank you.
Wow. Thank you Mr. Hoffman! You have enriched my life🙏
It was a sad day indeed. What I'll never understand is how the students of that generation (my generation), turned into supporters of the current state of affairs with the rise of nationalism, authoritarianism and racism.
I think most of us did not do that, though I have several former friends who did just that.
@@randygould3187 It sure seems like a lot of the folks are voting republican up to and including Trump.
Do you have any evidence to support that fact? You do realize that not everyone in my generation was on the same side as me. A hunk of our generation went to be Vietnam and another hunk of our generation didn’t like us much. I would say by the time of events moved on the majority of those, like me we’re fighting against war racism, and imperialism all kinds.
George Floyd was murdered by police 50 years and 3 weeks after the Kent State Shooting. The Bigger Picture by Lil Baby is the modern equivalent of this song being released as a response 2.5 weeks after the murder. Although I'm sure many of you don't appreciate rap & hip-hop, I hope that you at least read the lyrics and understand the significance that rap & hip-hop still maintain as the pop culture epicenter of this movement.
David, if you ever read this, I hope you listen to this song and I'd love to see you sit down with the artist, Lil Baby. Although he is very different than the majority of your films, I think your diverse backgrounds and your interviewing skill will create a uniquely beautiful film.
GMAFB!!!
👍🏾
He's kind of a sell-out now isn't he? Either that or he's senile.