"4 + 20" is a song by

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

, written by

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

, originally released on the band's 1970 album ''

Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...

''.. It was performed by Stephen Stills on solo acoustic guitar. The song describes the inner torments and reflections of a man on his past, present and future. In the CSN boxed set, Stills explained: "It's about an 84-year-old poverty stricken man who started and finished with nothing." Stills recorded the song in one take and planned to use it on his upcoming debut solo album, but when his bandmates heard it, they implored him to use it on the ''Déjà Vu'' album. He planned to have bandmates

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

and

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

sing harmony parts, but they refused. "They told me they wouldn't touch it," said Stills. "So it always stood alone." On the highly-collaborative ''Déjà Vu'' album, "4 + 20" stands out as the only song which was both written and performed solo by one member of the band, justified by Crosby who recalled "We just said, 'It's too damn good, we're not touching it.'"

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitar

References

{{authority control 1970 songs Songs written by Stephen Stills Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs Songs about old age Songs about poverty