"Ohio" is a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

and

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

anthem written and composed by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

in reaction to the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

of May 4, 1970, and performed 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 ...

. It was released as a single, backed with Stephen Stills's "Find the Cost of Freedom", peaking at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 16 in Canada. Although a live version of "Ohio" was included on the group's 1971 double album ''

4 Way Street ''4 Way Street'' is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at No. 1 on the ...

,'' the studio versions of both songs did not appear on an LP until the group's compilation '' So Far'' was released in 1974. The song also appeared on the Neil Young compilation albums ''

Decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

,'' released in 1977, and ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'', released in 2004. The song also appears on Neil Young's '' Live at Massey Hall'' album, which he recorded in 1971 but remained unreleased until 2007. A version also appears on Young's 1972 release "journey through the past" soundtrack.

Recording

Young wrote the lyrics to "Ohio" after seeing the photos of the incident in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

Magazine.'' On the evening that the group entered

Record Plant Studios The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, the song had already been rehearsed, and the quartet—with their new rhythm section of Calvin Samuels and

Johnny Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills ...

—recorded it live in just a few takes. During the same session, they recorded the single's equally direct b-side, Stephen Stills's ode to the war's dead, "Find the Cost of Freedom." The record was

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

with the participation of the four principals, rush-released by

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and heard on the radio with only a few weeks' delay (even though the group's hit song "

Teach Your Children "Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu' ...

" was already on the charts at the time). In his liner notes for the ''

'' retrospective, Young termed the Kent State incident as 'probably the biggest lesson ever learned at an American place of learning' and reported that "

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 ...

cried when we finished this take."Neil Young. ''Decade.'' (Reprise Records, 1977). In the fade, Crosby's voice—with a tone evocative of

keening Keening (Irish: Caointeoireacht) is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition, known to have taken place in Ireland and Scotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form of sean-nós singing, was performed in ...

—can be heard with the words "Four!", "Why?" and "How many more?". According to the liner notes in ''Greatest Hits'', the track was recorded by Bill Halverson on May 21, 1970, at Record Plant Studio 3 in Hollywood.

Lyrics and reaction

An article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 2010 describes the song as the 'greatest protest record' and 'the pinnacle of a very 1960s genre,' while also saying 'The revolution never came.' President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, criticized in the song, won a landslide reelection in 1972, which included winning the 1972 United States presidential election in Ohio by a margin of over 21%. The lyrics help evoke the turbulent mood of horror, outrage, and shock in the wake of the shootings, especially the line "four dead in Ohio," repeated throughout the song. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming" refers to the

, where

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fed ...

officers shot and killed four students during a protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Crosby once stated that Young keeping Nixon's name in the lyrics was "the bravest thing I ever heard." The American

took the group as its own after this song, giving the four a status as leaders and spokesmen they would enjoy to a varying extent for the rest of the decade. After the single's release, it was banned from some AM

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

including in the state of Ohio, because of the challenge to the Nixon Administration but received airplay on underground FM stations in larger cities and college towns. Today, the song receives regular airplay on

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

stations. The song was selected as the 395th Greatest Song of All Time by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' in 2010. In 2009, the song was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Personnel

—

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

; rhythm guitar on "Ohio" * Stephen Stills — vocals, guitars *

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 ...

— vocals *

— vocals, guitars * Calvin Samuels — bass on "Ohio" *

John Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...

— drums on "Ohio"

Charts

Weekly charts

References

External links

Neil Young Ohio Lyric Analysis
Accessed on March 26, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Song) 1970 songs 1970 singles Neil Young songs Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs Atlantic Records singles Kent State shootings Songs of the Vietnam War Anti-war songs Protest songs Songs written by Neil Young Songs inspired by deaths Songs based on actual events Songs about Ohio Music of Ohio Songs about Richard Nixon