Sunday, May 11, 2008

History: Ohio














Neil Young: Ohio


On May 4, 1970 a posse of Ohio National Guardsmen began shooting into a crowd of student anti-war protesters at Kent State University. In thirteen seconds, the guardsmen had fired sixty-seven rounds and four students lay dead. Immediately after the Kent State shooting Neil Young composed the song Ohio, after he´d seen pictures of the massacre in Life magazine. In the liner notes to his Decade compilation, Neil said about Ohio: "It's still hard to believe I had to write this song. It's ironic that I capitalized on the death of these American students. Probably the most important lesson ever learned at an American place of learning."
This is not the original studio version with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which is impressive too, but the haunting live acoustic performance from Live At Massey Hall 1971. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we're finally on our own, this summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio."

5 comments:

bwrice said...

Ramone666 - Great pick! And an excellent version too. I saw Neil on his all-acoustic tour in Park City, Utah back in... 92?... 93? I can't remember. It was a brilliant show. Just him and a guitar. He didn't even have a set list -- just took requests from the crowd. Amazing. Thanks for this track.

boyhowdy said...

Guess I'l cross Ohio off my own list of possibles, then...

Nice work with it, Ramone. & great version, too.

Anonymous said...

One of the most powerful protest songs ever written - and a reminder that we should know who the enemy really is...

Anonymous said...

whatz the big deal - neil young put Marlon Brando in a song. He also wrote about Nixon and George Bush

WHO THE F CARES?????

Anonymous said...

whatz the big deal - neil young put Marlon Brando in a song. He also wrote about Nixon and George Bush

WHO THE F CARES?????