A redux from RFYP, 2007. Lest we forget.
Above: "Probably the most
important lesson ever learned at an American place of learning" - Neil
Young
Don’t ever be fooled
into believing rock and roll is good for nothing. Music opened Mountjoy’s mind,
and educated me on a universe of subjects I might never have known about. One of
the first songs that enlightened me was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s
Ohio. Carried by a haunting guitar wail, the
simple lyrics suit the anguished cry of Young’s voice to a tee:
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?
If you don’t know the
back-story, the song is about an event that occurred 27 34 years ago today, when
four students who were anti-war protesters at Kent State University were
gunned down by members of The National
Guard. The closest victim was
almost 100m from the guardsmen, and was unarmed. No one was ever charged, and no
one ever took responsibility. The image of Mary Ann Vecchio, a fourteen-year-old runaway and Vietnam War
protester, screaming with anguish and kneeling over the dead body of
Jeffrey Miller, that illustrates this post, won a Pulitzer
prize and is one of a handful of 70’s era photographs that have become iconic
symbols of the time.
Apparently written by Neil Young within weeks of the incident, the song fades out to David Crosby’s nasal howls of “Why?” and “How many more?”
Almost three decades later, The West is at war again. Thankfully this time, the students who choose to protest this action are, we should hope, safer than the four causalities from Kent State. Here are their names, lest they remain anonymous:
Apparently written by Neil Young within weeks of the incident, the song fades out to David Crosby’s nasal howls of “Why?” and “How many more?”
Almost three decades later, The West is at war again. Thankfully this time, the students who choose to protest this action are, we should hope, safer than the four causalities from Kent State. Here are their names, lest they remain anonymous:
It could be argued
that Neil Young was just cashing in on the incident, but I believe there is
enough pain and emotion on hand to nix that theory. And in the end, his work has
made millions of people around the world that would otherwise never have known
aware of what happened on that May afternoon in Ohio. If you are too young to
remember the song, you are probably old enough to go to war. That alone is
reason enough for you to go and listen to it today.
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