Immediately after the Kent State shooting (sometimes referred to as the "Kent State Massacre") on May 4, 1970, Neil Young composed the song "Ohio" after looking at photos appearing in Life magazine and then taking a walk in the woods. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young went to the studio and recorded the song which was released to radio stations shortly after the killings. Soon, the lyrics "Four dead in Ohio" became an anthem to a generation. In some parts of the country, the song was banned from playlists because of it's "anti-war" and "anti-Nixon" sentiments.
"What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?"
Excerpted from the article "An Analysis of Music and Lyrics in Relation to American Culture in the 1960s" on Epinions by Andrew Lasho. Lasho interprets the meaning of the lyrics to Neil Young's song "Ohio" and offers an analysis of the song's historical importance:
"When the United States began involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, the response was uproarious and rampant. Many young Americans despised the idea that their country was involved in an armed conflict that in no part was their own fault, and did not even directly effect them. They believed that the United States had no real business in Vietnam.
One of the most outspoken songwriters of this era and calling was Neil Young. Whether it was with Buffalo Springfield or with his other group, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Neil Young expressed his opinion at every opportunity that presented itself. In his song Ohio, he expresses both his opinions about the war, and about a specific event that took place on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio.
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