{"id":1073,"date":"2013-02-11T04:28:20","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T12:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chukyoeibei.org\/mag\/?p=1073"},"modified":"2015-12-20T19:24:57","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T03:24:57","slug":"neil-young%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cohio%e2%80%9d-and-the-kent-state-shootings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.chukyoeibei.org\/mag\/?p=1073","title":{"rendered":"Neil Young\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the Kent State Shootings"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Yumika Hamada<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Four dead in Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d– Neil Young, a Canadian singer songwriter and guitarist, repeats this phrase over and over in the middle part and at the end of his protest song \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 The song was written by Young and was based on an incident in the U.S. in which the Ohio National Guard shot into a crowd of demonstrators at Kent State University, killing four students and injuring nine in 1970.\u00c2\u00a0 The impact of this event shocked Young.\u00c2\u00a0 He saw photos of the Kent State tragedy and lost his words for a long time. He then picked up his guitar and had the song within twenty minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 The lyrics of Neil Young\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reflect the anger and sorrow of anti-war protesters about the Kent State shootings and criticize the government that caused the death of the students.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153An unlovely unforgettable voice\u00e2\u20ac\u009d writes Katherin Gilday of the Toronto Globe and Mail<\/em> about the distinctive and emotional voice of Neil Young.\u00c2\u00a0 Neil Young was born on 12 November 1945 in Toronto. When he was in high school, he performed with a rock band \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Squires,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which was his first band.\u00c2\u00a0 He moved to the United States in 1966 and worked with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buffalo Springfield\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for two years.\u00c2\u00a0 After the band broke up, he started his solo career from 1969.\u00c2\u00a0 A rock band \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Crazy Horse\u00e2\u20ac\u009d supported Young in his creation of many folk songs. Along with Young\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solo work, he also released six albums as a member of Crosby Stills Nash and Young (CSNY) since 1968.\u00c2\u00a0 At that time, he went on scale tours in places outside of the U.S., such as Asia and Europe.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was written by Young and CSNY.\u00c2\u00a0 His career as a singer songwriter received recognition and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.\u00c2\u00a0 His songs and actions have strong messages related to current events of U.S. because he has lived there for more than 46 years.\u00c2\u00a0 A few days after the 9.11 attacks, Young performed the song \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Imagine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by John Lennon, even though this song was regard as questionable for airplay.<\/p>\n

The tragedy of the Kent State Shootings occurred in Ohio on May 4th<\/sup>, 1970.\u00c2\u00a0 Five hundred Kent State University students held a demonstration on May 1st<\/sup> to protest president Nixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expansion of the Vietnam War to Cambodia.\u00c2\u00a0 The demonstration gradually turned extreme so police and the National Guard were sent to Kent State University on May 2nd<\/sup>. On May 4th, the National Guard fired and four students were killed and nine others injured. \u00c2\u00a0Two students of the four killed were part of the demonstration but the others were just walking near the protest.<\/p>\n

In the lyrics \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, \u00e2\u20ac\u009d Young says the president’s name directly in the song, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 In 1970, Richard Nixon, elected president in 1968, promised to end the Vietnam War but he announced the invasion of Cambodia and many college students were concerned about being drafted and started protesting against the war.\u00c2\u00a0 This was the cause of the demonstration and the Kent State Shootings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The song, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reflects Young\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s feeling and messages.\u00c2\u00a0 Young strongly criticizes Nixon and the National Guard in the song. \u00c2\u00a0The National Guard are called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tin Soldiers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Young because they just obey commands.\u00c2\u00a0 Young expresses himself and the general public as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re finally on our own\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means the government which shot students is not on the general public\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s side anymore.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shows the situation that Young knew about the shootings in May, in which four students were dead.\u00c2\u00a0 Drumming means the sounds of the soldier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s footsteps and gunshots.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gotta get down to it \/ Soldiers are cutting us down\u00e2\u20ac\u009d makes an emotional appeal to listeners that people (we) should face and understand the fact that the National Guard shot citizens.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Should have been done long ago\u00e2\u20ac\u009d tells us that America should have ended the Vietnam War to avoid this happening. The last two lines, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \/ \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How can you run when you know?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d encourage the general public to imagine how sad protesters were when the event happened.\u00c2\u00a0 Young sings to listeners as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to make them understand the feelings of protesters.\u00c2\u00a0 In this song, Young expresses his position against the government and war, and calls attention to the sorrow of protesters who lost their friends at Kent State University.<\/p>\n

Through this song, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ohio,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Young wants to make people to think about ending the war and he expresses the protester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grief.\u00c2\u00a0 People, especially students who were part of the demonstration at the University, hoped for the end of the Vietnam war.\u00c2\u00a0 Young put his feeling against the war, the government and the Kent State Shootings into words and he also tries to create sympathy for the victims in the song.\u00c2\u00a0 Music never disappears and, therefore, every time people hear the song, the fear of the event in 1970 will be remembered and also the message from Young about the anti-war movement will be handed down to next generation.<\/p>\n