In June 1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released the protest anthem Ohio. Recorded on May 21 that year, the song documents Neil Young’s outrage at the killing of four students by National Guardsmen during a protest march at Kent State University on May 4. The students’ anger had been directed at president Richard Nixon and his decision to backtrack on his promise to wind down America’s war effort in Vietnam.
In the States, it was now abundantly clear that the era of pushing flowers into the barrels of soldiers’ rifles was over. Being part of the counter culture could get you killed.
