Revisiting 3 of Neil Young’s Best Protest Anthems

Neil Young has never been shy about telling you what’s on his mind.

Videos by American Songwriter

The Toronto-born singer, now 79, has seen a lot. And some of his greatest works have documented a world in turmoil. These songs focus on Young’s noisier side as something truly glorious happens when he brings his “Old Black” Gibson Les Paul to the demonstration.

Here are three of Neil Young’s best protest songs.

“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Single, 1970)

Neil Young and David Crosby learned about the Kent State University shootings while watching the news in Northern California. According to Graham Nash, Young headed for the woods and returned an hour later to play “Ohio” for Crosby. The group then booked a session at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. They recorded “Ohio” and the B-side, “Find the Cost of Freedom.”

Though “Teach Your Children” was already climbing the charts, the band wanted to release “Ohio” immediately. The new single effectively ended the momentum of “Teach Your Children.” Nash said they were outraged by the killings. The National Guard occupied the Kent State campus to quell demonstrations against America’s invasion of Cambodia and the widening Vietnam War.

Events turned deadly on May 4, 1970, as protestors were told to disperse but refused. After being shouted down and pelted with rocks, National Guard members fired shots into a crowd of unarmed students, killing four and wounding nine others.

“Southern Man” from After the Gold Rush (1970)

“Southern Man” describes racism in the American South. However, Young said the song is “much bigger than ‘Southern Man,’ it’s ‘White Man.’” He told Dan Rather the song’s anger may also be the product of a fight he had with his then-wife, Susan Acevedo.

He said she threw things at the door to the room while he wrote the song. “Southern Man” (and Young’s “Alabama”) prompted a response from Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Southern rock group recorded their defining anthem, “Sweet Home Alabama,” which mentions Young by name.

There didn’t seem to be lingering animosity between the artists. Singer Ronnie Van Zant wore a Neil Young T-shirt while performing and Young told Rolling Stone he’d rather play “Sweet Home Alabama” than “Southern Man.”

 
“Rockin’ in the Free World” from Freedom (1989)

After some time in the creative wilderness, Young emerged with one of his defining songs. His previous albums, including Trans and Everybody’s Rockin’, caused Geffen Records to sue him for releases that were “musically uncharacteristic of [his] previous recordings.”

He eventually returned to Reprise Records to release This Note’s for You in 1988—itself a protest against corporate sponsorship of music. However, the following album, Freedom, delivered one of the all-time great rock anthems.

Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro said something that struck Young after a canceled Soviet Union tour. He said to Young, “I guess we’ll have to keep on rockin’ in the free world.” It became the iconic hook Young used to navigate a world in chaos. His targets range from Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini to President George H. W. Bush, homelessness, and climate change. Meanwhile, world leaders seem determined to ensure “Rockin’ in the Free World” never expires.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images