Fire in the Heartland
Next week marks the 40th Anniversary of the tragedy of the Kent State Massacre.
And. We're. Still. Living. With. War.
Immediately after the Kent State shooting 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.
The film Fire in the Heartland: Kent State, May 4th, and Student Protest in America is the story of a generation of students at Kent State University, who believed in the 1960s and 1970s that they were not being told he truth about racism, the violence of police and military against protestors, and the long American involvement in the Vietnam War; some paid for their questioning of authority with their lives and all were forever changed.
Fire in the Heartland: Kent State, May 4th, and Student Protest in America is a documentary film about a generation of young people, who stood up to speak their minds against social injustice in some of our nation’s most turbulent and transformative years, the 1960s through the 1970s. On May 4th, 1970, thirteen of these young Americans were shot down by the National Guard in an act of violence against unarmed students that has never been fully explained. Four, Jeffery Miller, Sandy Scheuer, Bill Shroeder and Allison Krause, were killed.
Immediately afterward the largest student strikes and student protests in history swept across 3,000 campuses nationwide.
DominoesMovie — July 16, 2009 — http://dominoesmovie.com "Ohio" (antiwar anthem) - Neil Young / CSNY singing Vietnam War protest music
For more on the four dead in Ohio, see Fire in the Heartland and Neil Young's influential song with Crosby, Stills & Nash "Ohio".
I am a 25 year old studying Japanese and Economics at Ohio State. My father was nearly killed by the National Guard walking to class during the anti-war riots at Ohio State in the 60's.I travel to Japan from time to time. When I am there—and in my heart always—the lyrics in 'Ohio' bring my stance on war to life. They bring a spirit to the fore that no amount of work in translation could ever communicate so succinctly —powerfully—to the people I meet there.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Neil.
There's no guilt for you in capitalizing on what happened at Kent State. Without your song, dozens of people in my life alone would not understand what it feels like to lose a life to a political agenda.
There must be uncounted thousands more who have needed to hear your song, too. You made money because the world needed to hear what you had to say.
Your song is a service—and we thank you.
nothing to do with money that one
ReplyDeleteit was an anthem to us in 1970 I was eighteen in 1970. It is hard to explain how that song spoke to us if you were between like 15 and 23 that year . It always got turned up on the car radio . It was a scary time to b a young person .I had just gotten my Deju VU album and was i Believe just got or heard ATGR was coming . Neil spoke for many of us that summer of 1970.
ReplyDeleteThe Searcher
Michigan