Long Time Gone - James Barton on Crosby

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When I was young my dad would say
Come on son let's go out and play

No matter how hard I try
No matter how many tears I cry
No matter how many years go by
I still can't say goodbye

- "I Still Can't Say Goodbye," Performer: Chet Atkins

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Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Long Time Gone & Almost Cut My Hair

By being a musician who wrote songs from the heart, David Crosby, somewhat unintentionally became a political spokesman for his generation. The unwillingness of the older generation to seriously consider the lifestyle and political views of these "hippies" resulted in a high degree of paranoia in the late 1960's. Just by having long hair, love beads, and bizarre clothing a person was immediately labelled as a freak and drug user. This instantly subjected that person to various forms of persecution from mainstream Americans. Thus, it was the constant harassment from authority figures like the police which lead to the creation of the song "Almost cut my hair." Additionally, there was continual contempt for the younger generations political opinions and their support of specific politicians. This ultimately lead to the anguished lyrics in the song "Long time gone." Both songs were written by David Crosby and they will be the topic of today's show.

The song "Long time gone" was composed on the night that Bobby Kennedy was murdered. The lyrics were born out of Crosby's frustration over the deaths of the brothers John and Robert Kennedy, two men that represented to David, a positive change in the politics of America. As he saw it, these two men in their early political careers, had not been bought and sold by special interest groups in order to ascend to a position of power. Thus to paraphrase the song, it was a long time coming to get these trustworthy men in American politics and it will be a long time before we see their kind again. Incidentally, it was Crosby's political statement about the death of JFK at the Monterrey Pop Festival which finally lead to his dismissal from his former band, THE BYRDS. So now "Long time gone" a fiery statement from a man who saw his political ideals cut down by the deaths of the men that represented his hopes for America.

David Crosby almost cut his hair because he was tired of being hounded by authority figures. The reason he kept his hair long, was as an open expression of his freedom as an individual in a country that was supposed to honor the uniqueness of each person that lived here in the United States. This unedited, previously unreleased version of "Almost cut my hair" provides an unparalled view of the creation of a great song. You will hear the band begin in a tempo that David feels is too slow and he asks them to speed it up just a little bit. The band then proceeds to give an almost faithful rendition of the cut that was released on the CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, & YOUNG album "Deja Vu." After finishing the song, the band then moves into a freeform jam session that singularly demonstrates the creative processes that are necessary for the construction of a song that speaks for a generation of frustrated young Americans. As Neil Young states "It's really Crosby at what I think is his best. It's like all live, three guitars, bass, organ, and drums, and it's all live, and there are no overdubs." Here is "Almost cut my hair" a representation of a frustrated youth's need to express his individual freedom.

SOURCE: C,S,N boxed set, liner notes Movers & Shakers Rock of Ages

RECORDED: March 19, 1995