Kent State Massacre (13 Seconds in May)

Annotation

Ryan Harvey, from Baltimore, Maryland, plays contemporary folk songs on political and social themes. He is a member of Riot-Folk, a collective of nine musicians from across the US, that focus on anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian politics.12 Harvey self-released the song "Kent State Massacre (13 Seconds in May)" about the Ohio demonstration, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of one of the protestors. It took a day-by-day factual approach, loosely based on the detailed information now available on the timeline of events. Likewise, the title "13 Seconds in May" referred to the estimated time of the shooting, although some witnesses said that it lasted for up to a minute.3 The lyrics started with day one, with the news of the "rain and fire on Cambodia" - Nixon's Cambodian Campaign, announced on 30 April 1970, an extension of the Vietnam War. This encouraged the students to protest the following day (1 May), who "left...classes and took the streets here in Ohio". The next day, on 2 May, as the students organised a sit-in, "Governor Rhodes came to the campus", called up the National Guard, who "followed his command" - thus placing a portion of blame on James "Jim" Rhodes (Governor of Ohio, 1963-71, 1975-83). The narrative then jumped to 4 May, the day of the shooting: "on the 4th day the guard was angry...they fired tear gas...13 seconds of firing followed, 4 of us fell". He noted that the "National Guard just walked away". The lyrics presented the shooting as a deliberate tactic, and held the shooters and the politicians responsible for the deaths and wounded.Sources1ryanharveymusic.com: Press bio (archived copy)↩2jenangel.wordpress.com: Folk is the new punk an interview with riot folk↩3The New York Times↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Kent / Jackson State Songs

Ryan Harvey, from Baltimore, Maryland, plays contemporary folk songs on political and social themes. He is a member of Riot-Folk, a collective of nine musicians from across the US, that focus on anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian politics.12 Harvey self-released the song "Kent State Massacre (13 Seconds in May)" about the Ohio demonstration, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of one of the protestors. It took a day-by-day factual approach, loosely based on the detailed information now available on the timeline of events. Likewise, the title "13 Seconds in May" referred to the estimated time of the shooting, although some witnesses said that it lasted for up to a minute.3 The lyrics started with day one, with the news of the "rain and fire on Cambodia" - Nixon's Cambodian Campaign, announced on 30 April 1970, an extension of the Vietnam War. This encouraged the students to protest the following day (1 May), who "left...classes and took the streets here in Ohio". The next day, on 2 May, as the students organised a sit-in, "Governor Rhodes came to the campus", called up the National Guard, who "followed his command" - thus placing a portion of blame on James "Jim" Rhodes (Governor of Ohio, 1963-71, 1975-83). The narrative then jumped to 4 May, the day of the shooting: "on the 4th day the guard was angry...they fired tear gas...13 seconds of firing followed, 4 of us fell". He noted that the "National Guard just walked away". The lyrics presented the shooting as a deliberate tactic, and held the shooters and the politicians responsible for the deaths and wounded. Sources1ryanharveymusic.com: Press bio (archived copy)↩2jenangel.wordpress.com: Folk is the new punk an interview with riot folk↩3The New York Times↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: It was early summer when it all began / The bombs were fallin' across the sea / Rainin' fire on Cambodia / We left our classes and took the streets / In Ohio we all felt helpless / Wonderin' what we ought to do / Shut down traffic and sing our loudest / Many students did it too / We said no classes until the war ends / Until the bombs no longer fall / Passed out fliers to all our comrades / And hung up posters upon the wall / We surrounded the ROTC / Training soldiers on these grounds / Up in the front some students started / Tried to burn the building down / It started burning but wouldn't catch right / We tried again but got the same / Marched around and came back later / When we returned it was all in flames / The fire truck came complete with soldiers / With bayonets and camouflage / They invaded our peaceful campus / Set up tents out in the yard / The very next day we did a sit-in / Against these troops who were a threat / The troops just pushed us back into campus / And stabbed us with their bayonets / Governor Rhodes came to campus / Said he'd use every force he had / To stop the protests and those who planned them / And the National Guard followed his command / On the fourth day the Guard was angry / We were there out on the lawn / We had some speakers and a small assembly / Said no justice til the Guard is gone / That's when the Guard gave us the order / Said leave now or we'll advance / We stood strong not taking orders / From scum-soaked soldiers with…

About the artist

Ryan Harvey is a Baltimore, Maryland-based folk-punk protest musician and organiser, a founder of the Riot-Folk collective. "Kent State Massacre (13 Seconds In May)" appears on "The Revolution Will Not Be Amplified", a 2004 split release with Tom Frampton distributed through Riot-Folk's free-download model. [Source: ryanharveymusic.com; Riot-Folk discography]

Themes

Kent State · Anti-War · Cambodia

In collections

Kent / Jackson State Songs