Why (A Peace Medley)

Annotation

As mentioned above, their are dozens of cover versions of the famous Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song Ohio. This included the track "Why (A Peace Medley)" (Massive Records # M-1001), one of the more interesting interpretations. Released by the obscure soul group Coast in New York, in 1971. Produced and directed by Martin Brummer and Gene Busnar. In fact, the medley also featured John Lennon's peace / anti-war anthem Give Peace a Chance (by the Plastic Ono Band), and Neil Young's Helpless. Furthermore, it included spoken-word extracts, such as from Vice-President Spiro Agnew: "Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, Lions and Tigers alike, I would swap the whole damn zoo for a single platoon of the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam" - this 1970 speech, A Challenge to Hippies, featured on the album Speaks Out. Also in the song, an unknown teenage soldier expressed fear about going to war and a mother wanted to know why her son died in Vietnam.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

Their are dozens of cover versions of the famous Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song Ohio, the most popular of the songs dealing with the Kent State demonstration / killings. See the list: This included the track "Why (A Peace Medley)" (Massive Records # M-1001), one of the more interesting interpretations. Released by the obscure soul group Coast in New York, in 1971. Produced and directed by Martin Brummer and Gene Busnar. In fact, the medley also featured John Lennon's peace / anti-war anthem Give Peace a Chance (by the Plastic Ono Band), and Neil Young's Helpless. Furthermore, it included spoken-word extracts, such as from Vice-President Spiro Agnew: "Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, Lions and Tigers alike, I would swap the whole damn zoo for a single platoon of the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam" - this 1970 speech, A Challenge to Hippies, featured on the album Speaks Out. Also in the song, an unknown teenage soldier expressed fear about going to war and a mother wanted to know why her son died in Vietnam.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio / Well he's five-foot-two, and he's six-foot-four / He fire his gun, and he fires his spears.. / And he's only seventeen / He's been a soldier for a thousand, thousand years / We were ashamed of the acts we've been forced to commit / We were helpless, helpless, helpless / 'I'm only nineteen and I'm so very clean / So seargent, please be patient for I've never killed before' / 'Son, with a gun in your hand you can do anything' / 'Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, Lions and Tigers alike / I would swap the whole damn zoo for a single platoon of the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam' / 'Who's gonna tell me why my son died' / 'Be the first on your block to have your son shipped home in a box' / All we are saying, is give peace a chance

Notes

Massive Records M-1001 (1001-A-BW), promotion copy; "Why (A Peace Medley)" by "Coast", time 2:41; produced and directed by Martin Brummer and Gene Busnar, arranged by Gene Busnar, concept by Richard Brumer; distributed by A. A. Records, Inc., New York, N.Y. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

Anti-War · Kent State · Nixon · Agnew

In collections

Kent / Jackson State Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs