Nash was born in Blackpool, England, during World War II. His mother was evacuated from the Nashes' hometown of Salford (now in Greater Manchester ), where Graham grew up. In the early 1960s he was a leading member of The Hollies, one of the UK's most successful pop groups ever. Although recognised as a key member of the group, he seldom sang lead vocals, although he did write many of the band's songs, most often in collaboration with Allan Clarke. Best known in the US for their 1965 hit "Bus Stop", the Hollies also scored with "Look Through Any Window" in 1965, "Stop, Stop, Stop" in 1966, "Carrianne", and "On a Carousel " in 1967, among others. Nash was pivotal in the forging of a sound and lyrics showing an obvious hippie influence on The Hollies' album Butterfly, a collection that brought differing opinions on the band's musical direction to the fore.
In 1968, after a visit to the US during which he met David Crosby in Laurel Canyon and began recreational drug use, Nash left The Hollies at the height of their fame to form a new group with Crosby and Stephen Stills. A threesome at first, Crosby, Stills & Nash later became a foursome with Neil Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). With them, Nash went on to even greater worldwide success. Nash, nicknamed "Willy" by his band mates in CSNY, has been described as the glue that keeps their often fragile alliances together. A mark of this is the loyalty and support Nash showed to his best friend, Crosby, during Crosby's well-documented period of drug addiction ending in the mid 1980s. Nash's solo career has often been shelved in favour of reunions on stage and in the studio with either Crosby and Stills or Crosby, Stills and Young. His own solo work shows a love of melody and ballads. His solo recordings have experimented with jazz and electronic percussion but tend not to stray too far from a pop format with well-defined hook lines.
Nash became very politically active after moving to California to join with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, as reflected such in Nash songs as "Military Madness" and "Chicago (We Can Change the World)". His song "Immigration Man", Crosby and Nash's biggest hit as a duo (see below), arose from a tiff he had with a US Customs official while trying to enter the country. Nash became an American citizen on August 14, 1978.
Starting in 1972, Nash teamed with Crosby, the two continuing as a successful recording and performing duo until the more or less permanent reformation with Stills for the CSN album of 1977. The pair reunited for another Crosby & Nash studio album in 2004, and a legitimate release of music from a 1970s Crosby-Nash tour as on a widely circulated bootleg appeared in 1998.
In 1979, Nash co-founded Musicians United for Safe Energy.
In 2005, Nash collaborated with Norwegian musicians a-ha on the songs "Over the Treetops" (penned by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) and "Cosy Prisons" (penned by Magne Furuholmen) for the Analogue recording.
In 2006, Nash worked with David Gilmour and David Crosby on the title track of David Gilmour's third solo album, On an Island. In March of 2006, the album was released and quickly reached #1 on the UK charts. Nash and Crosby subsequently toured the UK with Gilmour, singing backup on "On an Island", "The Blue", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", and "Find the Cost of Freedom".
Nash is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".
Graham Nash has been putting the finishing touches on a 65-song career-retrospective box set, Reflection, due in February 2008.
Nash became an early collector of photographs beginning in the 1970s. The sale of his collection in 1990 by Sotheby's became an important milestone in establishing the market for fine-art photography. Proceeds of the sale funded charitable causes and provide the means for Nash to co-found Nash Editions, a digital fine-arts printmaking firm that used some of the most advanced scanning and printing equipment in early days. The company continues to operate today. Starting with an IRIS printer, a device initially designed for color-proofing for commercial printing, Nash experimented in the late 1980s with creating large-scale digital photos. Using image management software written by Nash and Holbert, a hand-built scanner, and an IRIS Graphics IRIS 3047 printer, they developed methods to adapt the printer's output to the fine-arts printing of black-and-white photographs on archival-paper substrates. In August 2005, Nash and colleague Mac Holbert donated that IRIS 3047 printer to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Nash has also exhibited a collection of his photographs at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and elsewhere. In 2004, he released a catalog of his photography as a book entitled Eye to Eye.
Prison Song
Graham Nash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And said I have to leave you
For buying something from a friend
They say I've done wrong
For protecting the name of a man
They say I'll have to leave you,
So now I'm bidding you farewell
For much too long.
For every man inside,
If he can hear you sing
It's an open door.
There's not a rich man there,
Who couldn't pay his way
And buy the freedom that's a high price
For the poor.
Kids in Texas
Smoking grass,
Ten year sentence
Comes to pass
Misdemeanor
In Ann Arbor,
Ask the judges
Why?
One day a friend said to her kids
I'm gonna have to leave you
For selling something to the man
I guess I did wrong
And although I did the best I could
I'm gonna have to leave you
So now I'm kissing you farewell
For much too long.
And here's a song to sing,
For every man inside
If he can hear you sing
It's an open door.
There's not a rich man there
Who couldn't pay his way
And buy the freedom that's a high price
For the poor
In Graham Nash's song Prison Song, the singer shares the story of two individuals who were taken away from their loved ones due to a drug-related offense. The first verse is about a friend who has to leave his companion because he was caught buying drugs from a friend. The authorities believe he has done wrong by protecting the name of the dealer. In the chorus, Nash presents hope to all inmates that there's an open door if they can hear the song being sung. The song continues with a reference to the unjust and harsh sentences given to drug offenders. Nash cites an example of kids in Texas smoking marijuana and receiving a ten-year sentence while a similar offense in Ann Arbor is deemed a misdemeanor. He questions the judges on their inconsistent application of the law.
In the second verse, the singer talks about a mother who has to leave her kids because she was caught selling drugs to an undercover agent. Although she did the best she could, she will have to pay the price, which is separation from her loved ones. The song ends with the same chorus, stressing that although the rich could buy their freedom, the poor have to suffer the high cost of incarceration. Overall, the song aims to highlight the disproportionate and unfair treatment of drug offenders in the justice system.
Line by Line Meaning
One day a friend took me aside
At one time, a friend pulled me aside to talk.
And said I have to leave you
The friend expressed that they could no longer remain together.
For buying something from a friend
The reason behind the separation was purchasing an item from a mutual acquaintance.
They say I've done wrong
The explanation given was that this act constituted misdeeds.
For protecting the name of a man
In the guise of protecting someone's reputation, the singer engaged in wrongdoings.
They say I'll have to leave you,
The authorities mandated the decision that the separation was necessary.
So now I'm bidding you farewell
As a result, the singer is firmly saying goodbye.
For much too long.
The separation would be prolonged.
And here's a song to sing,
However, regardless of the separation, the singer offers this composition for different inmates to share inclusion.
For every man inside,
The song's dedication is for everyone imprisoned.
If he can hear you sing
The song reaches out to those who can audibly listen to its lyrics.
It's an open door.
For these individuals, the song is an opportunity for solace and understanding.
There's not a rich man there,
Regardless of wealth, everyone is in the same situation in prison.
Who couldn't pay his way
The wealthy have the means to purchase their freedom.
And buy the freedom that's a high price
However, freedom comes at a steep cost in monetary terms.
For the poor.
Unfortunately, this cost compares with the inability of impoverished individuals to afford their freedom and the subsequent loss of freedom and rights.
Kids in Texas
Shifting the song, the artist initiates the next verse with introducing the audience to the issue of imprisonment for small, controversial crimes committed by young people.
Smoking grass,
The crime in this scenario pertains to possession and consumption of marijuana.
Ten year sentence
The punishment rendered by authorities significantly outweighs the crime.
Comes to pass
The punishment is enforced and occurs despite the young people's situation, need for rehabilitation, and stage of life.
Misdemeanor
Similarly, even minor offenses, in the case of Ann Arbor, warrant disproportionate punishment.
In Ann Arbor,
Ann Arbor becomes another example of a location where unfair treatment occurs.
Ask the judges
To get answers regarding and solutions to this issue one must question the judicial system and its role in imprisoning young people for minor offenses.
Why?
The question raised at the end of the verse summarizes the confused mentality and questioning that surrounds such an issue in American society.
One day a friend said to her kids
The song highlights an incident in which the singer's friend must also leave their children due to wrongdoings.
I'm gonna have to leave you
The parent must leave their offspring behind and face punishment.
For selling something to the man
The crime committed entailed selling items to law enforcement or becoming involved in the police.
I guess I did wrong
The parent acknowledges their misdeeds but is unable to alter legal authorities' consequences.
And although I did the best I could
The individual emphasizes that they did everything in their power to avoid this scenario.
I'm gonna have to leave you
Regardless, the authorities mandate separation, resulting in loss for children and the punished parent.
So now I'm kissing you farewell
The individual's capacity to say goodbye to their family is emphasized by the poetic language used.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GRAHAM NASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@najibchergui
One day a friend took me aside
And said I have to leave you
For buying something from a friend
They say I've done wrong
For protecting the name of a man
They say I'll have to leave you,
So now I'm bidding you farewell
For much too long.
And here's a song to sing,
For every man inside,
If he can hear you sing
It's an open door.
There's not a rich man there,
Who couldn't pay his way
And buy the freedom that's a high price
For the poor.
Kids in Texas
Smoking grass,
Ten year sentence
Comes to pass
Misdemeanor
In Ann Arbor,
Ask the judges
Why?
One day a friend said to her kids
I'm gonna have to leave you
For selling something to the man
I guess I did wrong
And although I did the best I could
I'm gonna have to leave you
So now I'm kissing you farewell
For much too long.
And here's a song to sing,
For every man inside
If he can hear you sing
It's an open door.
There's not a rich man there
Who couldn't pay his way
And buy the freedom that's a high price
For the poor
المصدر: LyricFind
@ayoubaallagui4070
Who’s still listening to this song in 2020....from morocco🇲🇦
@odalanizi
Salam Ayoub, also listening to this song in 2020! greetings from an Ayrab-Canadian in Toronto :)
@ayoubaallagui4070
Oda Lanizi hi brother,be safe
@makelove5d
Saludos, igualmente, desde España !!
@dawliz2010
Me
@eramarina1684
Salam from Greece 🙏🏾
@mehdidm8140
I'm still listening in 2024 .... some songs are pure magic ! No time and no place ... flying in somewhere else out of the space...❤
@saidharrak7274
Still listening to this beautiful song in 2023, bring back memories from the 80's camping in Dalia tangiers, Said Harrak . London
@MedSou
One of those rare songs that broke the genre barrier. It didn't matter if you were a rocker, country fan, rap fan, etc. Everyone liked this song.
.
.
👇
Hope everyone finds inner peace ❤
@daevidintonti6931
I didn't knew this.. That's great . Great!