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.
Simple Man
Graham Nash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I sing a simple song
Never been so much in love
And never hurt so bad
At the same time
I am a simple man
And I play a simple tune
Across the room
Like the first time
Just want to hold you
Don't want to hold you down
Hear what you're saying
And you're spinning my head around
And I can't make it alone
The ending of the tale
Is the singing of the song
Make me proud to be your man
Only you can make me strong
Like the last time
Just want to hold you
Don't want to hold you down
I hear what you're saying
And you're spinning my head around
I can't make it alone
The lyrics of Graham Nash's song "Simple Man" describe a man who is uncomplicated and straightforward in his emotions and actions. He expresses his feelings through his music, singing a simple tune about love and heartbreak. He acknowledges that he's never been so in love and simultaneously in so much pain, suggesting that the love he has is intense, but also causing him distress.
The singer wants to hold his lover again and hear her speak, indicating that they have been separated for some time. He is frustrated and feels lost without her, unable to make it alone. He emphasizes that he does not want to hold her down but wishes to be together with her as equals. The last verse indicates that the love story is ending, and the song will be its conclusion. He is proud to be her man, and only she can give him strength. The simplicity of the lyrics reflects the uncluttered nature of the singer's feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a simple man
I am a person who is content with simplicity and straightforwardness.
So I sing a simple song
As such, I prefer to create and perform music that is easy to comprehend and relate to.
Never been so much in love
I have never felt as strongly attached to anyone as I do to you.
And never hurt so bad
Correspondingly, I have also never felt such immense emotional pain as I do from being separated from you.
At the same time
These feelings are occurring simultaneously, and it is a confusing and tumultuous experience.
And I play a simple tune
My creative output is consistent with my nature as a simple person, and I continue to create straightforward music.
Wish that I could see you once again
I am desperately hoping to have the opportunity to be in your presence once more.
Across the room
Even observing you from a distance would be sufficient to satisfy my longing.
Like the first time
I would want this experience to resemble the initial encounter between us, which I remember fondly.
Just want to hold you
As a simple man, I have uncomplicated desires, and I simply want to hold you.
Don't want to hold you down
I do not wish to hold you back or impede your individual aspirations.
Hear what you're saying
I am listening attentively to what you are communicating to me.
And you're spinning my head around
Your words are affecting me emotionally and mentally, and I am finding it difficult to remain level-headed.
And I can't make it alone
In light of my deep feelings for you, I cannot imagine going through life without your companionship and support.
The ending of the tale
Ultimately, the resolution of this situation is represented by the conclusion of my song.
Is the singing of the song
The song itself represents my attempt to express my emotions and come to terms with my situation.
Make me proud to be your man
I feel honored to be your partner and would be proud to be recognized as such.
Only you can make me strong
Your love and support give me the strength to face the struggles that come with life.
Like the last time
As with my earlier references to the initial encounter, I am hoping to experience a similar sense of joy and fulfillment once more.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group
Written by: Graham Nash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marco A Rodriguez Luisaga
I am a simple man
So I sing a simple song
Never been so much in love
And never hurt so bad at the same time.
I am a simple man
And I play a simple tune
I wish that I could see you once again
Across the room like the first time.
I just want to hold you I don't want to hold you down
I hear what you're saying and you're spinning my head around
And I can't make it alone.
The ending of the tale
Is the singing of the song
Make me proud to be your man only you can make me strong
Like the last time.
I just want to hold you I don't want to hold you down
I hear what you're saying and you're spinning my head around
And I can't make it alone.
Andrea Waterstreet
That beautiful, beautiful voice. And he’s quite nice to look at—he aged really well too.
Christina L
LOVE this song!!💚
Waterbird 4222
Agreed.
Love this whole Album.
Anthony Parkinson
It's so sad hearing him sing now his voice has grown so old and tired. It has lost its lightness and flexibility
Marco A Rodriguez Luisaga
I am a simple man
So I sing a simple song
Never been so much in love
And never hurt so bad at the same time.
I am a simple man
And I play a simple tune
I wish that I could see you once again
Across the room like the first time.
I just want to hold you I don't want to hold you down
I hear what you're saying and you're spinning my head around
And I can't make it alone.
The ending of the tale
Is the singing of the song
Make me proud to be your man only you can make me strong
Like the last time.
I just want to hold you I don't want to hold you down
I hear what you're saying and you're spinning my head around
And I can't make it alone.
Mark Williams
Brilliant vocal performance.
Will Williams
A simple masterpiece
Pascal Jeanne
in love with joni ....i can understand , so beautiful !
Pascal Jeanne
i dont car if he was or his handsome man , he just write the song for one of the beautiful woman ever on this earth and she is a genius ! i wouldnt like to be in his role ! man if joni mitchel broke ??? you die ?
Kevin McNamara
Perfection