♫ Teach Your Children ♫

Posted on by under music, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

A friend and I were having a conversation about how far too often we, as parents, instill our own bigotries and hatreds into our children, often without even realizing it.  Religion is guilty of creating so many phobias in children that I would need some extra fingers to count them.  My proposal is that we expose our children to all different sorts of people at a very young age.  Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, LGBT people … and let them see that these are just people, no different than they themselves in the ways that matter.  If we do this, then we raise young adults who are more caring, more accepting of ‘other’ than past generations.  We break that cycle of homophobia, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, and much more.  As I was chatting via email with this friend on this topic, a song title came to me … this one … Teach Your Children, by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Graham Nash wrote this song when he was a member of The Hollies, though it was never recorded by that group. The lyrics deal with the often-difficult relationship he had with his father, who spent time in prison, but they also speak to the way we interact with and accept others.

Shortly after writing this, Nash visited an art gallery and saw two photographs that crystallized the meaning of the song: Diane Arbus’ “Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park” and Arnold Newman’s portrait of German industrialist Alfried Krupp. Says Nash:

“I put the ‘Hand Grenade’ photograph next to a picture of Krupp, who was the German arms magnate whose company was probably responsible for millions of deaths. It was an eerie photograph, a portrait, and the lighting is weird and his eyes are dark – a great image. And looking at them together I began to realize that what I’d just written [‘Teach Your Children’] was actually true, that if we don’t start teaching our children a better way of dealing with each other we’re f–ked and humanity itself is in great danger.”

This song wasn’t wildly popular, although it reached #8 in Canada and #16 in the U.S. but did not chart in the UK or much of anywhere else.  Although never one of my top ten favourites, I did like the song, but was completely unaware of the background (or most of the lyrics) until tonight.

Teach Your Children

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

You, who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so, become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye

Teach your children well
Their father’s hell did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you (Can you hear?) of tender years (And do you care?)
Can’t know the fears (And can you see?)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so, please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)

And teach your parents well
Their children’s hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?
If they told you, you will cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Graham Nash

Teach Your Children lyrics © Nash Notes

25 thoughts on “♫ Teach Your Children ♫”

  1. In regards to the perhaps most consequential of biases — race/color — there are research results that reveal infants demonstrate a preference for caregivers of their own race, and that any future racial biases and bigotries generally are environmentally acquired. Adult racist sentiments are often cemented by a misguided yet strong sense of entitlement, perhaps also acquired from one’s environment. One means of proactively preventing this social/societal problem may be by allowing young children to become accustomed to other races in a harmoniously positive manner.

    The first step towards changing irrationally biased thinking may be the beholder’s awareness of it and its origin. Plus, the early years are typically the best time to instill and even solidify positive social-interaction skills/traits into a very young brain. An always good trait/skill to acquire and maintain for life is interracial harmonization.

    Irrational racist sentiment can be handed down generation to generation. If it’s deliberate, it’s something I strongly feel amounts to a form of child abuse, to rear one’s very impressionable little children in an environment of overt bigotry — especially against other races and sub-racial groups, i.e. ethnicities. Not only does it fail to prepare children for the reality of an increasingly racial/ethically diverse and populous society, but, even worse, it makes it so much less likely those children will be emotionally content or (preferably) harmonious with their multicultural/-racial environment. Children reared into adolescents and, eventually, young adults with such bigotry can often be angry yet not fully realize at precisely what.

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  3. This goes along with the comment I just sent on Celebrating PRIDE Month–Part I, like you were anticipating the comment. Only, here you love it. There, you weren’t so sure. I think it works everywhere. Love Graham Nash, love CSN&Y. Y came of age in my hometown.

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  4. I’ve loved this song ever since it first came out. It is still to my mind one of the most meaningful lyrics ever written in a rock song, so much wisdom from a young man. I wrote two pieces about hopes and dreams when my granddaughter was born, each built around a song as their basis. This was the second – the first was Lee Ann Womack’s ‘I Hope You Dance.’ Two songs guaranteed to get me emotional!

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    • I wasn’t sure if you had ever heard it, when I saw it didn’t go over well in the UK. But yes, this one’s lyrics go far deeper than most music and I think should be heeded by every parent today. Oooohhhh … you’ve just mentioned another that I love! Two great songs to dedicate to the beginning of a new life!

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      • They’ve never sold well over here, but have a very loyal following of people with good musical taste! The album it was on – Deja Vu – was top five here though. Those two songs made a good pairing for the posts 👍

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  6. Pingback: ♫ Teach Your Children ♫ | Filosofa’s Word | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

        • Ahhhh … Italian is such a beautiful language! I don’t speak that one either, but as I am fluent in Spanish, I can understand some Italian which is similar. My granddaughter Natasha is studying Japanese! She’s diligently spending several hours a day learning, practicing writing the symbols, etc. I worked for Honda back in the 80s and 90s and worked with mostly Japanese associates, so I picked up a few words, but … the alphabet is beyond me! Oh, and about fleeing … you are always welcome here, my friend … I’ll keep the sofa ready for you! xx

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          • Gosh, studying Japanese must be horrible, but also very interesting. The fonts would me throw back. I got it with Greece and Hebrew, but the cyrillic fonts, also the Chinese and the Japonese symbols are very cryptic too me. I am so thankful for the possibility of using credit and debit cards all over the world, and the similarity of supermarkets. Thank you very much for the invitation, Jill! I think i will never more be able leaving Germany, within the plannings of our politicans. The find no end of the pandemic. xx Best wishes, Michael xx

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            • WHOA … just how many languages do you know, Michael? I was raised in a bilingual household, so learned both Spanish and English together. Of the two, I find Spanish far easier, for every letter has only on possible sound, and the accent is always on the last syllable except if the word ends in S, N, or a vowel, in which case it’s always on the next to the last syllable. Very few exceptions to the rules, unlike English where the exceptions become the rule!

              Like you, my friend, I might dream of leaving here, but it is very unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity. Perhaps in my next lifetime, eh? xx

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  10. Children would be alright learning about the differences between us that don’t matter (all of them) which are only spoiled when parents with heir nasty little prejudices get in the way and teach children the differences matter a lot. It would b better if children were teaching the parents and not the other way round.
    You can bet when Graham Nash wrote the song in Manchester it didn’t come with all that horrible twanging of steel guitars or whatever. The song itself sounds great but there wasn’t much call for Country and Western in the Sixties in the back streets of the Mancunian Way, Sunny Salford or even in Stockport where many of the local stars shared ownership of a shop. Selling fantastic Sergeant Pepper style clothing.
    Cwtch

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    • I definitely agree! We could all learn from the beautiful innocence of children who just want to love everyone. But alas … eventually those children are exposed to adults who, for whatever reason, have extreme prejudices and call it ‘religion’, and they take away the beauty of innocence. Sigh.

      I never think of this as C&W, but I suppose it is considered so. Sergeant Pepper style clothing, eh? And how many of those outfits, I wonder, reside in your wardrobe? 😉

      Cwtch

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      • Alas none, my wages in those days didn’t match their prices for such stylish clothes. I think they must have spent fortune on window cleaners after I’d been there drooling at what was on display. I did buy a shirt from another shop which was to be a favourite until ‘borrowed’. It had buttons from the neck which stood up, to the shoulder which was where you pulled it on. The sleeves flared from elbow to the wrist which ended in tight cuffs. If whoever ‘borrowed it’ has finished with it, I’d love to have it back. I’m sure it would still fit, cough, cough.
        Cwtch

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        • Awwww … I figured you had an entire collection hiding in the back of the wardrobe! Now who would be so thoughtless as to borrow something so precious and not return it. Hmmmmm … I think I might have a guess …
          Cwtch

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