For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adam has asked us to find a song written or performed by someone who was born in the month of February.
Happy birthday a day early to Graham Nash. He was born on February 2, 1942, so he will be 84 years old tomorrow. Nash is a British‑born, later American, singer‑songwriter best known as a founding member of both the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). He is known for his light tenor voice and harmony work, central to the sounds of both the Hollies and CSN/CSNY.
In the early 1960s, he co‑founded the Hollies with school friend Allan Clarke, helping create one of the UK’s most successful pop groups. With the Hollies he was involved in hits such as “Bus Stop,” “Carrie Anne,” and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” noted for tight vocal harmonies and pop craftsmanship.
In the late 1960s, Nash left the Hollies and joined David Crosby and Stephen Stills to form Crosby, Stills & Nash; Neil Young soon joined, creating CSNY. He wrote or co‑wrote several of their signature songs, including “Marrakesh Express,” “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” “Just a Song Before I Go,” and “Wasted on the Way.” CSN/CSNY became emblematic of the Laurel Canyon/West Coast scene, mixing intricate harmonies with socially conscious and introspective lyrics.
Nash’s solo debut, 1971’s Songs for Beginners, featured politically and socially engaged songs such as “Chicago/We Can Change the World” and “Military Madness.” His second solo album, 1974’s Wild Tales, included tracks like “Prison Song” and “Oh! Camil,” continuing his interest in personal and political themes. His songs and public statements have long reflected support for peace, environmental causes, and social justice.
Nash is a two‑time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and with the Hollies in 2010). He has also been inducted twice into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, both as a member of CSN and as a solo writer.
Beyond music, he is an accomplished photographer and an early pioneer in fine‑art digital printing; his company, Nash Editions, and one of its printers, are represented in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
The Graham Nash song I am featuring is “Chicago/We Can Change the World,” his 1971 solo single, from his debut album Songs for Beginners. It was written as a protest song about the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the subsequent Chicago Eight/Chicago Seven trial. The song reached No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The lyrics refer directly to the anti–Vietnam War demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where clashes between police and protesters were widely televised.
The opening line about someone “bound and gagged” and “chained…to a chair” points to Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, who was gagged and shackled in the courtroom during the Chicago Eight trial after repeated protests of the judge’s rulings. The Chicago Eight (later Seven) were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot; the case became a symbol of establishment repression of anti‑war and countercultural movements.
Nash wrote the song partly as a plea to Stephen Stills and Neil Young to come “to Chicago just to sing,” asking them to join a benefit concert raising money for the defendants’ legal defense. The recurring chorus, “We can change the world / Rearrange the world,” expresses his belief in collective action and music as a force for political and social change.
The song functions on two levels: condemning the injustice of the trial and calling fellow artists and listeners to show up, lend their voices, and support the cause.
Before you read the lyrics, think about how relevant this song about what was going on in 1968 would be today, 58 years later, if the lyrics were, “Won’t you come to Minneapolis.”
Here are the lyrics to “Chicago/We Can Change the World.”
So your brother's bound and gagged
And they've chained him to a chair
Won't you please come to Chicago just to sing?
In a land that's known as freedom
How can such a thing be fair?
Won't you please come to Chicago for the help that we can bring?
We can change the world
Rearrange the world
It's dying
To get better
Politicians, sit yourselves down
There's nothing for you here
Won't you please come to Chicago for a ride?
Don't ask Jack to help you
'Cause he'll turn the other ear
Won't you please come to Chicago or else join the other side?
(We can change) Yes, we can change the world
(Rearrange) Rearrange the world (It's dying)
If you believe in justice (It's dying)
And if you believe in freedom (It's dying)
Let a man live his own life (It's dying)
Rules and regulations, who needs them?
Open up the door
Somehow people must be free
I hope the day comes soon
Won't you please come to Chicago? Show your face
From the bottom of the ocean
To the mountains of the moon
Won't you please come to Chicago? No one else can take your place
(We can change) Yes, we can change the world
(Rearrange) Rearrange the world (It's dying)
If you believe in justice (It's dying)
And if you believe in freedom (It's dying)
Let a man live his own life, yeah (It's dying)
Rules and regulations, who needs them?
Open up the door
Facts, Fictions & Fantasies 
