An article in the Guardian in 2010 describes the song as the ' greatest protest record ' and ' the pinnacle of a very 1960s genre . ' while also saying ' The revolution never came . ' The lyrics help evoke the turbulent mood of horror , outrage , and shock in the wake of the shootings , especially the line " four dead in Ohio , " repeated throughout the song . " Tin soldiers and Nixon coming " refers to the Kent State shootings where Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four students . Crosby once stated that Young keeping Nixon 's name in the lyrics was " the bravest thing I ever heard . " The American counterculture took the group as its own after this song , giving the four a status as leaders and spokesmen they would enjoy to a varying extent for the rest of the decade
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)