The Meaning Behind The Lyrics Of “Long Time Gone” by Crosby, Stills and Nash

The decade of the 60s sparked numerous events that changed the slope of history. From then on, music became a symbol, a tool so powerful that only a few could yield. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, however, are fortunate to be a part of that minority.

In 1967, tensions were high inside David Crosby’s band, The Byrds. It didn’t help either when Crosby joined Buffalo Springfield’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, instead of joining in the performance of his group; Crosby was dismissed afterward. Forming a friendship with Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills, and later on, with Graham Nash, the trio then created an iconic supergroup that would help mold the style of music in the era of the counterculture.

In 1968, Crosby, Stills & Nash was formed. At this point also, Robert Kennedy, JFK’s brother, was preparing to run for president to continue the legacy that his late brother had left in this world. CSN supported Kennedy’s campaign, as he was also a dear friend of his.

However, things went downhill when the younger Kennedy was mortally wounded when shot by a gun from an anti-supporter. 25 hours later, he was announced dead, and the world mourned once again after the death of another Kennedy. Later that night, Crosby penned the cathartic piece “Long Time Gone.”

“It was written the night Bobby Kennedy was killed,” Crosby explained from the liner notes of CSN’s 1991 box set. “I believed in him because he said he wanted to make some positive changes in America, and he hadn’t been bought and sold like Johnson and Nixon – cats who made their deals years ago with the special interests in this country in order to gain power.”

The song was synonymous with the unfolding of the 60s generation, the one where counterculture and protests became evident. Through Crosby’s powerful manipulation of his creative inspiration, he was able to create something worth defining a nation.