Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Woodstock Meaning

Song Released: 1970

Woodstock Lyrics

Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell me, where are you going?
This he told me

Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and...

1. anonymous

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   Jun 29th 2018 !⃝

   This is about the secret Gnostic religious belief of finding our way back to the Garden of Eden (False Holy Spirit) through sex magic. Research Gnosticism it will be clear.
2. anonymous

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   Mar 2nd 2018 !⃝

   Let us not forget the the School Epicurus established in Athens in 306 BC was called “The Garden” and his philosophy was based on principles of pleasure attained through friendship, seeking knowledge, and living communally in an ascetic life-style. Also the stardust reference is perfect in that every element larger than Lithium (#3) is derived from exploding stars- so we literally are made from stardust.
   
   Joni Mitchel is a genius and these lyrics may be her most significant creative output.
3. anonymous

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   Jan 15th 2017 !⃝

   I believe this song is about the journey that all of Gods children are on. We are by Gods Grace being led back to the garden of Eden, Heaven, where our Heavenly Father placed us in the first place. But was taken from us by the Devil who tempted our first parents. Hence the last verse of the song . Jesus came to redeem us and lead us home back to His Fathers Garden, "Heaven." To me this song is a kind of prophesy .Our true Mother Mary the new Eve will take us by the hand and bring us back to the Fathers house.
4. Thank_A_Hippie

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   Jan 5th 2012 !⃝

   My Interpretation of these “Woodstock” song lyrics as evoking great hippie movement themes, as published at http://www.thank-a-hippie.com/woodstock-the-song-poetically-expresses-hippie-values/
   
   The opening line, “Well I came upon a child of God, he was walking along the road,” evokes the spiritual and religious elements of the counterculture — each human a child of God.
   
   “Yasgur’s Farm,” in Bethel, NY, was the location of the Woodstock festival.
   
   “We are billion year old carbon” is a strong environmental metaphor: humans as just another part of the natural carbon ecosystem — a concept popular with hippies.
   
   “Got to get back to the land” and the repeated line “we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden” seem to speak clearly of the “back to the earth” movement.
   
   “Well, then can I walk beside you?” suggests the camaraderie and easy friendship of the hippies with each other.
   
   “I have come to lose the smog,” states the hippie movement’s awakening of environmental consciousness in an era when air and water quality was distinctly worse than today..
   
   “I feel myself a cog in somethin’ turning” seemingly refers to the sense that hippies really were a special movement bringing major changes; though it could also simply refer to an organic awareness of being a small part of the Earth turning.
   
   “Maybe it’s the time of year, but then maybe it’s the time of man” could question whether the Woodstock good vibes were just a summertime thing or part of a historical transformation of man (humanity).
   
   “I don’t know who I am, but life is for learning” is a wonderful statement of the hippie attitude towards self-discovery! Most people didn’t — and don’t today — openly express doubts about self-identity and life-purpose. Hippies did.
   
   That at Woodstock “everywhere was a song and a celebration” evokes the centrality to the hippie movement of music and communal celebration of it and with it.
   
   “I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes riding shotgun in the sky, turning into butterflies above our nation” adds the Vietnam/Cold War peace movement to the picture.
   
   “We are caught in the devil’s bargain” is tough. It seems to be ending the song with recognition of how messed up things are.

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