GRAHAM NASH interview | 2019

I've learned that my songs to me are true they're about something real being able to dig deep inside of me and sing a song like our house that I've sung a thousand times and still mean it but you know David and I made some very fine music together and I'm sad that that part of our life is over yeah we're a nation of headlines but the headlines keep coming every hour instead of every day we just keep getting distracted from what's going on and the Trump administration in the United States has made an art of distraction all the things we stood for that love is better than hatred that peace is better than war that we have to take care of our fellow human beings because that's all we have on this planet those things are still true today today I need to know that I've I brought something into the world that was positive and not negative so mr. Nash why did you want to do this European tour I have songs I've written I want to sing I'm a musician yeah I want to communicate with people I want them to think about things they may not think about and I need them to enjoy themselves one of the things that I need my audience know is that I want to be there making music for them I'm not gonna phone it in I'm not gonna do it half-assed I'm gonna do it the best way I can how would you describe that best way being able to dig deep inside of me and sing a song like our house that I've sung a thousand times and still mean it I still want to put the same passion into the delivery of the song that I did when we made the record and when I wrote the song that's why yeah close to 50 years ago when the song originally was written it's on a legendary album how do you look at that looking back 50 years in time when it was written I don't you don't don't think back there's no point what can you do about the past not very much and so I I'm always looking forward to the song I'm writing now and the show I'm gonna do tonight I don't think about the past too much the underlying title of the European tour is called an evening with songs and stories we used to go for songs and now people tend to go for stories and songs because the art of songwriting to people that enjoy music but don't write music the art of songwriting is very mysterious I'm not even sure how I can describe what I go through I wake up in the morning I'd say I'm alive I get on with my day I checked the news from around the world I checked local newspapers I checked what's going on with my friends and I write about my life that's all I've been doing all my life what do you learn from yourself while playing your songs in 2019 solo with an acoustic guitar I've learned that my songs to me are true they're about something real our house my relationship with Joni Mitchell you know military madness about my father going off to World War 2 immigration man about what happened to me at the immigration desk in Canada many years ago Cathedral I wrote for you know realizing that you know more people have died in the name of God than any of our major Wars and it's been happening constantly for thousands of years use the mic talk about it are you you have to talk about it you have to deal with with this the air force the politicians are ruling our lives so therefore you choose to underline your performances with an evening of songs and stories yes okay because as I said you know songwriting is mysterious to most people they want to know what you were thinking when I wrote immigration man on wind on the water or whatever no they want to know how how will he do that and I'm not sure I know what song do you like the most of your turtle over at this moment because it's probably moment restricted too much that that changes daily you know it changes daily I've been I've been because I've been on my own for the last couple of years I've been able to sing songs that I never got a chance to sing and that have never been performed publicly and right now and we're doing a song that I that was on on the CSN album with the boat on the cover called carried away and I just started doing it I think it's a beautiful song and I my songs are true to me there are about real instances yeah I started doing a radio and TV program called 2 meter sessions I invited David Crosby about four or five times my first interview with David Cross he was in Maidan where his original Dutch ancestors come from the defenseless how do you look at someone who influenced your voice in your way of singing in your life so much at this very moment I am I was a singer way before I ever met Crosby I've been singing since I was 13 years old yeah nobody influences me I mean his way of saying must have influenced your voice as well maybe but you know David and I made some very fine music together you know we did and I and I'm and I'm sad that that part of our life is over yeah but you know look what we did we we tried our best to bring good music into the world what you just told that you started seeing at the age of 13 and what I actually meant was you meet people who tend to influence you because of their being and that's very moment that changes you very much yes how many of those importance do you predict everybody even you you're everyone's affecting me right now I'm aware of everybody in this room you know I I like to be in the present now right now that's why we're talking so nicely here yeah you know um and I I was only trying to do my best with everything that I've tried to do I'm trying to be the best father the best husband the best lover the best musician the best friend I'll never get there but I'm trying because I'm coming to the end of my life now I know that you know I'm 77 right now you know the truth is I could drop dead in the middle of this conversation but but so could you you know but but I you know I need to know that I've I brought something into the world that was positive and not negative you still believe in the power of of music yes absolutely why am I here in Belgium if I didn't we have a chance as particularly in America and you can speak your mind you know in many countries CSNY could never have existed you know but in America you can it's going through incredible changes right now but but I I do feel that democracy is the best way to go and I do feel that we will come out of this Trump administration eventually being born in Blackpool I was having lived in Manchester mm-hmm and having been influenced by Liverpool of course it's still something British in you after and of course so long in the United States Army yeah but I'm English I'm always English there's nothing else I can be is but English you know but I found a country in America that I wanted to be a part of I wanted to vote I want I didn't want to throw musical hand grenades you know from from afar I wanted to be a part of the country and that's why I became an American citizen over 40 years ago today's July 24 2009 teen quite a historical day why well I mean Boris Johnson and Great Britain do you think it's really important I don't know yeah there's so much going on that is completely unimportant we tend to focus on small things and that's what's happening in the United States right now we're a nation of headlines but the headlines keep coming every hour instead of every day and so you know like for instance the school shooting in Florida in parkland school where you know 17 kids were killed right when did you last talk about that no because it what happened yesterday let's get on with what's going on today so there's another headline today we just keep getting distracted from what's going on and the Trump administration in the United States has made an art of distraction how should we focus how do you see that I think you have to start with yourself I think you have to start with the area where you live let's make sure all the litter is picked up make sure it's all clean make sure that your that your friends know that you love them let's get back to ourselves because the Trump administration is taking people out of themselves and hating people that are a different color or a different religion or just different than them you know and he has given voice to all the white nationalists and all the people and I've noticed as I've been traveling around the world for the last two or three years the incredible rise of the right wing and the white nationalists it's it's happening all over the world and it's a very dangerous time it's particularly dangerous in the United States because the very democracy is in peril how could we change those people if we wanted to change them think locally it's very difficult look at look at how many people are in the world what is it now almost seven billion people how do how can you possibly manage 7 billion people it's how can you be the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of England you're dealing with millions of people it must be an a difficult job to do no I'm not envious at anybody that wants to seek public office because it is so it's so political you know and what's happening in America right now is that the the Republicans are clinging on to Donald Trump even though they know that he says awful things and he does awful things but he is getting their agenda through and so they will put up with him whilst he's getting what they want done yeah I do have a number of friends in California and a number of friends and colleagues in the other part of the United States as well when it comes to being divided on a topic the islands of California is completely divided from a lot of other parts of the United States of America mm-hmm but so is the United States of America it's not very United right now it really isn't there's a division in the people of people that hate and people that love and and Donald Trump has made a line right down the middle and separated everybody and that's how demagogues rule that's how that's how Putin rules that's how Duterte rules in the Philippines that's how you know early on those in Turkey you know it's it's a very dangerous time for ordinary people okay and we have to deal with it whether you're an artist or an interviewer indeed would you call yourself pacifist absolutely you see all the things that the hippy stood for and I still consider myself to be a hippie you know all the things we stood for that love is better than hatred that peace is better than war that we have to take care of our fellow human beings because that's all we have on this planet those things are still true today today one of your legendary quotes is when I play announcer my first visit the bull dock and then I do my performance one of those evenings I saw you playing in the Heineken musical together with Stephen Stills and David Crosby and you were talking about the bulldog almost all evening yes enjoy that very much well because you know when you've lived in a country like I did in America where where marijuana has been classed as a number one drug you know and it's you know people go to jail for long times because of it and then you come to Amsterdam and it's free and it doesn't seem that Amsterdam has collapsed you know they say well you know you might if you legalize marijuana the entire culture is going to just destroy itself that's not happening it's not happening in Amsterdam that's for sure and never has and so yes there's a freedom when we can't when we come to Amsterdam that we can go with everybody watching and buy a joint and smoke it one of the things that I read of one of the interviews that you were reading this book by Russell short oh yes the islands of the center of the world yeah this is a very important book why is it important because it's interesting to know the history of the United States and how it really started and you know Henry Hudson who was an Englishman was in in charge of a Dutch fleet when he discovered America and so the English said well it's English because it's Henry Hudson but the Dutch say no no it's Dutch because he was working for the Dutch government and quite rightly so and so this book traces the the island of Manhattan in America from the 1600s all the way and I must tell you having lived in New York now for the last four or five years it's exactly the same as it started it started out with many different languages many different people of different colors many people of different religions all wanting to buy food and and clothing and shelter and make money that's exactly what's going on in New York to this day by the time I leave my apartment I go down to Starbucks to get a coffee I can hear ten languages it's an alive city and always has been yeah I love this book thank you very much you're very wise one more question okay um and you have a t-shirt which says Rosa Parks Museum mm-hmm could I see the hole yes it says the only tired I was was tired of giving in thank you so much you're welcome you

Channel: 2metersessions

Views: 86,837

Keywords: Graham Nash, Crosby Stills Nash Young, CSN, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, hollies, interview, 2019, jan Douwe Kroeske, gent, boomtown, déjà vu, our house, Joni Mitchell

Id: obKxadMqvJU

Length: 15min 39sec (939 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 29 2019