Find the Cost of Freedom

This song was written during the vietnam war. Part salute to Soldier, and part protest that young men were dying. Having lost family in the military, I used these lyrics in his eulogy. No one knws better than family and soldier/comerades the true cost of freedom. There are extended versions of these lyrics, and Stephan Stills used to use this song in his encores. I listened as he played these lyrics and sevral more verses he seemed to make up as he played, very impressive. Her are the Lyrics I found

Daylight again, following me to bed I think about a hundred years ago, how my fathers bled I think I see a valley, covered with bones in blue All the brave soldiers that cannot get older been askin' after you Hear the past a callin', from Ar- -megeddon's side When everyone's talkin' and noone is listenin', how can we decide?

(Do we) find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground

Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down (Find the cost of freedom buried in the ground

ummm, easy...our freedom was paid for with the lives of men...if the freedom of man as a universally accepted ideal no one would need to die to insure others of their freedom

i like the second comment. maybe it talks about how the push for freedom has met the end for countless innocent lives, to strive for one common goal.

that aside, enjoy this song. its not that long but the harmony is beautiful

it could mean both.

for a soldiers life, the cost of freedom is ultimately... dying

for our lives, the cost of "freedom" is a soldier dying..

but i agree with munchner, what it really means to me is that the cost of freedom is your life.

theres yet 2b a documented case of a soldier dying 4freedom. they die for bankers. funny how these hippies became full on fascists once they got a few bucks. specially that ugly pos rat neil da rat

@ceresmary that's a great take and I'm glad you brought up the live "Manassas" version. It brings in Daylight Again, which @haskmojo included the lyrics for and some of those lyrics you were asking about are from that.

That long intro -- Manassas -- gets to what Daylight Again's lyrics bring up and explores it in greater depth. It starts off:

Daylight again, following me to bed

It's not the first thing that's kept Stills up all night (4 + 20) but he's clearly haunted by thoughts he cannot escape. In this case, he's thinking back 100 years to the Civil War and seeing a battlefield "covered with bones in blue." Those skeletons are not just lying there, however, they're calling out to you to come join them.

Daylight Again ends with this line:

When everyone's talking and no one is listening, how can we decide?

In Manassas, after singing about the the costs and causes of war 100 years ago this becomes:

Today, my friends, we find ourselves with a similar sort of problem We got everyone talking and nobody is listening All we want to do is change the course of our lives Change the way we think Change the face of our land Change the ways of this world Coz it's a new time

He sings more about how change always comes, how we need to make the changes, how change is hard. About why we need change because of how much more powerful our weapons are, but he also says the most powerful weapon we have -- more powerful than any gun or bomb -- is our minds. If we can use our minds instead our guns, then:

The changes will come without the shedding of a drop of blood. ... but we find the cost of freedom buried in the ground Mother Earth will swallow you, lay your body down.

So yes, the song says that soldiers pay for freedom with their lives, but that is not the primary message.

So what does it mean to Find the Cost of Freedom?

Soldiers have been dying paying this cost and nothing ever changes. Down through our ancestry they're calling out to say it's now your turn to pay that price. Mother Earth will take you is as it did for them. And still nothing will change if that is the price we pay, if blood is the currency we use to pay for freedom.

If blood is the cost of freedom, we will never stop paying the price for something we will never have.

In Manassas, you can hear Stills' frustration and its the frustration of a generation. In 1973, the US negotiated a peace with Vietnam but the fighting continued for two more years. We went into Vietnam to keep the Vietnamese people "free from communism". The Vietnamese people wanted to be free to choose their own path, and they had already been fighting the French for their freedom for years when we chose to intervene.

When everyone's talking and nobody's listening....

Other comments on this song bring up the politics. Is this patriotic? What about the people who spit on our soldiers when they came back? Stills is calling out both sides because neither listens. It's not the first time he's done so. Go back several years to Buffalo Springfield and For What It's Worth:

There's battle lines being drawn Nobody's right if everybody's wrong

Other artists of the time were expressing the same sentiments. Anger was directed towards the government and the generals, the decisions makers who decided who lives and who dies and for what. What was needed was for people of any and all perspectives to just sit down and talk, use that most powerful weapon that is our minds, and find a way to a true, lasting freedom for which no one has to die to achieve. Just a few examples to consider that touch on this:

One Tin Soldier -- The Original Caste Scarborough Fair/Canticle -- Simon & Garfunkel Fortunate Son -- Creedence Clearwater Revival Woodstock -- Joni Mitchell What's Going On -- Marvin Gaye Get Together -- The Youngbloods

The first talk about just how tragic losing lives to war is. The next gets right at putting the blame on the establishment that demands sacrifice but makes sure they never pay it themselves. The last three get to that theme that really drove the peace movement of the time, which was that the path to peace was one of understanding and love.

i always thought it meant that the only real freedom is death.

Given the politics of CSN&Y this song seems a little too patriotic. Nevertheless, I think this song honors fallen soldiers who paid the greatest price of freedom.

I think you missed the meaning. Remember when this song came out in the late 60's early 70's that Viet Nam was going on and Americans did NOT revere the military (spitting on them and calling them baby killers) Knowing CSNY's propensity for protest songs, I think it was a Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground" means the bodies of those who fought for freedom will never feel it's rewards. the second line "Mother Earth will swallow you. Lay your body down." is directive in nature, and reflects the fact that politicians and the corporations want you to give your life, but that they won't. Times change the meanings of words and the context, but if you think of the times the song was made, it reflects a different image. Ohio is about the Kent State killing of four student protesters. The nation was hurting and I think the music reflects that.

Most people assume that this song is somehow patriotic or militaristic, but this kinda falls apart when you realize that Stills wrote it to be the coda of "Easy Rider." In that light, it's a statement about intolerance in America which continues to persist