Teach Your Children

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"Teach Your Children" is a song by Graham Nash. Although it was written when Nash was a member of The Hollies, it was never recorded by that group, and first appeared on the album Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in 1970. It quickly became a counterculture anthem, one of the first public performances of the song having taken place on November 15, 1969, at a San Francisco rally against the Vietnam War, shortly after the album was recorded but before its release.^[1] The recording features Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar, probably the first time that Garcia recorded with that instrument.

Although the song was probably based in part on Nash's difficult relationship with his father^{[citation needed]}, Nash, who is also a photographer and collector of photographs, has stated in an interview that the immediate inspiration for the song came from a famous photograph by Diane Arbus, "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park." The image, which depicts a child with an angry expression holding the toy weapon, prompted Nash to reflect on the societal implications of messages given to children about war and other issues.^[2]

"Teach Your Children" was used in a 1970s public service message on television highlighting the negative aspect of nuclear testing and proliferation. The clip portrayed multiple nuclear explosions carried out by the United States.^{[citation needed]}

It was later used in several ads for the Mondale/Ferraro ticket in the 1984 United States presidential election.

It was also performed in the Six Feet Under episode "Falling Into Place".

It was also used as one of the songs in the 1971 British movie Melody.

It also appeared on the show WKRP in Cincinnati on the episode "I Want to Keep My Baby".

The song was performed on The Office by Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute in the episode "Take Your Daughter to Work Day." It was also performed as a duet between Graham Nash and American Idol finalist Brooke White, on the season seven finale of American Idol on May 21, 2008. It was performed by Crosby, Stills, and Nash on The Colbert Report on July 30, 2008 with host Stephen Colbert filling in the fourth harmony (Neil Young's portion) and wearing a Young-mocking outfit (and being referred to by Nash as "Neil").

The song is also referred to in the 2001 young adult novel Finding H.F. by Julia Watts, where it is played and sung by Wendy's father.

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1. ^ Personal recollection of editor John Cavilia
2. ^ Interview with Bob Edwards, "Bob Edwards Weekend," broadcast on NPR February 14, 2009