Teach Your Children Lyrics
You, who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye
[Chorus]
Teach your children well
Your father's hell did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by
[Bridge]
Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you
[Verse 2]
And you of tender years (Can you hear and do you care?)
Can't know the fears (And can you see?)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)
About
Graham Nash explains his inspiration for the song in his 2013 autobiography:
The origin of the song came from my recent infatuation with art. I had begun collecting photographs around that time, powerful images that had an emotional effect on me. One, in particular, was a Diane Arbus image of a boy in Central Park. It spoke volumes to me. The kid was only about nine or ten years old, but his expression bristled with intense anger. He had a plastic grenade clenched in a fist, but it seemed to me that if it were real the kid would have thrown it. The consequences it implied startled me. I thought, ‘If we don’t start teaching our kids a better way of dealing with each other, humanity will never succeed.’
Many feel the song is really about how the baby boom generation must teach their parents about the way the world should be. In fact, it’s a lesson for parents and for their children.
– Crosby, Stills & Nash debut album, 1969
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
