| "Chicago" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single byGraham Nash | ||||
| from the albumSongs for Beginners | ||||
| B-side | "Simple Man" | |||
| Released | May 1971 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter | Graham Nash | |||
| Producer | Graham Nash | |||
| Graham Nash singles chronology | ||||
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"Chicago" (often listed as "Chicago / We Can Change the World") is the debut solo single by English singer-songwriterGraham Nash, released in 1971 from his debut solo albumSongs for Beginners. The song reached number 35 on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart and number 29 on theCash Box Top 100.[1] It is his highest-charting single. In Canada, "Chicago" peaked at number 19.[2] The song also made the Dutch charts in 1971, peaking at number 5.
The title and lyrics of the song refer to theanti-Vietnam War protests thattook place during the1968 Democratic National Convention inChicago and the subsequenttrial of the Chicago Eight, where protest leaders were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot. The first line of the song, "So your brother's bound and gagged, and they've chained him to a chair", refers toBlack Panther leaderBobby Seale,[3] the soleAfrican-American defendant, who was gagged and chained to a chair in the courtroom following repeated outbursts in protest of rulings by JudgeJulius Hoffman.
The line "Won't you please come to Chicago just to sing?" refers to Nash pleading with bandmatesStephen Stills andNeil Young to come to Chicago to play a benefit concert for the Chicago 8defense fund. The chorus contains the lines, "We can change the world / Rearrange the World".
On theCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young live album,4 Way Street (1971), Nash dedicates the song to "Mayor Daley", a sardonic reference to Chicago mayorRichard J. Daley, who was notoriously antagonistic towards anti-war protesters. CSN and CSNY played the song live throughout their career.
In June 2008, in Denver, Colorado, CSN played a slightly rewritten version of the song called "Denver", in anticipation of the2008 Democratic National Convention.[4]
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In 1973, Australian bandSherbet recorded an extended version of Chicago for their albumOn with the Show, which went for over 10 minutes. Sherbet also performed a live version of the song on Australian TV showGTK.[8]
In August 2009,Pink Floyd'sDavid Gilmour released an online version, titled "Chicago - Change the World", on which he sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards, to promote awareness of the plight ofGary McKinnon. It featuredChrissie Hynde andBob Geldof, plus McKinnon himself, and was made with Nash's support.[9] A remix of the track later developed into the albumMetallic Spheres, credited toThe Orb and David Gilmour.[10]
In 1999, the rappersKanye West andBeanie Sigel sampled Chicago on the single"The Truth"; in 2003,Westside Connection used the same sample for their single "Gangsta Nation".
Graham Nash expressed displeasure towardRobert F. Kennedy, Jr. for the "unauthorized" use of the song at anti-vaccine rallies. Nash disagrees with Kennedy regardingvaccine hesitancy and felt that the original intent of his protest song was being co-opted for an unrelated cause that he did not believe in. Nash was concerned that people would mistakenly believe that he supports Kennedy's anti-vaccine campaign. Nash's manager suggested a "cease and desist" letter would be issued.[11]