"Ohio" was written by Neil Young in direct response to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. The lyrics, including the repeated line "four dead in Ohio," evoke a mood of horror, outrage, and shock over the events, where National Guard officers shot and killed four students during a protest. The song became a powerful voice for the American counterculture, with its lyrics referring to "tin soldiers and Nixon coming." It plays like a raw, immediate expression of grief and anger.