Immigration Man

Album: Graham Nash/David Crosby (1972)
Charted: 36
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Songfacts®:

  • Going through immigration can be very aggravating, but Graham Nash channeled that frustration into a song.

    In the liner notes to the CSN boxed set, he told the story: "I wrote the song after being hassled by a customs official who wasn't going to let me into this country. He held me up for a very long time. Then people started coming up, asking for my autograph, and he let me through immediately. But it still made me angry. I'm not against local color but why should you fight me because you speak differently than I do?"
  • By 1972, fans of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were anxiously awaiting a follow-up to their blockbuster 1970 album Déjà Vu. They had to settle for solo projects and other permutations of the group, as they just couldn't synch to record another album. Graham Nash and David Crosby released a collaborative album (with the uninspired title Graham Nash/David Crosby) in '72 with "Immigration Man" the first single. It did well, reaching #36 in the US, but the album didn't do anywhere near the business as Déjà Vu. Crosby, Stills & Nash (without Young) finally put out another album in 1977 called CSN.
  • Nash sang lead and played piano on this track, with Crosby on guitar and harmony vocals. The lead guitarist is by one of their many very talented friends: Dave Mason. The other musicians are John Barbata on drums and Greg Reeves on bass.

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