Crosby Stills & Nash are a very well-known music group that formed in 1968 and played together (on and off) until 2015. All three singers were inducted, individually, into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and they were again inducted, collectively, as the pioneers of CSN. A footnote to this is Neil Young was sometimes connected to this timeless group, but yet was only given the Hall of Fame recognition as an individual performer.
It has been said that David Crosby was the wild energy that pulled this group together and he also provided the drama that drove his bandmates crazy, many times leaving them separated. I’m not an expert on music groups, but can tell you that Crosby Stills & Nash found a rhythm and message that influenced hundreds of singers and their lasting impact can be heard on any music station today.
What is the point? Glad you asked.
Graham Nash wrote a lot of the songs for CSN and he had more than his share of noted and public spats with the mercurial Mr. Crosby. It was after one such squabble that Graham wrote a song called “Encore” that was meant to warn David that given his much published drug usage and moodiness, his future could be bleak. While the message is unmistakable for David, the writer also leaves some tea leaves for the political class to read and follow.
ENCORE
What are you gonna do when the last show is over?
What are you gonna do when you can’t touch base?
What are you gonna do when the applause is over?
And you can’t turn your back on what you face
And who are gonna be when the lights are all fading?
And who are you gonna be when the band comes off?
And who are you gonna be when your heart is still aching?
And you can’t shrug it off with a laugh
Encore, encore
The last song is over
More, more
The crowd on its feet
Sure, sure
Adulation is so pleasing
Encore, encore
And what you gonna say to the last person leaving?
What you gonna say when that light is turned off?
What you gonna do if you stop believing
That you can’t seem to find what might have been lost?
And how are you going to feel if friends follow fortune?
How you gonna feel if the music dies?
How you gonna live with the soul sadly sighing
Into the wind that is our life
So let’s ask the question to the political class—what are you going to when the last show is over?
The other day I had a conversation with a good friend, a Democrat Senator from Bergen County, and he asked me how long has it been since I left Trenton and did I miss it? My answer couldn’t come out of my mouth fast enough and said I loved my time, but haven’t missed a single day since I left the Gold Dome in 2017. I served and knew it was time to move along.
Given that I have been an active participant in politics since 1984, and given all that I have witnessed in four decades, and given the political near misses and political near death experiences, I would like to believe that I was long prepared when the music stopped.
Most politicians are defined by their elected or appointed positions and when the time comes for them to move on, usually grudgingly, it comes as some shock to them.
This column, and this song, are fair warning to the elected—be prepared and do right by all and some might actually remember you after the show is over.