Our House (CSNY song)
Encyclopedia
"Our House" is a song written by British
singer-songwriter Graham Nash
, most famously recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their 1970 album Déjà Vu. It reached #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
. The song refers to Nash's brief affair with Joni Mitchell
at the time Crosby, Stills Nash and Young recorded the Déjà Vu album. What is interesting about this song is the underlying complex moral struggle Nash was facing between the hippy era free love mentality and the desire for a monogamous relationship. While other songs on the seminal album explore the hippy notion of free love, this is the song of a man who yearns for stability in his relationship, house-ownership, and family life.
Graham Nash shares the story behind the song in an audio interview recorded in conjunction with Michael Walker's book Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood "...once you walked into that front door, everything disappeared ...and then I started to think, you know, God, that's an incredibly domestic scene, you know, here we are, Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash, and I'm, you know, put flowers in the vase and light the fire and stuff, and I thought, but you know, I love this woman, and this moment is a very grounded moment... in our relationship, and... I sat down at the piano and, an hour later, 'Our House' was done."
The song has been covered
by a number of artists, including Helen Reddy
(in 2007 it was featured on the UK TV show "Only Fools and Horses"), The Onyx
, Phantom Planet
, Sheena Easton
, Kidsongs
and Sharon, Lois and Bram. It was also used as a commercial jingle
for Eckrich
sausage in the 1980s, and has appeared in various television shows and films, most notably in the Only Fools and Horses
1996 Christmas special, "Time on Our Hands
", which was watched by 24.3 million viewers when it was broadcast in the UK.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer-songwriter Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
, most famously recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their 1970 album Déjà Vu. It reached #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song refers to Nash's brief affair with Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
at the time Crosby, Stills Nash and Young recorded the Déjà Vu album. What is interesting about this song is the underlying complex moral struggle Nash was facing between the hippy era free love mentality and the desire for a monogamous relationship. While other songs on the seminal album explore the hippy notion of free love, this is the song of a man who yearns for stability in his relationship, house-ownership, and family life.
Graham Nash shares the story behind the song in an audio interview recorded in conjunction with Michael Walker's book Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood "...once you walked into that front door, everything disappeared ...and then I started to think, you know, God, that's an incredibly domestic scene, you know, here we are, Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash, and I'm, you know, put flowers in the vase and light the fire and stuff, and I thought, but you know, I love this woman, and this moment is a very grounded moment... in our relationship, and... I sat down at the piano and, an hour later, 'Our House' was done."
The song has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by a number of artists, including Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...
(in 2007 it was featured on the UK TV show "Only Fools and Horses"), The Onyx
The Onyx
The Onyx was formed in Wadebridge, Cornwall in 1965. Out of the ashes of Rick & The Hayseeds the band came to be known as The Onyx Set, named after an Onyx ring owned by original band member Mike Black-Borow. After various changes in the line-up they shortened their name to The Onyx and the classic...
, Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
, Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...
, Kidsongs
Kidsongs
Kidsongs is an American award-winning children's media franchise which includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, The Kidsongs TV Show, CDs of favorite children’s songs, song books, sheet music, toys and an ecommerce website...
and Sharon, Lois and Bram. It was also used as a commercial jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
for Eckrich
Eckrich
Eckrich is a prepared meat brand owned by Smithfield Foods. It sells smoked sausages, cold cuts, hot dogs, corn dogs, Vienna sausages, breakfast sausages and bacon under the Eckrich brand name....
sausage in the 1980s, and has appeared in various television shows and films, most notably in the Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
1996 Christmas special, "Time on Our Hands
Time On Our Hands
"Time On Our Hands" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of the 1996 Christmas trilogy, and was originally billed to be the last ever episode of the show, it was first screened on 29 December 1996...
", which was watched by 24.3 million viewers when it was broadcast in the UK.