# Crosby, Stills & Nash Fans: Are 'Wasted On The Way' and 'Southern Cross' Considered Good Songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 25, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207 "2022-09-25T15:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/1 "2022-09-25T15:08:09Z")
“[Wasted On The Way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWlEsta4xS8)” was released in 1982, “[Southern Cross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHL-6cUtZj0)” in the same year. Keeping in mind that I was born in the middle of CSN(and sometimes Y)'s heyday (in my case 1970), these two later songs sound a bit pop-y to my ears, lacking the grit of “Southern Man” or “Ohio” from a decade earlier. Are these two later songs considered good songs in the CSN(Y) canon? Or are they like Starship’s “We Built This City” – which is to say, much-maligned, obvious examples of commercialism. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/2 "2022-09-25T15:12:33Z")
I consider them both very good songs. For whatever that’s worth to you. I liked them both immediately as soon as I heard them on the air for the first time. I still like hearing them. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/3 "2022-09-25T15:14:03Z")
Southern Cross especially is a great song. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/4 "2022-09-25T15:18:17Z")
I’m a CSNY fan (though there are certainly bigger fans than me) – I like both songs, “Southern Cross,” in particular. FWIW, “Southern Man” isn’t really a CSN/CSNY song; it’s a Neil Young song (though it did also appear on the CSNY live album _4 Way Street_). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/5 "2022-09-25T15:20:08Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I consider them both very good songs. For whatever that’s worth to you. I liked them both immediately as soon as I heard them on the air for the first time. I still like hearing them. I am seeing what you done there. Regarding the OP, I think they are both awesome songs. Southern Cross, in particular, strikes me just right. Oddly, it was only recently that I really listened to it (_heard_ it) and came to really appreciate it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/6 "2022-09-25T15:21:53Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I am seeing what you done there. - My first thought also. And both are terrific songs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/7 "2022-09-25T15:23:33Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Or are they like Starship’s “We Built This City” – which is to say, much-maligned, obvious examples of commercialism. A big part of why _that_ song is so widely disliked (including by me) is that it’s a hypocritical song, from a band which traces its roots back to the 1960s counterculture. The song’s lyrics lament how rock music has become commercialized, while, _at the same time_, it has a very polished, “corporate rock” sound. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/8 "2022-09-25T15:23:42Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I am seeing what you done there. What are you implying? What it is ain’t exactly clear . . . ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/9 "2022-09-25T15:28:19Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > I am seeing what you done there. > > What are you implying? What it is ain’t exactly clear . . . - Well, _somethings_ happening here… ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/10 "2022-09-25T15:29:02Z")
You guys need to _stop_…hey! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/11 "2022-09-25T15:34:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@HeyHomie](#): > > > > Or are they like Starship’s “We Built This City” – which is to say, much-maligned, obvious examples of commercialism. > > A big part of why _that_ song is so widely disliked (including by me) is that it’s a hypocritical song, from a band which traces its roots back to the 1960s counterculture. The song’s lyrics lament how rock music has become commercialized, while, _at the same time_, it has a very polished, “corporate rock” sound. - Maybe they were being ironic. /cringes ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/12 "2022-09-25T15:35:15Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > You guys need to _stop_…hey! Did anyone else hear that? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/13 "2022-09-25T15:35:45Z")
“Southern Cross” was always kind of a background radio song for me until I found some MP3s of a band doing live song covers on a secondhand computer I inherited for work (along with a bunch of porn and like 7000 viruses- boss’s son, long story). Anyway, one of the covers was Southern Cross and I really liked their version of it so I learned to play it on guitar (my cover of a cover, at my mediocre campfire playing level). Fun song to play on guitar, and I really got to love it. The meaning behind it is kind of deep, Ithink: for those who live a nomadic, adventurous lifestyle (or just dream of it) are they living out their dreams, or just running away from their problems? A little of both? Fine line. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/14 "2022-09-25T15:50:36Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > “[Wasted On The Way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWlEsta4xS8)” was released in 1982, “[Southern Cross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHL-6cUtZj0)” in the same year. And I somehow didn’t know this until just now. I’m familiar with these songs—I have their “Greatest Hits” album which includes them—but they never stuck out at me as being of a different era or style from their other, earlier hits. For what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/15 "2022-09-25T15:52:16Z")
I like these both. _Southern Cross_ is of course grander and more complex and layered while _Wasted On The Way_ is a nicely straightforward contemplation on looking back at at the past, and as mentioned both bring the characteristic sound and vibe, to my ears and mind. I can see, though, how broadly speaking most people would consider these the markers of the last stage of their being “current” before heading irreversibly for the Senior Circuit. Guess there was a a time for that. … About _We Built This City,_ > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A big part of why _that_ song is so widely disliked (including by me) is that it’s a hypocritical song, from a band which traces its roots back to the 1960s counterculture. The song’s lyrics lament how rock music has become commercialized, while, _at the same time_, it has a very polished, “corporate rock” sound As someone once said to me back at the time it was on first run: “this sounds like their _lawyer_ wrote this song for them”. And yeah, not very rocking or rolling. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/16 "2022-09-25T15:53:23Z")
I feel we need a full link to the video. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bw9gLjEGJrw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHeAoAChgKKAgwIABABGGUgUCg8MA8=&rs=AOn4CLCwLsPjoNxJF_72Gkag-PTOd1XkOg "Crosby, Stills & Nash - Southern Cross") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw9gLjEGJrw) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/17 "2022-09-25T15:53:48Z")
Southern Cross is really, really good. Wasted on the Way isn’t bad, but I haven’t listened to it 5 times in a row on many occasions like Southern Cross. They’re both CSN, not CSNY like Ohio. Southern Man is just a Neil Young song and has nothing to do with CSN. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/18 "2022-09-25T15:55:34Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Maybe they were being ironic. /cringes Here’s a GQ article, with quotes from a number of people (including the band members) about it. No sign of any ironic intent (which, if there had been, might have gone a fair way in justifying the song). The article’s sub-headline includes this awesome line: “it will stay lodged in your brain, like a barnacle made of synthesizers and cocaine, for hours after you read this article.” > **[We Built This S#!tty: An Oral History of the Worst Song of All Time](https://www.gq.com/story/oral-history-we-built-this-city-worst-song-of-all-time)** > > Turns out even the people who made it kinda hate it, too. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/19 "2022-09-25T16:10:44Z")
Well, you either like them or you don’t, who cares if they are ‘considered good songs’ - by who?.. I keep reading lists of much-hated songs, and a lot of them I just love. Are they good songs? To me, hell yeah. I love CS&N - except ‘Our House’, which makes me want to barf. Is IT considered ‘good’? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207/20 "2022-09-25T16:16:01Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I love CS&N - except ‘Our House’, which makes me want to barf. Is IT considered ‘good’? Life used to be so hard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosby-stills-nash-fans-are-wasted-on-the-way-and-southern-cross-considered-good-songs/972207.md?page=2)