20th Century
Shen
Name: ___________________________
Anti-war Protest in Song - Country Joe and the Fish
Introduction: In addition to the war abroad, the U.S. faced a “war at home.” Anti-war demonstrators, students, draft dodgers, and many
others protested U.S. foreign policy towards Vietnam. Not all anti-war demonstrators were united in their protests, however. Students for a
Democratic Society (SDS) generated a sophisticated political analysis and ideological rationale for their activities, but many other activists did
not. Radicals were dedicated to acts of civil disobedience, while others tried to work through the political system, and even tried to use music to
win the “hearts and minds” of the public.
Directions:
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdeCxJmcAo to listen to Country
Joe and the Fish perform his “Fixin’ to Die Rag” at Woodstock.
• After listening to the song, answer the following questions. Lyrics are on the
back of this should you need them.
1. What does Country Joe accuse Wall Street of?
2. What is his attitude towards the Vietnam War? How can you tell?
3. Why do you think he wrote this song?
4. How does he handle the “horror of war?” Explain.
5. Do you think this song was more or less effective than other forms of protest against the war (e.g., public
demonstrations, civil disobedience)? Please explain your reasoning.
6. If you were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War in 1969, would you have gone? Why or why not? What factors
would have influenced your decision? Explain.
Fixing’ To Die Rag
Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
In the words of Country Joe:
I wrote "Fixin’ To Die Rag" in summer of 1965 after I had been discharged from the US Navy for several years. It just popped
into my head one day and I finished it in about 30 minutes. I did not have a conscious purpose in mind although I had been
working on another song about the Vietnam War called "Who Am I?" for several days so I had the war on my mind. 1965 was
the year that the Vietnam War became big news and a big protest issue with students.
I was raised in a family of American Communists and so I knew a lot about Capitalism and Communism. The song attempts to
put blame for the war upon the politicians and leaders of the US military and upon the industry that makes its money from war
but not upon those who had to fight the war ... the soldiers. It expresses the thoughts of a person trapped in the military system
and forced to go to war by something called "conscription". Conscription or the "draft" as it was called then was a system which
picked young people and forced them into the military and into the war with the only other choice being jail or an attempt to
"dodge the draft" for religious reasons or physical or mental reasons. It was very hard to get out of the draft because so many
people were being killed in the war that they would take just about any one. The song attempts to address the horror of going to
war with a dark sarcastic form of humor called "GI humor". GI humor is a way people have of complaining about their
situation so it will not get them in trouble and keep them from going insane in an insane environment: war.
During the Vietnam War many people joined because they thought it was the right thing to do. It was patriotic. Lots of people
were drafted. Also lots of people were given the choice of volunteering for the military or going to jail on charges of getting into
trouble with the police for one thing or the other. It was a kind of government black mail. During the war people were even
forced into the US Marines, which was always considered to be a volunteer group because so many Marines were killed in the
Vietnam War. The casualty rate for Marines was higher in the Vietnam War than in World War II.