Somewhere I heard this when I was a small kid. I was probably over at a cousin’s home when I heard it. It would not have been in my sister’s Osmond or David Cassidy collection. I remember hearing it again when I listened to the Woodstock soundtrack. It’s a super dark song about a dark time. Joe McDonald was from Washington but he played in San Francisco with different Frisco bands.
I was just commenting in the last few weeks on a post and I said that the times influenced or helped make the music. This song is a perfect example of that. One of the most traumatic times in our history was going on. I can’t imagine what 17 or 18-year-olds were going through then. I remember in the 80s there was a rumor that the draft would start again. My friends and I couldn’t imagine it…for the 60s and 70s generation, it was no rumor but cold hard facts.
The studio version has “The Fish Cheer” which was basically Gimme an F, Gimme a I…and spelled Fish. The Woodstock version…not so clean. His real name is Joseph Allen “Country Joe” McDonald. He got sued in 2001 by the heirs of Jazz musician Kid Ory over the song that sounded like a song he wrong called Muskrat Ramble performed by such musicians as Louis Armstrong. Country Joe won because the court said they shouldn’t have waited over 3 decades. They sued after hearing a new version of it by McDonald in 1999. Ironically the family had to sell the copyrights to pay McDonald for his legal bills.
He wrote the song in 1965 and played it live quite a bit. The song was released in 1967 on the I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die album. The song wasn’t a hit but was known by the counterculture at that time. While at Woodstock…he was asked by the festival promoters to kill some time between changing sets of bands. He found a guitar backstage and brought it out and played the song along with the “F*ck Cheer.” When the movie was released it caught on right away because of the sing-along style of it.
I’m glad McDonald came out and said the song wasn’t against the soldiers in any way…more about the politicians and the ones that made money off the war.
The album peaked at #67 in 1967.
Country Joe McDonald: “I wrote ‘Fixin’-to-Die Rag’ in the summer of 1965 after I had been discharged from the U.S. Navy for several years, it just popped into my head one day and I finished it in 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. [‘Fixin’-to-Die’] attempts to put blame for the war upon the politicians and leaders of the U.S. military and upon the industry that makes its money from war—but not upon those who had to fight the war, the soldiers. The song attempts to address the horror of going to war, with a dark, sarcastic form of humor called ‘GI humor.’”
Country Joe McDonald: “My most famous song really couldn’t get airplay, it got me banned from municipal auditoriums for a long time after. So I paid a price. But I’m proud to say that I’ve carried with me the reality of the Vietnam War. I’m the elephant in the room.”
The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag
.Gimme an F…Gimme a U…Gimme a C…Gimme a K…
What’s that spell?What’s that spell?What’s that spell?What’s that spell?What’s that spell?
Yeah, 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.
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.
Well, come on generals, let’s move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds –
The only good commie is the one who’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.
Huh!
Well, come on Wall Street, don’t move slow,
Why man, this is War-a-go-go.
There’s plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
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.
Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate,
Send ’em off before it’s too late.
Be the first one on 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.
…
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
I love how the “doo-wacka-doo” chorus changes to “psychedelic” and then back again. I don’t know who else besides the Beatles used calliope. The prior album “Electric Music for the Mind and Body” is also great. Without “Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die” they may have remained another obscure San Francisco band. The other song you mention (“Who Am I?”) makes it clear that there is more to Joe than meets the eye.
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This was probably my first exposure to the San Francisco music I would say…him and Jefferson Airplane…even before I knew Janis’s music.
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they have the right sentiments there, it’s the industrial companies who wanted the war more than anyone and the teens – on both sides – that paid the price.
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Yea I remember in the 80s thinking they were going to reinstate it…it was serious talk….I thought oh shit…I know now why those kids back then did crazy things. What a load to hang over your head when you are coming of age.
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The best anti-war song of it’s time. The soldiers I knew dug it and were glad that some long-haired dude put it out there. You have to listen to the lyrics to understand that it’s about the military industrial complex, not the poor guys drafted to fight. My father, a vet of WW2 thought the song was a hoot. Also, he prayed everyday that I wouldn’t be drafted and sent to Viet Nam. Looking back on Woodstock today, it was 3 days that was never repeated. The end of the sixties came hard, not quite what the hippies imagined. I was a teenager during those years and remember the turmoil more than the flowers in your hair.
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I can’t imagine what you guys were thinking and feelign around the age of 17 and 18. I see why a lot of them did drugs…with that hanging over their heads.
Yea this seemed like the last hurrah of the sixties.
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Yep, I was in the first lottery and was 1A all through college. Many of my friends were drafted, sent to Viet Nam, and a few didn’t return. It was uncertain times, and then of course there was the Manson murders that sent the country over the edge, resulting in a sour ending to an amazing decade. Many folks my age call it the “back in the day,” but I’m not sure I would want to go back there.
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I can tell you what I was thinking. In short, I had a draft counselor and met with the minister of the church I grew up in, planning to apply for conscientious objector status. My lottery number was high enough that I did not need to pursue it to completion.
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I just talked to my cousin not long ago and he said he started to eat salt to spike his blood pressure and it worked…it was early on.
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A very sarcastic song that was great for Woodstock.
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This song speaks volumes about what was going on in the country at that time. I hadn’t heard it in ages, but the lyrics “came back” to me pretty quickly.🙂
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Yea he made it so easy with the sing along verses.
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And the truth shall ring out. Never heard the studio version but definitely the Woodstock one. I don’t remember the circus flavor at Woodstock. It works well. I’m glad we have enough freedom in the US that this song was allowed to see the light of day. If Country Joe hadn’t sung it at Woodstock, maybe we never would have? Some say God doesn’t exist, but when I hear about powerful, important songs essentially writing themselves, there is no question a higher power is at work. Happy you chose this song to share today.
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It was more known than I thought…of course the kids knew the words so that album must have sold quite a bit or have been listened to on underground stations.
Thanks Lisa…yea this is what I thought of when I planned this week.
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You’re welcome, Max ❤
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It’s pretty memorable in the Woodstock film.
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It has that jolly cheesy feel-good chorus thing going till you get to the ‘your boy in a box’ line. This and Arlo’s ‘ Alice’ used humour to try to point out the idiocy of the situation. Fogarty’s ‘Fortunate Son’ used the pure molten anger method. Strange and dark times indeed. And, as you say, imagine having the draft hanging over your head when you’re 17, 18? Barely started to shave and you’d be wetting yourself whenever the postman dropped something in your mail box. No wonder, for any kid who drew a draft card and who put a value on life/his life Canada became more than a holiday destination back then.
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Dark humor is often the only way to get through hard times. Or, as Freewheelin’ Franklin said, “Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.”
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Well, if I was running through the jungle I’d want to get away from reality later on, even if it was only in my mind.
‘Freewheeling Frank?’ Is that the ex-Hells Angel or am I confusing myself? I recall reading the paperback long ago.
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Freewheelin’ Franklin was a character written by cartoonist Gilbert Shelton, one of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.
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Aha, I’m learning. I have three or four old Zap comics mouldering away someplace. The FFB and R. Crumb at his best and worst.
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Yea I agree Fogerty’s song really rings true with this one as well.
Yea and no wonder kids started to do drugs…I could see why.
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This song strongly resonated with me at the time, as by the late 60s I was adamantly opposed to the Vietnam War. I turned 18 in 1972 and had to register for the draft, which was both frightening and sickening.
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Yea Jeff…I can’t imagine having that crap over my head.
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That’s a classic. While I immediately knew the name Country Joe and the Fish, I didn’t recall the title of the song but recognized right away once I started playing the clip. I have a vinyl copy of the Woodstock album, which I got sometime in the ’80s but haven’t listened to it in many years.
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It is a time capsule for sure… a sing a long song…I had that triple album also!
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High school friends in a garage band learned and played this song. It was a great song to release the anger we felt about the war during our teen years. So many friends, cousins, and uncles lost their lives over a war that was a nightmare, even long after it was over. The late sixties and early seventies will always have a dark cloud over my teen memories in spite of all the rainbows and sunshine and flowers we promoted to counter it.
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Yea I would imagine that completely…until it was over it would have been a hell of a stress to live under.
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Even after it was over, I had friends, relatives, and shipmates who had nightmares from what they saw and experienced. It was worse when I was in the Seabees because they saw a lot of death while building roads, bridges, runways, etc. Alcohol and drugs were the biggest escape for most of the guys.
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Yea I can see why drugs would be an escape…I see totally why…not that I would agree that it’s right…but in that situation…what the hell? Lets try….
Steve…as I said in this…in the 80s there was a strong rumor that a draft was coming. I mean I’m not even trying to compare…but that scared the hell out of me. Couple of my friends joined the National Guard and then suddenly they had to get in some action…they were not expecting that.
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You had good reason to be scared. We all were, though some of us acted brave and didn’t admit it. But there was a lot of talk about “When I’m 18, I’m going to Canada!” I missed the draft but joined the Navy when things were winding down. I have my Nam service ribbon in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, totally out of sight, out of mind.
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Wow…so you did go over there. My brother in law was in Saudi in the Gulf War as a marine. He told me “yea we had it bad but… I can’t imagine being in a jungle where you could see anything around you…”
It was such a flawed plan…kids who didn’t want to be over there…shouldn’t have been. I’ve read the mortality rates were terrible on the front lines. Well yea!
This was not WW2 and the reason was not clear cut. I have to wonder if Kennedy would have lived…would it have played out the same way?
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I don’t think Kennedy would have let it escalate the way Johnson did. Also, JFK had more political clout than Johnson did.
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Yes I agree totally with that.
I didn’t mean to talk you to death Steve! Needless to say those times interest me.
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No need to apologize, Max. It was a bittersweet time during Vietnam and the political assassinations and killings on campuses and festivals. I see a mirror of that happening right now, though at a low level.
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Yes…instead of a generational gap…you have two factions now that won’t meet in the middle.
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