Country Joe McDonald
Two of the most memorable of events of the 60s were the Vietnam War and Woodstock. Joe McDonald, was a part of both. The song which I was randomly assigned was "Fixin' To Die Rag" by Country Joe McDonald. However, this is only the song's pop-culture name. The song's full name is "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag." Also, Joe McDonald started a band, called "The Fish," which he belonged to. But, in "Fixin' To Die Rag", Country Joe performs alone, strumming his guitar and singing his lyrics. The song is most famous for Country Joe's performance at Woodstock back in 1969. In fact, this performance was so famous, that the only version of the song available on the Internet is the live version from Woodstock. To tell the truth, when I first heard "Fixin' To Die Rag", my friends who were over, Matt Kramer and Matt Stephenson, and I started laughing. We thought the song was really funny because it sounded really "hick-like" and "country". However, after listening to the lyrics a few times, I began to understand the purpose and meaning of the song. Not only did I learn about the feelings of the Vietnam War through the song, but I also could see how pop-culture music evolves over time. "Fixin' To Die Rag", categorized as folk m
usic, was extremely popular during the 60s and 70s, yet it is mocked in current times. It was clear though that this song was about the Vietnam and America. In fact, one line even goes, "Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,/They drop it on the Viet Cong." After listening to the lyrics of the song a few more times, I conducted research on Country Joe McDonald to find more about the song and his life. After learning about Country Joe's life, experiences, and feelings, I was able to get an even better understanding of the meaning of the song. Country Joe McDonald actually fought in the Vietnam War. He had been in the U.S. Navy for several years. After being discharged, he wrote "Fixin' To Die Rag" in the summer of 1965. It was a spur of the moment occurrence, the idea popped into his head and he wrote the song in 30 minutes. The entire song is about the Vietnam War and is known as an anti-war song or protest song. Country Joe McDonald once said in an interview, "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." This was the way many Americans felt during the war. They were upset at the government and upset at losing the lives of young American males. McDonald also shares how many young American males felt cheated and trapped within the system that the US government setup. "Conscription", or better known as the draft, was felt as the governmen
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Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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