Poll

[Larry Miller]

take the poll then enter your own choice

[Jon Light]

No disrespect intended, Larry, but I can't see making a choice. It's a great list and they all fit the bill, big time.

[Edward Meisse]

My real choice is the Country Joe Mcdonald tune, which I can't remember the name of...."put down yer books and pick up a gun...."

[Mike Perlowin]

No disrespect intended, Larry, but I can't see making a choice. It's a great list and they all fit the bill, big time.

Jon is right, and objectively, we can't really choose just one.

But subjectively, we all have our favorites. I voted for "For What It's Worth."

I saw most of the great 60's bands but I missed the Springfield. I would have liked to have seen them.

[Leslie Ehrlich]

I believe the Country Joe tune was called the 'Fixin' To Die Rag'. My favourite line in that song was "C'mon fathers, be the first one on your block to have your son come home in a box" - or something to that effect.

[Mike Winter]

Yeah, "Fixin' To Die Rag"...fits today, too. Kind of funny that there are no current songs about the war that are so "in your face."

All the songs on the list remind me of the Viet Nam "conflict"...hard to choose. But Country Joe's tune was real powerful back then.

[Dave Mudgett]

Specifically on the Vietnam war - IMO, the major anthems were definitely the "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish and, from the other side of the table, "Fightin' Side of Me" by Merle Haggard.

I think "For What It's Worth" spoke more to me because it doesn't take political sides as overtly, but is more of an observational thing. I'd say it's also my favorite musically - just a great tune, and totally atmospheric with that tremelo guitar figure. It's not necessarily about Vietnam, but more about the culture, authority, and power.

I hope that it's possible to discuss this without erupting into a political flame war, but I have my doubts. I view these songs first as music - yes, they made various cultural and political statements, but that's what a free society is about.

[Mike Perlowin]

I think "Fixin' To Die Rag" actually helped end the war. It certainly galvanized public opinion against it.

I read somewhere that Nixon had decided to use nuclear weapons against Hanoi, and was dissuaded from doing so by all the protests, I don't know whether or not that's true. If it is true, than Country Joe's song might have saved countless lives.

[Edward Meisse]

I liked fixin to die rag just because it WAS an in your face kind of song. That's the kind of person I am. These days many of my friends won't ride in my car because they're afraid my bumper stickers are going to get us beat up or shot at.
Oddly enough, I thought, "The Fightin' Side of Me," was also a great song. But then I love everything the Hag has ever done.

[Burr Oxley]

I date back to the earlier days of those serving in Viet Nam, and would associate "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" as something that was popular among those of us there in 1966-67.

[Eric West]

I always liked CSNY, and (bad history cut)whose seeds sprung from protests in Chicago against the JFK/JBJ Democrat War in Vietnam. Their music was genuine if sometimes misdirected..

Country Joe was as bad as they come for not wanting to pay musicians. "The Fish" were always "on strike" whenever they came to our town. I was dissapointed a couple times.

Merle did "Okie From Muskogee" and "Fightin Side of Me" as a joke. Somebody jump in and correct me SVP..

Kind of ironic.

"Wave that Flag. Wave it Wide, and High." -Jerry Garcia-

Funny how things turn out.

I'm waiting for the first protest song against fighting the Worldwide Islamic Revolution, that "takes off" but I'm kind of drawing a blank.

"Tonite This Heartache's on Me" falls a little short..

Maybe Cindy Sheehan has one in the works..

Probably a gig there for a couple of youse..



Happy T-Day All.

PS: Attn MkPl Reading is Fun.

Me, it's time to give thanks for being able to plug in the Tele, among other things...
EJL/HFLE

[Mike Perlowin]

Short history lesson Eric. CS and N (without Y) first got together in 1969, when Nixon was president, and their protest song (with Y) "Ohio" was against the Kent state shootings in 1970

Short history lesson #2, Where there is no question that LBJ embraced and escalated the war, our involvement in it began in 1956, while Eisenhower was president.

Personally I think Truman must ultimately share much of the blame for not interceding on the part of the Vietnamese in their quest for independence from France after WW2. He was asked asked to do so on 7 different occasions, and each time he rejected the plea of the Vietnamese people and sided with the French. Had he recognized Vietnam's desire for independence and helped them achieve it, they would have been our allies instead of our enemies, and we would have achieved everything we fought for, without the loss of even one American life.

There's more than enough blame to go around for members of BOTH parties.

[Eric West]

Yeah you're right MP. One man's Intercession is the same man's Imperialism.

You're right about the blame

Accepting it seems to be a weak point..

Cain Slew Abel and it all went downhill from there..

Happy T-Day.



EJL

[Leslie Ehrlich]

Merle did "Okie From Muskogee" ... as a joke.

He dedicated that song to his father.

I'm waiting for the first protest song against fighting the Worldwide Islamic Revolution, that "takes off"

You'll be waiting a long time because there is no worldwide Islamic revolution. Rival groups of Muslim fanatics are too busy trying to kill each other.

[David L. Donald]

I picked For 'What It's Worth' from the list.
But 'Getting Ready to Fixing To Die Rag' fits better,

But, 'For What It's Worth' had much more aiplay before and after.


Glaringly missing is 'The End' by the Doors,

After Apocolyps Now it became totally
tied to the war imagery.
Certainly emblematic of the era.

[Dave Mudgett]

As far as Hag and "The Fightin' Side of Me", I think he meant it, if this recent interview is any indication: Look HERE.

I can't find the old interviews to substantiate this, but my impression from reading them back then was that he was very unhappy with the lambasting active and returning soldiers were getting from people who disagreed with the war and didn't go, which I can very much relate to. I think that was often misdirected and just wrong, agree or disagree with the Vietnam war.

But interviews I've read over the years on "Okie from Muskogee" indicated this was written from his father's point of view, as Leslie suggests. Here's a fairly recent interview covering just that topic:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2002-05- ... randed-man

I write from someone else's point of view sometimes - this makes total sense to me. One type of songwriting is storytelling.

IMO - we should not expect to find perfect philosophic or political consistency in songwriting. They are songs, not political science or philosophy dissertations. The difficulty is that they are often taken up as anthems by political factions if they see some advantage to doing that.

[Clyde Mattocks]

I saw Merle at the NCO club at Seymour Johnson AFB.
The record of "Okie" hadn't been released yet and he
sang it. A burly Air Force sergeant leapt up on stage when he had finished and shouted into the mike, "Now, that's an AMERICAN song1"

The song I most remember about Viet Nam was the Country Joe song. It shocked me at first, but I came to realize it was something we needed to hear,
and caused me to question buying in to wars that we
were told we must fight to preserve "our way of life."

[Mike Perlowin]

Country Joe's "Fixin'to die rag" was specifically about Vietnam. The rest were not. It's easy to see how some of our solders serving over there could have adopted "We Gotta get Out Of This Place" as a theme song, but I always felt that it was about poverty and poor working conditions.

I think it's fair to say that"The End" was not about Vietnam, so much as emotionally, it WAS Vietnam.

[b0b]

Country Joe's "Fixin'to die rag" was specifically about Vietnam. The rest were not.

Some folks are born, made to wave the flag
Ooh they're red white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief"
Ooh they point the cannon at you Lord

It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no senator's son son.
It ain't me it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one no
...

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer "More! more! more!"

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.

What is that about, Mike, if it's not about the Vietnam war?

[Mike Perlowin]

I stand corrected.

[Colm Chomicky]

I'd add the Marvin Gaye tune "What's Going On?" Probably a ton of others. Hard to pick just one. Maybe just an ecletic bag of tunes...man.

[David Doggett]

In the later years of the war, For What It's Worth, followed closely by Fixin' to Die Rag.

Several of Dylan's early songs in the early years of the war, such as Where have all the Flowers Gone?, Blowin' in the Wind, Masters of War.

War, by War

And on the pro-war side, who could forget The Green Berets.

[b0b]

There are 3 songs that epitomize the "Vietnam Era" in my mind:

• White Rabbit
• Fortunate Son
• Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

I wasn't aware of country music at the time, being an northeastern kid. Funny how those three stick in my head, though.

[Bo Borland]

The first tune that came to my mind as a "protest" song was "Universal Soldier". I can't remember who I first heard sing it and I didn't know until today that Donovan wrote it.
The list of choices above are as good as any that recall the era.

[Mike Perlowin]

Donovan had the hit with the song, but Buffy St. Marie wrote it.

Here are video's of each one singing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpqfnIyV-yQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrPB8TPg ... re=related