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IT TURNED INTO AN ANTHEM REAL FAST! First Time Hearing Country Joe & the Fish Vietnam Song Reaction
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ย. 2023
- In this video, we're exploring a classic - Country Joe & the Fish's "Vietnam Song" - for the very first time! Get ready to watch us dive into this historically significant track and see why it became an anthem.
🎸 About Country Joe & the Fish: Renowned for their influential role in the 1960s counterculture movement, Country Joe & the Fish combined folk, blues, and rock in a way that captured the spirit of a generation. Today, we're experiencing their iconic "Vietnam Song" and its powerful message.
🎧 In This Video: Join us as we listen to "Vietnam Song" for the first time. Known for its striking commentary on the Vietnam War, we're eager to understand its historical context and see how it resonates with us today. Expect an authentic reaction, a mix of emotions, and plenty of insights.
👫 Why React as a Couple?: Music has the power to evoke emotions and memories, and experiencing it together adds a unique dimension to our reactions. As we navigate the powerful messages in this song, we'll share our individual perspectives and feelings.
🔔 Subscribe for More Reactions: If you're enjoying our journey through music history, don't forget to subscribe to our channel. We love exploring and reacting to new (and old) music, and we have plenty more to share!
🤔 We Want to Hear From You: What's your take on "Vietnam Song" by Country Joe & the Fish? Do you have any other historical or impactful songs you'd like us to react to? Let us know in the comments!
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#countryjoe #vietnamsong #woodstock
Country Joe McDonald was a Vietnam vet by the time Woodstock happened. He was singing about what he knew.
Didn't know that.
@@edprzydatek8398 It's not actually true.
He was out of the Navy by 1962.
He was a vietnam era vet but never was in vietnam and was never in combat.
@marcsabourin5817 I served aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam in 1969 and am considered a Vietnam vet because we were in the "war theater" giving air support. I think 1962 would be considered a Vietnam War year. So he may be considered a Vietnam vet or a Vietnam War Era vet. In any case he was still a veteran.
@@marcsabourin5817My uncle's name is on the wall. He was an E-6 jet engine mechanic, killed in the flight deck fire on USS Forrestal, July 29, 1967, in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Don't lose sight of the fact that the men in the audience were subject to the draft. Also, as pointed out, McDonald was a vet.
Not only was there the draft at 18 (until 1973) but you couldn't vote until age 21 (until July 1971)
I had heard this song when I was younger I'm talking like a kid never thought anything about it. Then I was in Iraq on a nice toasty 135° day standing pre-flighting my aircraft and somebody started playing that song. And I think that any veteran that has been to combat can I identify with that even though it was written for Vietnam but what we cannot identify with is being forced against our will to be there. I signed a contract and I held my hand up. The easiest way that I can explain to somebody who has never served in the military or anything like that. Imagine that you watch a friend go through a really hard time then they get through whatever it is they were going through and you feel all warm and fuzzy that they're going to be okay. That's how we feel when we come home and then you start losing people. People take things into their own hands, people overdose, people are not the same person when they come back so their family who is all there when they joined suddenly disappear, then the homelessness then the drinking starts some people aren't found for days. The alcoholism and not being found for days is what happened to one of my closest battle Buddies. You start losing more people when you get home and we have a VA system that is completely dysfunctional. If you want to do something for Vietnam vets because there's plenty of them stuck in this cycle of unacceptable care, call your elected official and say listen there's one thing that I'm not hearing about and this election cycle and it's the VA. Its simple just Google who's my congressman call talk to whoever the rep is I'm concerned about what's going on with the VA we're not hearing anything. Personally after work when you're stuck in and annoyed so that you can put a little umph into it. I enough people do that it can turn into something. I'm lucky I live in Boston I'm set up with outside Healthcare through Mass General who have this thing called the home base program, it's for veterans to get the help they need outside of the VA.
The audience is so engaged because about 300,000 of them were Young Men ! We All had our lottery number .
Mine was 257... they never got to me, thank God.
Mine was 3 but they ended the draft two days after my number was picked@@PittDaddy
Mine was low, so I joined the Air Force...... Air conditioning......
@@coachstubudgell1242 A good friend of mine was 3, so he also joined the AF. Became a lifer and never went to Vietnam.
Mine was 305. One of my friends in the room listening to the drawing on the radio got #8. Interesting times.
I also know this song as " the fixing to die rag".
The war in Vietnam was the first time that people saw ‘a war’ nightly in their homes on their televisions. Film crews took us into the fighting and photographers brought us pictures like Napalm Girl. That had a huge impact on us.
It was also the last war that DRAFTED soldiers. Everyone had someone from their family sent 😢.
Be it brother, cousins, uncles and Dad's 😢💔🫣
The 6:00 Show.
Yeah, the government learned its lesson and cracked down on the idea of embedded journalists during war. No way they were going to let THAT happen again! We can't let the public know what's going on! THEY MIGHT REFUSE TO GO!!!
That's true. Some families saw their own dead sons on TV, and others saw children with missing limbs.
@@TD402dd absolutely‼️ because of the war machine, not one American family could avoid the DRAFT‼️If you had no one there your neighbors or friends and classmates did.
I was a teenager late 60s and 70s. My uncle was a POW 68-75, 2 cousins died and one came home insane cuz he was a tunnel rat. Vietnam was a major reason they killed JFK. He wanted advisors back and NO US troops.🤬💔🤢🤨
The song title is actually "Fixin' To Die Rag". I was there. Such a beautiful feeling being among all those people.
And the first part was The Fish Cheer, the part i thought would be cut like on radio at the time, they also hit the 300 000 of you bleep out there
You were there! That sooo awesome, what a memory
Country Joe was a veteran, though he was a Navy veteran not an Army one.
@@user-gt2uf8cq9y
Some of those navy guys in the brown water navy really got into the shit, it was no joke in the Mekong Delta, and various other places in a little plastic gun boat!😢
If everybody who says they were there were actually there, there was 10,000,000 people at Woodstock
Hearing this on the radio then, it was shocking.
The most stunning line in the whole song is actually obscured in this live version.
"Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box."
And here we go again....
We knew ALL the words to this song. We sang it in school for goodenss sake! OUR TEACHERS KNEW IT! . . .
Dad was a lifer so he was there the same time my future husband(he was a field medic) , my BIL was one of those hanging out the door of the helicopter with a machine gun.
The box reference was very accurate, I was 13 in 1969 and clearly remember two older kids in the neighborhood that were drafted and went to VietNam coming home in coffins.
Not that many drafted served in Vietnam. Most were volunteers. About 10% were actual fighting combat troops. The other 90% in support roles (jobs) to those combat troops. Most draftees never set foot in Vietnam. Let's get the 'myth' corrected
Another reason for the anti war setiment was that they showed those coffins on the news every week.
But 58,000 did die . And there were 900 fraggings from 1969 to 1972. By gernades. No telling how many by bullets. Imagine being drafted and having a gung-ho 1st lieutenant with a John Wayne complex???? Fragging was an easy choice
As a teen when this came out, the words, be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box, shook me then and still do. Peace from Northern Michigan.
I served two combat tours (26 months) in Vietnam as a Marine Infantry machine gunner. I remember this song well.
Tom Boyte,
GySgt. USMC, retired
Thank you! I appreciate all servicemen. All of you amaze me.
It's hard for me to hear that any soldier was disrespected, especially one drafted into this terrible war, but I am proud that I worked to end the war and save more lives, including civilians.
Glad you made it back.
Thank your for your service. We owe all vets a debt we can never pay.
Thank you Brother
Joe and the rest of the band weren't getting along too well at the time but were contracted to play. Joe went up the first day just to hang out and take in the atmosphere and the band was to meet up with him on site later. With the traffic mess (a section of the New York State Throughway was closed due to the traffic) it was virtually impossible to get anybody on site on time and there was a time slot with no band present to fill it. Someone asked Joe if he would fill in but he didn't even have his guitar with him yet. Eventually somebody came up with one but had no strap for it. They came up with a piece of rope to substitute and Joe went on. He said in an interview later that nobody was actually paying much attention to this one guy on stage with an acoustic guitar so he asked the stage manager if he thought it would be okay to play this. The stage manager shrugged his shoulders and said, "Might as well. They aren't paying much attention to you anyway" So he did and you just saw the results.
Richie Havens started the whole show off under what was basically the same type of circumstances. He was just about the only scheduled act (with none of his accompanists on site when the whole thing was scheduled to kick off. Even though he wasn't scheduled to play for a few hours, they asked him to go on so people wouldn't get upset about no music being played. He did a short set but, as he was trying to leave the stage, he was asked to keep playing since nobody else had managed to beat the logistics mess causing all the delays. He went back on stage and played a second sett but was told that there was still no other bands there yet so he went back out again. This went on for almost three hours/ By then he had ran out of prepared songs and was just ad libbing. One of his signature songs to be came out of that ad libbing though, the one he finished his set with .... "Freedom".
As far as Viet Nam itself, I was the holder of a 1-A Selective Service classification in 1969 and was actually in boot camp in Great Lakes, IL when Woodstock took place. I"d try to explain the whole mess to you but I'm still not sure I truly understand all of it myself. I do know that we were lied to about just about everything from when we first sent troops and why we did to how many of them came home in the sealed aluminum "boxes" that Joe referred to in his song.
I'm 76. I was lucky that my draft board deferred me for joining the Peace Corps. At least there was no draft for the Iraq War. I had to give up a graduate school or else I would have been drafted and sent to Nam. I first saw WOODSTOCK at a large theater in Bangkok, Thailand. Thanks for doing this reaction. Love you both.
Yes. I lost friends from both high school and college, too. I served in the Peace Corps in Iran, and brought back the students who became the Iranian officials who announced the release of the hostages - one of whom had led my training.
I have always felt a responsibility to others - as a volunteer. I was in Kuwait for the fires doing environmental work. I have served as a translator for both Iranians and Afghans.
We can be evil to our brothers and sisters, but always have the choice - but sometimes at great personal cost to ourselves that many decide they don't want to pay.
This was our anthem to Nam conflict. He did a couple more from that era Tricky Dicky and Kiss My Ass. Ya need to listen to these also. Jim
I graduated from high school in June '69, went to Woodstock in August, went back to California and joined the Army in October. What a year that was ! ! ! 🤠
Everyone who was a teenager at this time faced the real prospect of being drafted and sent off to war. I personally went to the Viet Nam memorial in Washington and found the names of the people who I knew that died in Viet Nam. Bob Seeger did a song called 2 + 2 = which was about this. The two plus two was , You turn 18, you get drafted, you get sent to Viet Nam and you die. This was a part of our lives.
Read my reply above
Hello from Arizona. I'm 65 years old and I've been to every concert and if you notice in the audience there's all different colors and a cultures and we really didn't give a s***. And now today our government wants us to be about race. The 60s and the 70s were all about love and peace ❤
Then Disco happened and turned those people angry.
Saw country Joe play this at Woodstock. I was 13 at time. 3 days of great music even in the mud
Country Joe McDonald sang this song solo at Woodstock. He didn’t have his band with him, although the song was originally recorded by Country Joe and the Fish. What fueled the anti-war movement was not only that most people couldn’t figure out why we were in Vietnam, but also the draft-most of the soldiers fighting for their lives weren’t volunteers, as with today’s military.
I had just graduated high school before Woodstock; I remember that time well. If you'd like to hear another very popular song on the same lines, try "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire.
So frightening and prophetic words in that masterpiece!
I think the best anti-war song was 2 + 2 by Bob Seger.. But Eve of Destruction, God on Your Side, Give Peace a Chance and hundreds of others are notable.. For a time war protest songs became their own genre..
@@rickwiles8835 can we throw in Masters Of War from Dylan to your catalogue
How did overlook that one by all means its straight and to the point as far as war goes.@@leefertwayne8163
I grew up at that time. The Vietnam war was horrible and a total waste. Almost every young man over 18 was drafted into the army to go over there and fight. If you got a student deferment for the draft, they came after you as soon as you finished college. Our two presidents at the time Johnson and Nixon LIED about it to the American people. over 50,000 Americans died over there for NOTHING. My anger is rekindled every time I think about it. Things are bad now, but I think it was worse then.
CIA verified with released classified documents that the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident that LBJ used to initiate the war never even happened.
Almost every young man over 18 was drafted? No, that is not correct it was maybe 10%. About 70% of all Vietnam Veterans saw combat. And don’t forget Kennedy’s involvement increasing “advisors” by the thousands.
I had a student deferment and a high draft number so I did not have to go. April 1971 I was in DC with 500,000 others to protest the war.
Such a sad time. The young men I knew that went to Vietnam returned home but none were the same. My husband for one, suffered mentality for years and finally committed suicide. It was his only solution.
@@Richard2003 I remember you! LOL
The best Woodstock performance is the one which put Carlos Santana on the map. They were mostly unknown at the time and were asked to fill a hole in the program when one of the scheduled acts didn't arrive in time to play. They slayed it! You don't know sixties music if you don't know Soul Sacrifice by Santana - it's a classic banger!
hmi - I am now 76. College 1965 - 1967. Now in the Bay Area, I met a 30 year old Mexican-American who lived here his whole life. He plays guitar in a Mexican group and his last name is Santana.
I said, "You must know of Carlos Santana." He lives 10 miles down the highway.
HE DID NOT !! I said, "Google 'Soul Sacrifice', Woodstock."
He was totally blown away !!
It was a time of great change. 50,000 young Americans died in Vietnam and countless more had their lives virtually destroyed by wounds and PTSD. The big difference between Vietnam and Afghanistan was the draft. A third of the Americans sent to Vietnam were dragged away from their homes and families to fight and die in a war of which they did not approve. The streets and Universities here looked very much like the George Floyd protests of 2021, but x5 and all over the country. That's why songs like this and CCR's Fortunate Son became "anthems". Good reaction, guys.
Sung this song in boot camp, nothing like two of us singing the song and the rest of the place joining in.
Every young man had to register for the draft when we turned 18. And, every 18 year old who didn't have a deferment got drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight. Thus, the core to this song.
not true....you posting fiction.....
History has demonstrated that the Vietnam War was a useless, politically driven war. A pure proxy war between the USA and Communism. It was senseless, it was grotesque and it was devastating to people on both sides of the conflict. It also highlighted the terrible social divide in the US, as the vast majority of those drafted were poor &/or black.
There were many great anti war songs from this era. CCR - "Fortunate Son" (1969), Barry McGuire - “Eve of Destruction” (1965), John Lennon "Give Peace a Chance" (1969) & "Imagine (1971).
The most powerful movie I've watched was "Apocalypse Now". This is a classic Vietnam war film. I remember coming out of the movie theatre after watching it and the audience was totally quiet. Not a word was spoken until we left the theatre.
The plot of the movie is that US Army Command is sending Capt Willard up the Nùng River on covert mission to terminate the rogue US Colonel Kurtz, who is waging his own brutal war within war. Kurtz is described as crazy and out of control. Reflecting on the movie it was clear that the farther Willard gets up the river, you begin to question just who the crazy ones are.
Not a music recommendation but about the Vietnam War: I highly recommend Ken Burns' series on the war. It explains everything: how it started (the roots of it were France and the aftermath of WWII), why the U.S. got into it, why it was so controversial, why the politicians kept it going, what we should have leaened from the experience. Really, really amazing and compelling documentary series.
Burns is the greatest documentarian of all time. Vietnam series was great and so was the one on Country music.
Thank you for doing this near Veteran's Day. Many Vietnam vets came home to angry crowds, angry at vets for being part of the war, even though they didn't want to be there. Sad situation
OMG! You reacted to Country Joe! What a pleasant surprise for me to watch your reaction to his performance at Woodstock! Phil, in your reaction you ask how does this kind of war happen when it didn't make any sense! Something to that effect. Here's a theory why Vietnam happened and with all the other senseless "wars" that took place afterwards. President Eisenhower before leaving office warned about the dangers of our military industrial complex. Our military industrial complex is made up of Wall Street companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. There's many more but these aforementioned 5 are the biggest ones. So how do they keep their stock holders happy! Create senseless damn wars like Vietnam AND supplying / selling other countries, with massive amount of arms, like to Saudi Arabia and Israel. It all starts according to this one theory with our military industrial complex needing to make profits, and my God!, do they make huge profits when we are involved in a conflict or needing to supply our allies with huge amounts of arms to keep them safe from 'terrorist". They're publicly traded companies for petesakes! Make bombs, sale bombs, make huge amounts of profits for stock holders as they celebrate deliriously and watch their stock price surge as they get shit faced on the golf course! Nice gig... assholes! My brother was a Sargent Major with the Special Forces (Green Berets) out of Ft Bragg, NC He had 4 tours in Vietnam. Thankfully came back all 4 times in one piece. The only thing he ever said was, it was a shit show. Once again I greatly appreciate you reaction to this video. The sentiment express by Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald's song "The Fish Cheer" is still, sadly enough, relevant today.
Phil I didn't want to write the following in the public comments, as its more of a personal note to you. I didn't see anywhere else to write to you personally. So I hope you see the following. You may see whenever you check whatever source you check or receive a notification of my $20 donation. I see to make a request you ask for $40 Unfortunately I'm on a very limited budget at present. So asking for a big favor in regards to a request and I'm doing this in memoriam for my brother whom I mentioned in my public comment. He passed away last Oct shortly after his 89 birthday. And if you do a reaction to the song I be mentioning in a moment, its to honor him and all who have served courageous in our armed forces and to all the people who want world peace. I think you said in one of your reactions you and Samantha are Canadians? Well the song /performance I'm requesting is by one of your countrymen.... Neil Young. In his "Weld" album he does a cover (no videio) of Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind" There's much I can say about this song and if you react to it, I will but for now, and see if you agree if you react to it, it a follow up in sentiment to the Fish Cheer. By the way I been watching your reactions for several months now and have enjoyed them. Good job guys!
Hi Charles, thanks for your comment - we'll be in touch via email soon!
One of the many great moments at Woodstock. Imagine getting hundreds of thousands of hippies to sing with you.
Imagine putting your ass on the line in a foreign land while some drug induced party is making fun of it.
Woodstock into the 70s the was Golden age Rock music, nothing has since compared to all the great bands that came out of that era
every generation thinks the same thing.
To be clear, less than 3000 Americans died in Iraq, even less in Afganistan. During the height of Vietnam, several hundred died A WEEK on the news every night. And we were losing the war even with the biggest war machine in the world.
One lost life is far too many in bullshit wars like those.
No we weren't losing the war......numbnuts
56,000 kids died not to mention wounded and mental health problems
Everything you wrote is true, and I'd like to add that one of the biggest differences between Vietnam and later wars was the draft. It didn't seem like these young people understood the urgency, and the sarcasm of that song. Why should they? Nobody since then has been forced to fight an unjust war.
because about half of the ARVN refused to fight and the leaders in South Vietnam were corrupt.
This song is part of the black humor that develops when people are in ugly circumstances. By Woodstock, some of the important lies had been found out and we were tired of watching loved ones go off to be killed.
As someone who came from these times....I was heartened to hear you realize that the same crap is still happening....
Another angle I view things like this is realizing all those "kids" are now grandparents......and I find myself wondering how their lives progressed....how many of them feel the same way today as opposed to how many "got off the bus" and turned conservative for example......
Great grandparents, many of those kids are now great grandparents
I heard a few years ago that Arlo Guthrie became a republican.
They estimated a crowd of 50,000 would come to Woodstock,, but they were a little off on that math! Almost 500,000 came, roads were blocked, food couldn't get in, it rained, but there wasn't any violence during those 3 days. Nobody can say that these days!! One of the greatest performances there was an unknown band named Santana doing Soul Sacrifice. Their album was 2 weeks from release yet so nobody knew who they were but they left with a 1/2 million new fans that day!
No cell phones either. The good 'ol days.✌
Great reaction guys... If you want another Woodstock performance I would suggest Joe Cocker singing "I'll get by with a little help from my friends"... Total fire... Thanks again guys... Keep being awesome !!!...
Look up Vortex one a rock concert in Oregon I was there. ✌️
If you want to get a "feel" for Woodstock, watch the movie "Woodstock" it's a documentary about it, with many of the bands/songs and videos of many of the concert goers
Yea, it is clear to me - the 3 hr 'Woodstock ' flick is essential for any rock interested person. or interested in that era in general.
It's also a great statement on how things have changed over the years. 500,000 Americans in a field, and not a morbidly obese one in the bunch.
Country Joe is an under rated icon of the 60s. I grew up in Berkeley where country Joe and CCR are from during this time and it wasn't uncommon to see Country Joe with his guitar at the park doing a sing along. Keep in mind that Berkeley and SF were a hot bed of political and civil movements with the Vietnam protests along with the Civil Rights and Free Speech movements all taking place at the same time so socially there was a lot for artists to sing about to get the message across.
As far as Country Joe wearing an army shirt, that was common with civilians, even at protest rallies. It meant we supported the unfortunate young men who had to be drafted into battle with no fault of their own only because of the age and eligibility, It was the politicians that was the subject of these protests and cause. Yes there were some who were up on soldier's faces but it was mainly the institution leaders, politicians and force they represented.
Country Joe and most of the artists of the time had a lot to say and most songs were about these events.
The song was culturally important in that it made those of us that weren’t “Hippies” take notice and ask (maybe for the 1st time) “Why ARE we there?!?”
The unfortunate part was, these same “peace loving hippies” held the conscripted serviceman responsible for “Nam”, not the politicians who sent them🤬! It was shameful how those boys were treated in many parts of the country🤬🤬🤬
So true, unfortunately!
So not true about us holding servicemen responsible for Nam. It was our friends, our brothers coming home and we were so thankful that they made it back, at least their bodies did. There was a schism among the minority of young people who thought of themselves as revolutionary...the political people may have been more likely to misplace blame, the actual hippies (there were plenty of copycats) knew better for the most part.
You are absolutely correct. I was “counter culture” then, and even I thought that behavior was shameful and unforgivable. Most of my friends felt the same. The overwhelming majority of those young men were conscripts, and didn’t have rich or powerful daddies to get them out of going. Those despicable actions by some fed so much fuel into the culture war fire that has continued to this day. The ONLY thing I would say (not as an excuse, because there was none) was that many felt that if more of these young men had made the hugely difficult decision to go to jail or flee to Canada rather than just do what they were told, that the war MIGHT have been shorter. And yes, they would have been called traitors, and that’s a huge burden to bear. And most found it unbearable. If I had been a young man then, god only knows what I would have done. It took courage either way. Luckily for me, as a woman, I had the luxury of not having to face that choice.
There was a segment of hardcore antiwar activists who believed that a drafted individual should have fled to Canada instead of serving. These hardcore hippies were the people who harrassed the service men, but they were in a minority. Sadly though, they got the majority of the press. Even sadder, history has recorded this to be the norm. While it is true that the Vietnam vet didn't come home to a ticker tape parade, most returning vets weren't spat on as portrayed by the media.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 I chose to go underground in advance (my number was 150, they called up to 200 the prior year) I wasn't going to leave the country...had it easy, I didn't get called.
Country Joe And The Fish had many great songs in the "acid rock" era. Some were very laid back and some were rockin'.
WOODSTOCK!!! What more do you need to say. The greatest music festival for all time!!!
One MAN with an Acoustic Guitar and a Voice rousing 400,000 folks to get on their feet and protest the Viet Nam War. Way to go Country Joe!!! Plus the "F-I-S-H" Cheer.
Country Joe. Little known to modern audiences. Everybody "hip" at the time knew him. Fixin' To Die Rag. Sang it on the bus on the way to school!!!
I'm an old guy from the Vietnam era. I did not serve, with the help of people of Resist the Draft, I got out of it. After my college deferments were completed, they showed me how to avoid getting selected. Some of my friends did tours of duty in Southeast Asia. One never returned. Those that did return were changed - some subtly, some radically. That war was a waste of lives and money. Let me add that I have nothing but respect for the men and women who did serve during that time.
every war after ww2 was a waste.
I was in my early 20s in the late 70s, when I started driving a semi truck across the USA. The vietnam vets were all coming home late 70s and early 80s, lots got in trucks. Some of the stories that I was told by guys who were my exact age, wow is all I can say still to this day, but, I met some of the most loyal friends I have ever known.
I was at both of these events. Woodstock was probably one of the greatest memories of my life and Vietnam was hell. Little did I know when I was singing this on that Saturday afternoon in August that I would be participating the following year. The ODDS weren't good for survival honestly, at least surviving without some sort of damage physically or mentally. Agent Orange has killed so many of my brothers that I knew and was close to. Mental issues killed many more.
THANK GOD that I came home with MOST of my faculties. Mom wanted me to go to Canada but my brother and I both decided not to. My brother didn't pass his physical but those were the days of the draft. You had not much choice. You could volunteer or get drafted. Volunteering was less time to be there. It was a gamble. 58,220 American soldiers paid a price for "NOTHING". We came home not honored, not treated well because at the time it was only a "conflict". It was a very very sad and bad time for America.
Country Joe's " I fell like I'm fixing to Die" Rag and Arlo Guthrie's " Alices Restaurant" were the Best Anti War Songs of all Time.
"There But For Fortune", "Handsome Johnny", "The Merry Minuet"...
Something like four years ago, I heard that Arlo Guthrie became a republican.
The newer wars that you are aware of are/were fought by a volunteer force. Vietnam was a US conscripted war. If you were not in school, you were eligible for the draft and you had no choice. Most draftees ended serving in the army, fighting in a jungle war, for reasons most didn't understand.
Most of the draftees who got sent to Vietnam were from middle class or lower homes. The rich, college boys got student deferments and didn’t have to go. Of course, that included the politicians’ kids. Fortunate Son, by CCR, tells the story very well. It’s worth a listen.
And don't forget when they all came home from Viet Nam, they were spat upon by the public. My husband remembers that VERY well! As if they had a choice about going. They didn't.
I was not from a rich family. I went to college and got the deferment then later a high draft number.@@larrywright3132
@@larrywright3132 That includes donald trump and his alleged bone spurs.
January of 1970 I saw Country Joe and the Fish in concert with a group called Spirit. I was 19. That was in San Antonio, Texas, at the Municipal Auditorium. They did this song, which at the time they introduced as "The Fish Call". I'd heard it before, sometimes on the radio where the beginning was chopped off. But a friend of mine had an album of theirs with this song on it. Everyone I knew thought it was a gas...fun to listen to. And relevant, since there were lots of protests going on against the Vietnam War. There were five more war years still to go, unbeknownst to us. There's a good song about the protests, too. Actually, several of them, I guess, but the best to me was Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". Thanks reacting to this one by Country Joe!
I was serving overseas in the U.S. Army when this song, and many other "anti war songs, came out. It seems it's always the young that die in these conflicts. Things are much different now with the volunteer army of today. I lost several good friends over there and it's still etched in my mind. I will never forget..... even after all these years. Great reaction. Take care.
My life flashed in front of me and I almost cried.
There was a military draft back then, you were required to register when you turned 18 and most men were drafted. I turned 18 in 1972, by then there was a 'lottery' by month and day of birth, so first date pulled (lets say Jan 4), top of the draft list. I was lucky, my number was around 270 so I didn't go.
Perhaps one of the very greatest live rock performances ever, was Carlos Santana (well the whole Santana band actually) doing "Soul Sacrifice", well, well worth your time, if you haven't seen it already. Ohhhh the 60s, you can't possibly imagine, the music, the social unrest, the protests, the marches, 'love-ins', ohhh my...
I believe that is the most spot on reaction I've seen you two do so far!! 👍
Thx Kevin! 🙌
Billy Joel does a Vietnam song. I forget the name but it brings you to tears. If you're alive that is.
Ken Burns’ documentary on Vietnam is excellent.
Wearing military surplus gear was pretty much part of the '60s and '70s fashion. It was cheap and fairly popular among those of us that were anti-war.
Many of the anti-war protesters were Vietnam veterans.
It WAS cheap, fit in w the counterculture style of the times, & let's admit, it was pretty damn good-quality gear! I had some myself! (In that era, I looked not unlike Country Joe myself, in my clothing & hair-LOL!)
Country Joe had served in the USAF.
I wore my brother's fatigues all through high school. Took a lot of shit for it from the administration, but as I used to say, FUCK THEM.
Country Joe WAS A VETERAN!!! He was wearing HIS OWN fatigues! Have some respect!
What a great song had a great time do you know there was 400,000 people there at least and not one fight broke out lots of peace and love and great music
The reason there was so much protest of the Vietnam War was that there was a draft.
I grew up during this period and I saw a video recently that reminded me very much of it. A group of veterans, of the Iraq war, and Afghanistan denouncing the wars and throwing their medals, reminiscent of Vietnam veterans doing the same . I can remember them posting the weekly numbers on the evening new of KIA and MIA along with number of wounded.
If you have the time watch the movie "Born on the Fourth of July."
Santana - Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock is a must watch
Billy Joel’s song is “Goodnight Saigon”
- We met as soul mates on Parris Island
We left as inmates from an asylum
And we were sharp as sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives
We came in spastic, like tame-less horses
We left in plastic as numbered corpses
And we learned fast to travel light
Our arms were heavy, but our bellies were tight
We had no home front, we had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep and shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other, like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes, we would all go down together
I'm of the Woodstock generation, even though I lived in New York City, I didn't go to Woodstock. I now live in the Bay Area, Country Joe still performs around this area. He has raised a lot of money for veterans, so he is the real deal. I believe he is a veteran himself.
As a Retired Marine Corp Vet I've been in VIETNAM YOU CAN VISIT NOW BEAUTIFUL
I tear up every time I hear this. Thank you.
Shows your depth when you play songs like this. This was an important song in its era. I know, I was there. (Not at Woodstock, just the era. haha!)
Need to check out Billy Joel’s Good Night Saigon he wrote it in honor of his friends who served in Vietnam
Or Charlie Daniels, "Still in Saigon"
I was 20 yrs old when this happened and in Army basic training at Ft. Benning GA. The first time i heard this was when I saw the Woodstock movie when stationed on the DMZ in Korea. I didn't go to Viet Nam because my three older brothers were there at the time, luckily we all came home fine. They each did over 20 years and I was in 6 yrs.
I was "in country" about that time too, although we NEVER got back to a :safe area" where all the fun happened. Nope, out in the Triple Canopy Jungle, there was no fun, just rain and mud, slippery mud trails to walk on or sleep to the side of. There was also a small little, wire tough man who did his dead level best to kill us. We got to play with him while the Navy got to go see concerts. Eleven Months, 26 days, 18 hours and 16 minutes - My Tour.
Glad you made it back
I get it, my father was there 1967-1968, it was on the news, on TV, every night.
As a Marine I served with a number of other Marines who were there.
Excellent and a huge thank you. Nam has a special place in my heart
Country Joe is worth looking into more, he did a lot of good music.
I think the Fish Cheer exactly expressed the feelings of most of us who went through that period about the Vietnam "war". I served from 67 - 74 but managed to avoid the jungle spending 5 years in Germany instead. Check out the memorial in Washington DC to see the names of the 50 000 service men that died in that conflict - then you can better understand the "cheer"
Also, another iconic Vietnam era anthem, Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth."
Joe McDonald never served in Vietnam. He enlisted in the Navy at 17 & was stationed in Japan, he was honorably discharged in 1962, before America’s main involvement in the Vietnam war. Joe refers to himself as a “Vietnam era veteran.” He said, I’m a veteran first and a hippie second.
While this song was being played in New York, I was just starting my first week in basic training at Fort Polk, LA. Of course we didn't hear this song for several months after Woodstock, but when we did, we loved it. We all had a pretty fatalistic attitude. We sang marching songs about dying in Nam.
I first saw him perform this in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, during the first Earth Day celebration.
(There was a bit of audience participation during the Fish Cheer. 🤣)
--“But a lot of my friends fought in Vietnam and two close friends were killed. But the people I knew who fought and came back encouraged me to write it. I picked their brains and asked them what music they listened to, what they did, and how they felt. --Billy Joel’s “Good Saigon”
Good on you reacting to a classic like this.
Thank you so much for taking me back to my youth!! 💙💙☮️🕊✌️
Love your channel!!😎😎
McDonald enlisted in the Navy at 17. He served from 1959-62, mostly in Japan, and was only vaguely aware of something stirring in Vietnam.- Stirred a great controversial song.
Wow… has been a few decades since I head this song… well done.
Fun fact: A young Martin Scorsese was part of a documentary film crew that filmed the concert. It was later released as a movie.
Excellent reaction, guys. This and other protest songs of the time reflected and at the same time galvanized the anti-war protests of the 60s and 70s. You rightly point out that there are direct comparisons to what is going on in the world now, but I don't know any protest songs being written or many anti-war protest marches now or during Iraq and Afganistan. I think it's because the draft was abolished and so there is much less "skin in the game" for the average American kid and family than there was back then. Our wars are fought now largely by career professionals, not by the general American youth. For most of the Woodstock crowd, the war was a distinct reality and many had friends who were there or had come back, one way or another.
Man there are soooo many amazing performances at Woodstock.One of my favorites is Carlos Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice”amazing and they played this tripping their faces off.(thanks to Jerry Garcia I here lol)
Fixin' To Die Rag Vietnam was the most significant and formative event from 1965 to 1972 resulting in the counter culture and was very influential on politics and music of the time.
I turned 13 exactly one week before Woodstock, and I was 8 months from turning 18 when they quit drafting for Nam.
Yes same here, turned 13 in January 1969, etc.
Song continues
-Remember Charlie, remember Baker
They left their childhood on every acre
And who was wrong? And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight
We held the day in the palm of our hands
They ruled the night, and the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline, they held the highlands
And they were sharp, as sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors, they counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we will all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes, we would all go down together
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Billy Joel
Goodnight Saigon.
I bought this album in the late 1960’s, there was a game attached. The game had cut-out pieces and a board to play on. I was a hippie back then and lived in a big house with 16-20 other hippies. The house was in an industrial area; at night in the summer we opened all the windows and climbed out onto the roof, turned the music up and danced on the roof top!
Thanks for the memory!
I miss those days but we were out in the Georgia country - PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS ✌💖☮
I graduated high school in 70. This song along with Ohio was everywhere.
A key factor that you might have missed is the Draft. All males had to register for the draft on their 18th birthday. On New Years the draft board held a lottery. The drawn numbers were the days of the year. OR your birthday. If your number was below that years quota you got a free 2 year trip to exotic locations. It included free training in what ever job your tests showed you might do well in. As well as free room board and transportation. Above that cut off line but below the next cutoff line put you in a holding category. Basically your were in reserve in case they needed you. The rest were free and clear. Attending college would exclude you from the draft. So basically it was the poor and Blue Collor who were drafted. As the war dragged on year after year more and more of middle America's young men were coming home in body bags. So more and more Americans of all ages turned against the war. BTW I still keep my draft card and my test scores from my day of tests at the induction center as a reminder,
Fair in some eyes, but pretty shitty to be a part of a lottery! Goodbye a person.
Excellent explanation of the draft ~ witty, too!
As a kid who grew up during the Vietnam War, the song most associated with that war is Gimme Shelter from the Rolling Stones. I saw first hand what these protest songs, and protesters did to the American soldier when they returned home. Country Joe being a Navy Vet must have realized they were staring hatred to American soldier which still exist to this day.
Loved this song back then, played at Woodstock
Got to be one of my best memories, when I first heard this song! After 50 years I still know all the words. There's one line that I want on my epitaph.
I was in the Marine Corps when Woodstock happened. Joe was singing for all us vets.
As always well done. If you want to do a reaction to a song that sums up the history of the 60’s it would be Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire. The Ironic thing is how it still resonates and resembles the problem of today. Anyone else agree?
Between 1965 and 1972 the Draft was in effect. The Draft was enacted in almost every America War before 1974. This recording at Woodstock was a 3 day song festival in New York with about 500,000 attendees.
Country Joe and the Fish frequently started a performance of this song with the Fish Cheer, spelling out F=I-S-H. At Woodstock they decided to change things up.
Music of my youth
I was of age for the draft but it was the year they changed to the lottery system. My twin brother and two cousins who were also eligible gathered in front the the tv to watch the drawing. We all got high numbers so were safe. In high school my English teacher used a text book that included two fish songs, this one withe the "fish cheer" and Sweet Martha Lourane, analyzing the text.
Country Joe and the Fish, made one of the mystical masterpieces
"electric music for the mind and body"
That album is soaked in lsd
This is one of 2 songs that couldn't be played on base at DaNang air base when I was there, the other was Jimi Hendrix version of the Star Spangled Banner!!!