Country Joe and the Fish - Vietnam War Song
How many of you remember the Vietnam War? Woodstock? The young people rising up to protest the War? The musical entertainers were as a whole avidly or rabidly anti-war. Country Joe and the Fish's "Vietnam War Song" displayed the popular attitude of the young people and many of the older ones.
Substitute Iraq for Vietnam, terrorists for VietCong/Commies/ Reds. As pertinent today as it was during the Vietnam War. Once again our nation is bogged down in a murderous, destructive quagmire and America's children once again "come home in a box" - for NOTHING that benefits the people or the nation.
Country Joe and the Fish - Vietnam War Song
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
>
Death Toll of American Military edging upward to 4,000. How many more? McCain wants to continue the wars including bombing Iran; Hilary and Obama claim they'll get us out of Iraq but offer no viable plan to do so.
COMMENTS:
Substitute Iraq for Vietnam, terrorists for VietCong/Commies/ Reds. As pertinent today as it was during the Vietnam War. Once again our nation is bogged down in a murderous, destructive quagmire and America's children once again "come home in a box" - for NOTHING that benefits the people or the nation.
Country Joe and the Fish - Vietnam War Song
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
>
Death Toll of American Military edging upward to 4,000. How many more? McCain wants to continue the wars including bombing Iran; Hilary and Obama claim they'll get us out of Iraq but offer no viable plan to do so.
COMMENTS:
-
The Future Was Yesterday said... How many of you remember the Vietnam War?
Just slightly.:) Lyndon Johnson mentioned it to me in passing.:)
This war is much different only in that A)It's the personal war of a President who refuses to listen to his country, and B)It's America's first war that is all about two religious cults and nothing more.- fjb said...
I saw Country Joe and the Fish in 1971 at a music festival on Vancouver Island. Somewhere in the bowels of my "stuff", I still have one the advertising posters. Now you've inspired me, and I'm going to have to spend hours finding it to show my teenage son while I play this vid, and I'm sure he'll roll his eyes and think "Oh no, here she go again..." .;)
- WA: This war has been compared frequently to the Vietnam war. The latter may seem like ancient history to the young ones of today, but much can be learned from it.
posted by Anonymous @ 2/10/2008 08:07:00 PM
Country Joe has his own website, and he has posted an "updated" version of the song written by Randall Bart. I think you'll get a kick out of it:
LINK
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 6:15:00 PM
Thank you for the link, Thomaslb; I should have known there would be songs written paralleling Vietnam and Iraq a la Country Joe. I turned the Wild Child on to the link and she sang the new versions. Most sounded pretty good.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 7:45:00 PM