The lead singer was "Country" Joe McDonald. The lead guitarist was Barry "The Fish" Melton. Co-founders McDonald and Melton added musicians as needed over the life of the band.
The band was an early example of Psychedelic music. The LP "Electric Music for the Mind and Body" was very influential on early FM Radio in 1967. Long sets of psychedelic tunes like "Section 43", "Bass Strings", "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine", "Janis" (for and about Janis Joplin) and "Grace" (all released on Vanguard Records) were often played back to back on KSAN and KMPX in San Francisco and progressive rock stations around the country. Country Joe and The Fish were regulars at Fillmore West and East and the Family Dog at the Avalon. They were billed with such groups as Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Butterfly. They played at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. In 1971 the band appeared in a Western film starring Don Johnson as an outlaw gang called the Crackers. The film, entitled Zachariah, was written by the Firesign Theater and was billed as "The First Electric Western". They also appeared in the George Lucas film More American Graffiti.
Their biggest hit was the anti-war "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag", which debuted the same year of the band, but became best known after Country Joe's solo acoustic performance of it at Woodstock. Country Joe was involved with legal disputes with the family of Kid Ory due to the tune's similarity to Ory's Dixieland jazz standard "Muskrat Ramble". In August of 2003, the court case was decided in Joe's favor due to the long time between the debut of "Fixin' to Die" and the first legal claim against it by Ory's family. (Copyright on Country Joe's song was registered in 1968, and Babette Ory registered her father's 1926 song in 2001.)
Barry Melton was later a founding member of The Dinosaurs and has recently released new recordings of that band whose members included Peter Albin from Big Brother and The Holding Company and John Cipollina from Quicksilver Messenger Service and Copperhead.
Flying High
Country Joe & The Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got rainwater in my boots,
My thumb's done froze, can't feel my toes,
I feel a little destitute.
Wheels throwing water all over my axe
And Mr.Jones won't lend me a hand.
Up come two cats in a Cadillac
And they say,"Won't you hop in, man?"
All the way, all the way.
The one's that's driving's got a bowler hat,
The other's got a fez on his head.
They turn around and grin and I grin back
But not a word was said.
So I took out my harp and I played 'em a tune,
I could see they were diggin' it,
Then the one with the fez, well he turns and he says,
"We'd like to help you make your trip."
And I went flying high
All the way- all the way.
He said,"We can't leave him out in the rain,
He just might freeze and die,
So why not put him on a plane
And send him home in the sky?"
So they took me to the LA airport,
Laid twenty dollars in my hand.
Well, I paid my fair, I'm in the air
Flying back home again.
And I went flying high
All the way, yeah, all the way, all the way,
You know I went flying high all the way,
Don't you know I went flying high all the way
The lyrics of Country Joe & The Fish's song "Flying High" tell a story of a hitchhiker who gets stranded on the LA freeway in the rain. The rainwater has soaked into his boots, he can't feel his toes, and he's feeling destitute. But then, two men in a Cadillac pull up and offer the hitchhiker a ride. They don't say much, but they seem to enjoy the music the hitchhiker plays on his harmonica. The men decide to help the hitchhiker get home by putting him on a plane, and the hitchhiker ends up "flying high all the way" back home.
The lyrics suggest a sense of isolation and desperation, as the hitchhiker is stranded and helpless in the rain. However, the arrival of the two men in the Cadillac seems almost like a divine intervention, as they offer him a ride and take him to the airport to help him get home. The hitchhiker's music also seems to bridge the gap between him and the two men, bringing them together even though they don't speak much.
Overall, the song is about the kindness of strangers and the idea that help can come from unexpected places. The hitchhiker may have been stranded and alone, but he was able to connect with the two men in the Cadillac through his music, and they helped him get home safely.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm stuck on the LA freeway,
I'm stranded on the busy Los Angeles freeway.
Got rainwater in my boots,
My boots got flooded from the rain.
My thumb's done froze, can't feel my toes,
My thumb and toes are numb from the cold.
I feel a little destitute.
I feel helpless and impoverished.
Wheels throwing water all over my axe
The car's tires are splashing water on my guitar case.
And Mr.Jones won't lend me a hand.
Mr. Jones, who I asked for help, refused to assist me.
Up come two cats in a Cadillac
Two people in a Cadillac pulled up beside me.
And they say,"Won't you hop in, man?"
They invite me to join them in the car.
I went flying high
I felt ecstatic and grateful for the unexpected help.
All the way, all the way.
I felt this way throughout my journey with them.
The one's that's driving's got a bowler hat,
The driver wore a bowler hat.
The other's got a fez on his head.
The other passenger wore a fez hat.
They turn around and grin and I grin back
We exchange friendly smiles.
But not a word was said.
We were content in a comfortable silence.
So I took out my harp and I played 'em a tune,
I played my harmonica for their enjoyment.
I could see they were diggin' it,
They were enjoying my music.
Then the one with the fez, well he turns and he says,
The passenger with the fez hat spoke up.
"We'd like to help you make your trip."
They want to assist me in completing my journey.
He said,"We can't leave him out in the rain,
He expressed concern for my welfare in the rain.
He just might freeze and die,
He worries I might suffer hypothermia.
So why not put him on a plane
They come up with a plan to fly me home.
And send him home in the sky?"
They intend to send me home on a plane.
So they took me to the LA airport,
They drove me to the Los Angeles airport.
Laid twenty dollars in my hand.
They gave me 20 dollars before leaving.
Well, I paid my fair, I'm in the air
I boarded the plane after paying my fare.
Flying back home again.
I am on a flight back to my home destination.
And I went flying high
I felt elevated and joyful from this experience.
All the way, yeah, all the way, all the way,
This feeling lasted throughout my journey home.
You know I went flying high all the way,
I experienced great happiness throughout this event.
Don't you know I went flying high all the way
My joy and gratitude persisted throughout this event.
Lyrics © ALKATRAZ CORNER MUSIC CO
Written by: Joe Mcdonald
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gunman11
Heard this in 1968 when I was 14 !
@carolynzaremba5469
Twenty bucks from LA to SF. Those were the days!
@libertariantranslator1929
Dallas to SF on standby was $70!
@zak2u2
And I remember the days when there would only be 20 people on the airplane. Then deregulation hit ...
@tomzanica8871
as I recall the flights were even less than that but I do know they did go up to $19.95. They hauled plenty of kilo filled suitcases from San Diego in the daze hey hey
@ghostrider-ek8gu
ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY ... and it certainly is!
@gbenother8755
When you're absolutely tripping your brains out, Country Joe and the Fish are guaranteed to boost you even higher and mellow things out at the same time. I used to regularly ride my little motorbike 18 inches above the pavement.
I met Country Joe once at a beach on Puget Sound 25 miles north of Seattle. I was playing an Irish tin whistle at the time, and he had an old acoustic guitar. We jammed for a solid hour before introducing ourselves. He was genuine, friendly, and also really helpful with musical hints and tips (I'm a complete neophyte dilettante myself.) This entire album is nearly perfect "feed your head" hippy music, and is quintessentially 1967, '68.
[ OK boomer, lol! ]
@zak2u2
Do yourself a favor and listen to all of the top ten albums from 65-75. You'll be embarrassed by the music of your youth when you are finished.
@cumdogs6399
@@zak2u2 why are you even here lol
@Daniel-ts3uy
@@cumdogs6399, like they say, "Always 1 in the crowd".