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.
Love
Country Joe & The Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well, now deep in my heart baby I know that you care,
Deep in my heart, babe, the feeling is there,
'Cause I got something money can't buy,
I got something that you oughta try,
I got love, love, I said love, sweet love,
I got love, baby, yeah!
Well I can tell by your smile what you want to do,
See it in your eyes you got the feeling, too.
Come on, baby, it's time to move,
'Cause I've got something that's a stone groove,
I got love, love, I said love,sweet love,
I got love baby.
Well, now deep in my heart baby I know that you care,
Deep in my heart, babe, the feeling is there,
'Cause I got something money can't buy,
I got something that you oughta try,
I got love, love, I said love, sweet love,
I got love, baby, yeah!
The lyrics of "Love" by Country Joe & The Fish express the message of love being an emotion that cannot be bought with money. The singer acknowledges that his lover cares deeply for him, and he reciprocates that feeling with his own love. He urges his lover to embrace this passion, implying that they share a visual connection that indicates their mutual attraction. Referring to his love as a "stone groove," the singer conveys that his love is thrilling and exciting.
The repetition of the phrase "I got love" throughout the song gives the impression that the singer is convincing himself as much as his lover. The use of the phrase "deep in my heart" portrays the depth of his emotions, implying that this love has been brewing within his soul for some time. He uses the phrase "something that you oughta try" to suggest that his love is unique and special, something that his lover has never experienced before. Overall, the song is a celebration of the universal human emotion of love, and how it can be the most valuable thing one can possess.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, c'mon
Encouragement for someone to take action
Well, now deep in my heart baby I know that you care
Assurance that the other person cares as much as Country Joe does
Deep in my heart, babe, the feeling is there
Reiteration of Country Joe's emotional connection
'Cause I got something money can't buy
Love is worth more to Country Joe than any material possession
I got something that you oughta try
Urging the other person to experience love with Country Joe
I got love, love, I said love, sweet love
Love is emphasized as the most important thing
I got love, baby, yeah!
Final expression of love towards the other person
Well I can tell by your smile what you want to do
Country Joe can read the other person's desires from their facial expressions
See it in your eyes you got the feeling, too
The other person reciprocates Country Joe's feelings
Come on, baby, it's time to move
Encouraging the other person to act on their shared feelings
'Cause I've got something that's a stone groove
Country Joe's love is described as cool and trendy
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COHEN, ISRAEL, WILLIAM SCHROEDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind