McDonald was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in El Monte, California, where he was student conductor and president of his high school marching band. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy for three years and was stationed in Japan. After his enlistment, he attended Los Angeles City College for a year. In the early 1960s, he began busking on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California. His father, Worden McDonald, from Oklahoma, was of Scottish Presbyterian heritage (the son of a minister); he worked for a telephone company. His mother, Florence Plotnick, was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants and served for many years on the Berkeley City Council. In their youth, both were Communist Party members before renouncing the cause, and named their son after Joseph Stalin.
McDonald has recorded 33 albums and has written hundreds of songs over a career spanning 40 years. In 1965, he and Barry Melton co-founded Country Joe & the Fish which became a pioneer psychedelic rock band with their eclectic performances at the Avalon Ballroom, the Fillmore, the Monterey Pop Festival, and both the original and 1979 reunion Woodstock Festivals.
In the fall of 2005, political commentator Bill O'Reilly compared McDonald to Cuban President Fidel Castro, remarking on McDonald's involvement in Cindy Sheehan's protests against the Iraq War.
In 2015, McDonald (with assistance from Alec Palao), formed The Electric Music Band; the intention of the group was to perform the early psychedelic material of the early career of Country Joe And The Fish. The band has performed 'Electric Music For The Mind And Body' in its entirety, and band members include Palao, The Rain Parade's Matt Piucci and Derek See of The Chocolate Watchband.
In 2017, McDonald released an album on his own Rag Baby label entitled "50".
McDonald was married to Kathe Werum from 1963 to 1966 and married Robin Menken a year after his divorce from Werum.[12] In 1968, Menken gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Seven Anne McDonald, in San Francisco. Seven, formerly a columnist for LA Weekly and now a movie producer and artist manager,[13] had a previous career as a TV child actor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, managed Johnny Depp's Viper Room nightclub and the alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins in the 1990s, and wrote for Details, Elle and Harper's Bazaar magazines in the 1990s and 2000s. According to Ron Cabral's biography on Country Joe and the Fish, Seven was the subject of and inspiration behind the song Silver and Gold. McDonald has noted that his ex-girlfriend at the time, Janis Joplin, showed much anger for breaking up with her to be with Menken but asked him to write a song about her; the result was "Janis".
McDonald has four other children, Devin (b. 1976) and Tara (b. 1980) from his marriage to Janice Taylor, and Emily (b. 1988) and Ryan (b. 1991) from his marriage to Kathy Wright.
As of 2012, McDonald still lived in Berkeley, California.
Breakfast For Two
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Had the blues for breakfast and got back in bed
Woke up this morning with a pain in my head
Woke up this morning with a pain in my head
Had the blues for breakfast and got back in bed
I had sugar in the morning but now my sugar's gone
It's such a lonesome feeling starting off the day alone
I had sugar in the morning but now my sugar's gone
It's such a lonesome feeling starting off the day alone
I like my biscuits buttered and I like my coffee sweet
I like to have my sugar lying here next to me
I like my biscuits buttered and I like my coffee sweet
I like my biscuits buttered and I like my coffee sweet
I like to have my sugar lying here next to me
The song "Blues for Breakfast" by Country Joe McDonald is a classic blues tune with a melancholic tone, where the singer laments about waking up with a pain in his head and feeling blue. The song is about the feeling of loneliness and loss, as reflected in the lines "Had the blues for breakfast and got back in bed" and "It's such a lonesome feeling starting off the day alone."
The opening lines suggest that the singer wakes up feeling unwell and not in a good mood. Perhaps he has a headache due to the excessive intake of alcohol the previous night. The repeated lines signify that the singer can't shake off the blues and is still feeling down. The lines "I had sugar in the morning but now my sugar's gone" could be interpreted as the loss of his partner who used to make his mornings sweeter.
The last verse reflects the singer's preferences for a comforting breakfast with biscuits, buttered coffee, and sugar. However, the sweetness and comfort of the breakfast can't change his underlying feelings of loneliness and sadness. The song "Blues for Breakfast" portrays the universal experience of feeling blue after waking up and struggling to make it through the day.
Line by Line Meaning
Woke up this morning with a pain in my head
Started the day with a headache
Had the blues for breakfast and got back in bed
Felt sad and depressed and went back to sleep
I had sugar in the morning but now my sugar's gone
Had someone sweet in my life but not anymore
It's such a lonesome feeling starting off the day alone
Feeling lonely and sad starting the day without someone
I like my biscuits buttered and I like my coffee sweet
Prefer my breakfast to be tasty and enjoyable
I like to have my sugar lying here next to me
Desire to have my loved one with me in bed
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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