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.
Hold On It's Coming
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Picked up a hitchhiker the other day,
He said he wasn′t going far.
He looked so strange I couldn't help myself,
I asked, "Please, tell me who you are."
He smiled politely and lit a cigarette,
The smoke seemed to cast a spell.
Yet it was so strange I can hardly tell.
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it's coming
He said, hold on it′s very near Hold on it′s near
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it′s coming
He said, hold on it's almost here.Hold on it′s almost here
My mind seemed to spin and my hands began to tremble,
I began talking in tongues.
I looked over and his eyes seemed to glow,
It was like looking at the sun.
I told him everything in just a few moments
As if we had stopped time.
I felt the great light just as if I were floating,
It was truly blowing my mind.
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it′s coming
He said, hold on it's very near It's very near
He said, hold on it′s coming Oh, hold on it′s coming
He said, hold on it's almost here.Hold on it′s almost here
And then I was suddenly a child again
Holding my father's hand
And I watched it from the beginning
As I grew from child to man.
My friends all came and gathered round me once more,
We undid what was done,
And when it was over I was driving down the road
I looked around and he was gone.
He said, hold on it′s coming Hold on it's coming
He said, hold on it′s very near Hold on it's almost here
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it′s coming
He said, hold on it′s almost here.Hold on it's very near
He said, hold on it′s coming Yeah, it's coming
He said, hold on it′s very near Hold on it's very near
He said, hold on it′s coming Hold on it's coming
He said, hold on it's almost here.Hold on it′s almost here
The song "Hold On It's Coming" by Country Joe McDonald talks about a spiritual experience he had with a hitchhiker he picked up. The encounter starts with the hitchhiker being an ominous figure, but as the song progresses, it becomes clear that he may be a messenger of some sort. The lyrics describe the experience as a powerful one, with the hitchhiker telling McDonald to "hold on" because something big is on the way. The hitchhiker seems to bring a sense of peace and clarity to McDonald, who feels like a child again by the end of the song as he realizes he has "undone what was done."
The lyrics of "Hold On It's Coming" can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Some listeners may see it as a religious experience, while others may read it as a more universal message about positivity and hope. Ultimately, the song is about being open to new experiences and staying optimistic in the face of uncertainty. By the end of the song, McDonald has been transformed by his encounter with the hitchhiker, and he is able to approach life with a renewed sense of wonder and possibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Picked up a hitchhiker the other day,
While driving, the singer picked up a stranger who was hitchhiking.
He said he wasn′t going far.
The hitchhiker mentioned that he did not have a long journey ahead of him.
He looked so strange I couldn't help myself,
The hitchhiker seemed unusual to the singer.
I asked, "Please, tell me who you are."
The singer politely asked the hitchhiker to introduce himself.
He smiled politely and lit a cigarette,
The hitchhiker remained courteous and lit up a cigarette.
The smoke seemed to cast a spell.
The smoke from the hitchhiker's cigarette had an unusual effect on the singer.
What happened next I don′t understand,
The events that followed were perplexing to the singer.
Yet it was so strange I can hardly tell.
The strange encounter was difficult for the singer to explain.
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it's coming
The hitchhiker told the singer to hold on, that something was coming.
He said, hold on it′s very near Hold on it′s near
The hitchhiker reiterated that whatever was coming was very close.
He said, hold on it's coming Hold on it′s coming
The hitchhiker repeated his advice to hold on, for something was on its way.
He said, hold on it's almost here.Hold on it′s almost here
The hitchhiker revealed that whatever was coming was just about to arrive.
My mind seemed to spin and my hands began to tremble,
The singer was overwhelmed by the situation and started shaking.
I began talking in tongues.
The singer started speaking in an unintelligible language.
I looked over and his eyes seemed to glow,
The hitchhiker's eyes had a glowing quality that caught the singer's attention.
It was like looking at the sun.
The intensity of the hitchhiker's gaze was akin to staring at the sun.
I told him everything in just a few moments
The singer opened up and shared his deepest thoughts with the stranger in a very short amount of time.
As if we had stopped time.
The encounter with the hitchhiker seemed to exist outside of time.
I felt the great light just as if I were floating,
The singer experienced a sensation of floating and being enveloped by a bright light.
It was truly blowing my mind.
The experience was completely overwhelming and astonishing to the singer.
And then I was suddenly a child again
The singer had a sudden flashback to his childhood.
Holding my father's hand
The singer remembered holding hands with his dad as a child.
And I watched it from the beginning
The singer had a retrospective view of his life, from childhood to adulthood.
As I grew from child to man.
The singer recalled his journey of growing up and maturing into an adult.
My friends all came and gathered round me once more,
The singer was reunited with his friends in the present moment.
We undid what was done,
The singer's group of friends were able to reverse something that had happened previously.
And when it was over I was driving down the road
Once everything had been resolved, the singer was driving away from the strange encounter.
I looked around and he was gone.
The hitchhiker had disappeared without a trace.
He said, hold on it′s coming Yeah, it's coming
The hitchhiker repeated his earlier advice to hold on, indicating that whatever was coming was indeed on its way.
Hold on it′s very near Hold on it's very near
The hitchhiker stressed again how close the impending event was.
He said, hold on it′s coming Hold on it′s coming
The hitchhiker continued to repeat his warning to hold on, as whatever was coming drew closer.
He said, hold on it's almost here.Hold on it′s almost here
The hitchhiker confirmed that the event they were waiting for was imminent.
Writer(s): Joe Allen Mcdonald
Contributed by Declan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.