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.
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uncle Sam needs your help again
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Viet Nam so
Put down your books and pick up a gun we're
Gonna have a whole lotta fun
(CHORUS)
Don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates
Ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die
Come on wall street don't be slow
Why man this war is a go-go
There's plenty good money to be made by
Supplying the army with the tools of its trade
Let's hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Viet Cong
Come on generals, let's move fast
Your big chance has come at last
Now you can go out and get those reds
Cos 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
Come on mothers throughout the land
Pack your boys off to Viet Nam
Come on fathers don't hesitate
Send your sons off before it's too late
And you can be the first ones on your block
To have your boy come home in a box
Country Joe McDonald's song I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag is a satire on the Vietnam War. The lyrics are a call to action, urging young men to pick up a gun and join the war effort. McDonald uses irony to criticize the war and those who support it. The line "Put down your books and pick up a gun" suggests that education is less important than fighting in the war. The song also criticizes Wall Street's greed, implying that the war is a profitable venture for some. The line "There's plenty good money to be made by supplying the army with the tools of its trade" highlights the financial incentives for those who support the war.
The chorus of the song, "And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam, and it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates, ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die," expresses the confusion and irony of the Vietnam War. The soldiers and those who supported the war did not know why they were fighting, and they faced the very real possibility of dying for a meaningless cause.
Country Joe McDonald also criticizes the generals who were in charge of the war effort. The line "Your big chance has come at last, now you can go out and get those reds, cos the only good commie is the one that's dead" highlights the misguided ideology behind the war effort. There was a belief that communism needed to be stopped at any cost, even if it meant killing innocent people.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on all of you big strong men
Addressing men to get ready for war
Uncle Sam needs your help again
The government is recruiting soldiers for the war efforts
He's got himself in a terrible jam
The government made a poor decision by getting involved in the Vietnam war
Way down yonder in Viet Nam so
Referring to the distant location where the war is being fought
Put down your books and pick up a gun we're
Gonna have a whole lotta fun
Encouraging people to join the fight in Vietnam as a fun adventure
And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for
Don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates
Ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die
Questioning the reasons for entering the war and highlighting the grim reality of death
Come on wall street don't be slow
Why man this war is a go-go
Wall Street is being encouraged to invest in war efforts
There's plenty good money to be made by
Supplying the army with the tools of its trade
The war is profitable for those who make and sell weapons
Let's hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Viet Cong
Suggesting the bombing of the enemy, the Viet Cong
Come on generals, let's move fast
Your big chance has come at last
Now you can go out and get those reds
Cos the only good commie is the one that's dead and
Generals are urged to quickly win against the communist forces
You know that peace can only be won when we've
Blown 'em all to kingdom come
The idea of winning peace by completely destroying the enemy
Come on mothers throughout the land
Pack your boys off to Viet Nam
Come on fathers don't hesitate
Send your sons off before it's too late
And you can be the first ones on your block
To have your boy come home in a box
Encouraging parents to send their sons to war as a sense of patriotism and to keep up with the society
Writer(s): Joe Allen Mcdonald
Contributed by Annabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@davewayne907
Wonder how many folks are here now watching this that were at Woodstock in 69. I am one and I am also a Vietnam vet. I loved this song now and then
@Raspberrypiuser-fg6ss
Very few sadly! I’d love to sit down and hear your story’s for hours.
Thank you for your service. Hope the years have treated you well.
@ronbelanger4113
Glad you made it back.
@HavelTheCock
thanks a ton stud
@jacobbrumbaugh6928
That awesome, hope you’re still kickin. Thank you.
@Nikolai64863
❤️
@hannabaal150
Those lyrics are brutal. I memorized them over 50 years ago, and still sing along every time. Gimme an F!
@itsmeh436
F
@josephobrien6355
U
@deanallen927
Yes, brutal often comes with funny if it's relevant and has a message.