Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American m… Read Full Bio ↴Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe & The Fish.

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.

Joe's Blues
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Woke up this morning,
Feelin' 'round my bed
Lookin' for my baby,
I found the blues instead.
Oh yeah, feelin' around my bed.
Oh yeah, ooh, I's feelin' 'round my bed.
Lookin' for my baby,
Great God!

I've found the blues instead.

Ain't it sad
When good love goes wrong
Ain't it lonesome
When you find yourself alone.
Ah yeah, hey-hey-hey, when love goes wrong.
Ah yeah, ooh, when love goes wrong.
Ain't it lonesome
When you find yourself all alone.

What's that sound I hear in the wind?
Sounds like my baby
She's comin' back home again.
Oh yeah, hey, whistling in the wind.
Oh yeah, ooh, whistling in the wind.
I certainly do hope

My darlin' comes back home again
Oh, yeah.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Country Joe McDonald's "Joe's Blues" convey a theme of heartbreak and longing for lost love. The first verse paints a picture of the singer waking up and searching for his significant other, only to discover that he has been left with nothing but the blues. This illustrates the emotional pain and emptiness that accompanies a breakup, leaving one feeling lost and uncertain about the future. The repetition of "feelin' 'round my bed" underscores this feeling of emptiness and the void that is left when love is lost.

The second verse further illustrates these emotions, emphasizing the sadness and loneliness that come with a broken heart. The phrase "when good love goes wrong" acknowledges that love, even when happy and fulfilling, can turn sour and hurtful. The repetition of "ain't it lonesome" drives home the feeling of isolation and despair that often accompanies a breakup.

The final verse provides a glimmer of hope, as the singer hears a sound in the wind that he believes to be his beloved returning home. This illustrates the feelings of hope and anticipation that accompany the possibility of reconciliation, as well as the sense of optimism that is often required to move past heartbreak and find love again.

Line by Line Meaning

Woke up this morning,
Starting off a new day, feeling..

Feelin' 'round my bed
Touching or groping near my bed...

Lookin' for my baby,
Looking for my loved one...

I found the blues instead.
I ended up feeling sad and down instead.

Ain't it sad
Isn't it unfortunate..

When good love goes wrong
When a strong love bond fades away...

Ain't it lonesome
Isn't it melancholic...

When you find yourself alone.
Being by yourself with no companion around...

What's that sound I hear in the wind?
Asking about a noise that perceived while in a windy environment...

Sounds like my baby
The noise resembles my partner's usual sounds...

She's comin' back home again.
My loved one is likely to return home.