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.
Lady with the Lamp
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know the score of war.
A soldiers' life is give and give
And then they ask for more.
Walking on the picket line
Where my comrades fell,
Holding up the thin-red-line
In the shot and shell.
The lady with the lamp,
You know she understands.
The lady with the lamp,
She's the soldiers' friend.
I don't mind the blistering heat,
I think I can endure.
It's freezing cold and I can't feel my feet
Well, that's the hell of war.
I never thought about the big red wound
When I saw my comrades fall.
Now I'm in this cold and lonely room
Wondering if I'll live at all.
The lady with the lamp,
You know she understands.
The lady with the lamp,
She's the soldiers' friend.
First they use us
And then they throw us away.
Only this nightingale
Knows the price that we pay,
The lady with the tramp.
Excuse me please, a cup of tea,
I've such a terrible thirst.
Would you please come and sit with me,
I feel it's come to the worst.
Write my mother that I love her so,
I can't seem to hold the pen.
Take this keep-sake and send it home,
To those I'll never see again.
The lady with the lamp,
You know she understands.
The lady with the lamp,
She's the soldiers' friend.
She will hold his hand,
Stay with him to the end.
You know she understands,
She's the soldier's friend.
The lyrics to Country Joe McDonald’s song Lady with the Lamp is a poignant portrayal of the life of a soldier who fights and serves during a war. The lyrics convey the hardships, the physical and mental tolls, and the sacrifices that soldiers make while serving their country. The soldier in the song acknowledges the realities of war, which demand that soldiers give everything they have and then ask for more. He reflects on his comrades who fell on the picket line, but he also acknowledges the comfort and support offered by the lady with the lamp, the nurse who tends to the wounded soldiers. The lady with the lamp represents the comfort and humanity that soldiers crave in a setting that is often brutal and dehumanizing.
The soldier’s reflections on war and how war impacts soldiers’ lives are characterized by a sense of regret and sadness. He never considered the consequences of falling in battle until he saw his comrades fall, and now he finds himself in a cold, lonely room wondering if he will live at all. Through the song, McDonald paints a vivid picture of a soldier's internal struggles with the hardships of war, but he also recognizes the human support provided by the “lady with the lamp.” In essence, the song highlights the often-overlooked aspect of warfare – the soldiers’ emotional and mental well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't mind, please don't misunderstand
I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong
I know the score of war.
I understand how war works
A soldiers' life is give and give
A soldier has to keep giving even when they have nothing left
And then they ask for more.
The military keeps demanding more from soldiers
Walking on the picket line
Being a soldier is like being on the front lines of a labor strike
Where my comrades fell,
Where my fellow soldiers were killed
Holding up the thin-red-line
Defending against the enemy's attacks
In the shot and shell.
During intense warfare and artillery fire
The lady with the lamp,
Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing
You know she understands.
She truly knows and empathizes with the soldiers' pain
She's the soldiers' friend.
She is someone the soldiers can trust and rely on
I don't mind the blistering heat,
I can deal with hot weather
I think I can endure.
I believe I can handle it
It's freezing cold and I can't feel my feet
I'm so cold that I can't even feel my feet
That's the hell of war.
This is the terrible reality of war
I never thought about the big red wound
I never considered the possibility of being wounded
When I saw my comrades fall.
Until I saw my fellow soldiers die
Now I'm in this cold and lonely room
Now I'm stuck in a cold, isolated place
Wondering if I'll live at all.
Not sure if I'll survive
First they use us
The military takes advantage of our service
And then they throw us away.
Then they discard us when we're no longer useful
Only this nightingale
Only Florence Nightingale
Knows the price that we pay,
Understands the true cost of war on soldiers
The lady with the tramp.
Referring to Florence Nightingale who is holding a lamp to guide her way
Excuse me please, a cup of tea,
Could I trouble you for some tea?
I've such a terrible thirst.
I'm extremely thirsty
Would you please come and sit with me,
Can you keep me company?
I feel it's come to the worst.
I feel like this is the end
Write my mother that I love her so,
Tell my mother that I love her very much
I can't seem to hold the pen.
I'm too weak to write the letter myself
Take this keep-sake and send it home,
Send this souvenir to my family
To those I'll never see again.
For my loved ones who I won't be able to see anymore
She will hold his hand,
Florence Nightingale will comfort the soldier
Stay with him to the end.
She'll be there until the soldier passes away
You know she understands,
She truly gets what the soldier is going through
She's the soldier's friend.
Florence Nightingale is a valuable friend to the soldiers
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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