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.
Stolen Heart Blues
Country Joe McDonald Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Better guard your emotions, that woman's a thief,
She'll steal away your heart,
She'll steal away your heart.
When you're not looking,
She'll steal away your heart.
She's got that kind of lovin' you won't never forget.
She'll steal away your heart,
She'll steal away your heart.
When you're not looking,
She'll steal away your heart.
My friends tried to tell me, I couldn't see
They say love is blind ? well it sure blinded me.
She stole away my heart,
She stole away my heart.
When I wasn't looking,
She stole away my heart.
Church bells are ringing, I'm walkin' on air,
Somethin's burnin' in the kitchen, the smell of diapers everywhere.
She stole away my heart,
She stole away my heart.
When I wasn't looking,
She stole away my heart.
Some day grandchildren will climb up on my knee,
I'll tell them the stories 'bout their grandma and me,
How she stole away my heart,
She stole away my heart.
When I wasn't looking,
She stole away my heart.
In "Stolen Heart Blues," Country Joe McDonald sings about how he fell in love with a woman despite the warnings from his friends that she is a heart thief. The repetition of the chorus, "She'll steal away your heart," gives the sense that he is warning others not to fall in love with her. The lines "My friends tried to tell me, I couldn't see/ They say love is blind - well, it sure blinded me" highlight the theme of love being unpredictable and all-consuming.
Through the detailed description of his life with this woman, we get a sense that he has indeed been bewitched. He references walking on air after hearing church bells ringing, symbolic of his joy and happiness that comes with being with her. The mention of the smell of diapers everywhere adds a touch of reality and normalcy to his idyllic state, suggesting that their love has led to marriage and children. The final lines emphasize that he has accepted the fact that his heart has been stolen and that their love will be a legacy for future generations.
Overall, "Stolen Heart Blues" is a cautionary tale about the risks and rewards of love. The lyrics describe how love can blind us to reality and lead us into the hands of a heart thief, but at the same time, love can bring immense joy and lead to a lifelong commitment.
Line by Line Meaning
My friends tried to tell me, I wouldn't believe,
The singer's friends warned him about a woman who is a thief.
Better guard your emotions, that woman's a thief,
The singer's friends advised him to protect himself emotionally from the woman who will steal his heart.
She'll steal away your heart,
The woman is capable of stealing someone's heart.
She'll steal away your heart.
The woman will take someone's heart without permission.
When you're not looking,
The woman will take someone's heart when they are not paying attention.
I asked her sister, her sister said yes,
The singer inquired the opinion of the woman's sister and was informed that the woman can provide unforgettable love.
She's got that kind of lovin' you won't never forget.
The woman is capable of providing an unforgettable kind of love.
She stole away my heart,
The woman took the artist's heart.
When I wasn't looking,
The artist was unaware of the moment the woman took his heart.
Church bells are ringing, I'm walkin' on air,
The artist is ecstatic about his current state in life.
Somethin's burnin' in the kitchen, the smell of diapers everywhere.
There are distractions or less enticing aspects of his current state in life despite his happiness.
Some day grandchildren will climb up on my knee,
The artist envisions himself as a grandfather.
I'll tell them the stories 'bout their grandma and me,
The singer plans on sharing stories with his future grandchildren about his life with his wife.
How she stole away my heart,
One of the stories he plans to share is how his wife stole his heart.
She stole away my heart.
The woman took the singer's heart without his knowledge or consent.
When I wasn't looking,
The artist was not aware of the moment the woman took his heart.
She stole away my heart.
The woman took the artist's heart without his knowledge or consent.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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