Today’s classic song of the day is a protest song from Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son.” It was one side of a two-sided single, the other side being “Down on the Corner.”
This two-sided single was released in October of 1969. “Fortunate Son” got a lot of airplay and was embraced by those in the anti-Vietnam war movement, which helped it hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Many folks don’t realize or remember that John Fogerty served two years in the U.S. Army Reserves. His success with CCR came after his discharge; his time in the Army informed this particular song. In his own words:
“The thoughts behind this song—it was a lot of anger. So it was the Vietnam War going on. … Now I was drafted and they’re making me fight, and no one has actually defined why. So this was all boiling inside of me and I sat down on the edge of my bed and out came ‘It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son!’ You know, it took about 20 minutes to write the song.”
The song’s lyrics lament the fate of regular guys like Fogerty being forced to serve while sons of privilege (the so-named fortunate sons) often got to avoid military service. It is an angry song, as you can tell from the very first verse:
Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Hoo, they’re red, white and blue
And when the band plays “Hail to the chief”
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain’t me, it ain’t me
I ain’t no senator’s son, son
It ain’t me, it ain’t me
I ain’t no fortunate one, no
It’s the old truism, rich men make wars and poor men fight them. It’s the same today as it was then, unfortunately; too many fat cats in government and think tanks plan global wars and “police actions” while it’s the enlisted men and women who have to put their lives on the line.
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, CCR performing “Fortunate Son” live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970. That’s John Fogerty on lead guitar and focals, his brother Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar, Stu Cook on bass, and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford on those Camco drums. It’s a powerful performance—those guys could really rock.
