Moods. The music I choose on any given night depends largely on my mood at the moment, although sometimes I do play a song because I have been asked, or because I think it will bring you guys pleasure. I cannot describe my mood tonight … I have been teetering on the edge of the rabbit hole for a bit, am tired of the pain being inflicted on the nation I’ve spent 67 years in, and wondering what is to become of, not only this nation, but the world in general. Besides that, it has been friggin’ cold … this was the screenshot from my phone this morning … note the temperature in the upper left corner …
So, don’t ask why I picked this song today … just something to do with my mood and the Polar Vortex.
The song was released in 1969, at the height of the war in Vietnam and the stateside protests against our role in it. It soon became an anti-war movement anthem; an expressive symbol of the counterculture’s opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and solidarity with the soldiers fighting it.
The song itself is not explicit in its criticism of that war in particular, rather, it “speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself,” according to its creator, John Fogerty.
“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.
Fortunate Son wasn’t really inspired by any one event. Julie Nixon was dating David Eisenhower. You’d hear about the son of this senator or that congressman who was given a deferment from the military or a choice position in the military. They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they weren’t being touched by what their parents were doing. They weren’t being affected like the rest of us.”
This song has been featured in so many movies it makes your head spin, such as Forrest Gump, Black Hawk Down, and The Manchurian Candidate, to name a few.
Fortunate Son
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, 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
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh
But when the taxman comes to the door
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no millionaire’s son, no
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no
Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask them, “How much should we give?”
Ooh, they only answer “More! More! More!” yoh
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no military son, son
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, one
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no no no
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate son, no no no
Songwriters: John C Fogerty
Fortunate Son lyrics © The Bicycle Music Company
Filosofa's Word 
I remember I went with my son to see “Forest Gump”. The Vietnam War was over by the time he was born in 1976 so all he did was laugh at the funny parts of the movie. I keep remembering the nice young men in ROTC where I went to college and wonder how many were injured or killed. All most wanted was the financial help to get an education. I laughed with him at the funny parts as it was meant to be a farce in many places. I remember the song because of it being in the movie. Thanks. My daughter and her husband are staying inside in Chicago. There’s nothing much to go outside for as most places are closed. —- Suzanne
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Yes, I laughed at Forrest Gump, too, and it was intended to be a comedy, but one with a message, too. I lost a few friends to the Vietnam War, and another came back with serious emotional problems. I heard that it got to -33 in Chicago. Our coldest was -6, and that was plenty cold for me! I think once it gets below zero, it just doesn’t matter how much below … it’s just bloomin’ COLD! It’s supposed to climb to 61 by Monday here … compared to this week, it will feel like mid-summer!
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Now I heard Chicago is worried about flooding and potholes. It’s always something. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Yes, we are getting flood warnings here, also. Makes sense … you get nearly a foot of snow, then sub-zero temps, and then a day later it is 46 degrees! It all melts and has nowhere to go. But no, there is no such thing as climate changes, remember??? 🙄
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Oh, yes. The guy in the White House. One more thing to worry about. When Mar-a-Lago goes beneath the waves maybe he’ll finally believe. Or maybe not. 😦 — Suzanne
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And Military Madness
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The temperature in the upper left corner of your phone: it would not be so bad if you had degrees Celsius over there! 🙂 Sorry for the bad joke … I was thinking of you when I saw very cold looking pictures in the news… Sending some warm thoughts and hugs over to you! Hang in there, stay warm, take care!
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Right … -1 Celsius is around 30 degrees here, and right now, 30 would feel pretty good! What’s really funny though is that it’s supposed to get up to 61 (F) … 16 (C) … by Monday! Talk about extremes! And we didn’t have it as bad as some in Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin where the temps were in the negative double-digits! -33 in Chicago on Wednesday, I think. Thanks for the warm thoughts and hugs! Always appreciated … and could you include some sunshine?
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I never really saw this as an anthem when it first came out, just a bitchy song about someone not born to the manor. It wasn’t till years later I learned about him receiving the draft notice.
Being biased toward Eric Burdon, I love Sky Pilot, the long version. But I always wondered why his producers did not correct his verbal dyslexia.
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I don’t recall Sky Pilot … I’ll have to go refresh my memory. Whose verbal dyslexia?
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Eric’s. He gets two words in the song backwards, and no one ever mentioned it. To me, it comes out loud and clear. But no matter, it is a great song, and another anthem that is played in a lot of war movies.
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One advantage of being near-deaf is that you don’t notice things like that 😊
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What did you think of the song? I can’t believe you don’t know it!
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When I played it, I really expected that I would recognize it, that only the name didn’t light up any lights. But no, I don’t recall ever hearing it. It was moving, but to be honest, I didn’t like it all that much. Maybe if I had heard it when I was younger? I wonder if it just wasn’t as popular in the U.S. as elsewhere?
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Possibly because of its anti-religious overtones. The US has a history of not playing music that goes against its beliefs. But no problem, there are still many other anti-war songs to be explored.
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I checked, and it went to #14 in the U.S. and #15 in Canada, so it was a hit here … I just don’t remember it at all.
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old age, lol.
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I attended Spotlight on Creedence Clearwater Revival the other night at Camelot Theater (https://camelottheatre.org/). Basically, a local group performs the spotlight band’s songs while narrating important events and milestones, accompanied by news clips and interviews. One clip was Dan Rather’s interview with Fogerty about Fortunate Son. Lots of fun.
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That sounds like a really interesting event! Good music and a bit of a history lesson to boot! Are the local musicians any good? Glad you went and had fun … karma that I just happened to play this song now, eh?
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Yes, the local musicians are decent. The biggest hurdle was Fogerty’s voice. They were admirable. And, yes, you must have picked it up out of my mind stream.
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Well the polar vortex has great musical taste.
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Of course, it comes to you courtesy of Global Warming, because POTUS thinks it can’t get cold if the globe is warming. This is Mother Nature’s reminder, you may think you’re privileged all you want, but she knows how to grab a man by his balls! And not let go!
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Reminds me of an old commercial … I think it was for some sort of butter, and it ended with “Don’t mess with Mother Nature” and a huge lightening bolt and thunderclap come from nowhere. She has surely put me in my place this week!
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Glad you think so!
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Oh! And John Lennon’s Working Class Hero.
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I’ll keep that in mind 😉
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Jill you know this one and The Eve of Destruction are my faves from that era
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