I
Ain’t No Fortunate One
Another anti-war song of sixties is
Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater
Revival released in 1969. Similar to Eve
of Destruction, the song does not specifically criticize the Vietnam War
but rather the class system and its connection to war therefore making the song
an expression of the immorality of war.[1]
This immorality lyricist John Fogerty speaks of is the unjust draft system. The song makes a blatant criticism on
this as it reveals how fortunate people could avoid war. This is demonstrated
when Fogerty states who he considers to be the fortunate ones, “I ain’t no
senators son, I ain’t no millionaires son, I ain’t no military son”.[2]
This demonstrates how the rich or privileged could avoid war as they had
certain opportunities handed to them, whilst for the lower-classes war was
unavoidable. Fogerty demonstrates how inheritance can impact patriotism through
the lyric “some folks are born made to wave the flag, they’re red, white and
blue”.[3]
This shows that sons whose fathers have high positions have an advantage as
they inherent patriotism that supported America’s involvement in the war. Therefore,
Fogerty is demonstrating the lack of patriotism experienced by many men during
this time and states it was a reason why they were anti-war.
Fortunate
Son criticised Americas class system and this is evident in the songs discussion
of the rich and upper-classes attitudes to war. Fogerty acknowledges the
hypocritical relationship between the wealthy and their endorsement of war
through “some folks are born silver spoon in hand … but when the taxman comes
to the door, the house looks like a rummage sale”.[1]
This reveals the hypocrisy in those who were wealthy and pro-war, but evaded
taxes which were needed to support America’s involvement in Vietnam. This
attack is made more revealing considering that America was lacking in finance
and therefore “there were considerable increases in money and inflation during
the Vietnam War”.[2]
Fogerty shows that his opposition is
founded on his lack of patriotism which other people in fortunate situations
have inherited to them. This is shown through “some folks inherit star spangled
eyes, they send you down to war”[1]
which demonstrates that the patriotic military leaders controlled those who
opposed the war as they sent men to fight and Fogerty reveals the injustice in
this. The song comments on the demand for soldiers in the sixties as it states
“when you ask them how much should we give? They only answer more!”.[2]
This refers to the increase in troops sent to Vietnam as towards the end of
1965 there were 148,300 troops[3]
which increased to 389,000 in 1966.[4]
By 1969 the amount reached its highest at 541,000[5],
the year that the song was released. Therefore, it is evident that Fogerty is
criticizing this dramatic increase of troops. He relates this to the class
system as in his view the lower classes were required to follow orders of the
military. Due to their class they could not avoid being sent as they were not
fortunate enough for the privileges that upper-classes had which allowed them
to avoid war.
Fortunate Son reveals inequality of the draft as the rich
were permitted deferrals due to reasons such as education as “those attending
college in good standing did not have to go to Vietnam”.[1]
Criticism of this is made more impactful considering that in the sixties, those
who attended college were mainly the wealthy as they had the funds, therefore
it was the upper-class who could easily avoid war and the draft. The song is
significant due to its revelation of the unfair system that subjected those
less fortunate to war and it expressed this issue that was experienced by many
men. The song therefore is a political statement on the problematic system and
not only became a definitive anti-war song but a protest song against the
inequality of the class system, especially in times of war. It was an anthem
for the working-class as it expressed their frustrations with war and the
draft.
Eve
of Destruction and Fortunate Son are
notable anti-war songs of the 1960s. Through the meaning behind their lyrics,
the songs provide a voice for those who opposed war and did not support
America’s involvement in Vietnam. This form of protest was evidently far-reaching
given that both songs placed high in the charts not only in America but other
countries which further represents the international anti-war movement.
Protests are a dominating feature to the history of the sixties and these songs
are significant in showing that protests do not necessarily involve riots or
picketing. Music allowed artists to express opposition and challenge the way
music had been used in previous decades. Protest songs remain strong today
through artists like Beyoncé who demonstrate support for Black Lives Matter
movement through music. It is evident that sixties protests songs were a
catalyst for such songs in following decades as the revolutionary sixties music
expressed represented movements in society and reflected their concerns over social
and political issues such as the Vietnam War.
[1] Fogerty,
J. (1969) Fortunate Son. California:
Fantasy Records
[2] Ibid.
[3] Millett,
A., A Short History of the Vietnam War,
p.146.
[4] Ibid.,
p.147.
[5] Carr-Wilcoxson.
A., Protest Music of the Vietnam War:
Description and Classification of Various Protest Songs, p.21.
[1] Ibid.
[2] Rockoff,
H., War, Money, and Inflation in the
United States from the Revolution to the Vietnam War, p.38.
[1] Carr-Wilcoxson.
A., Protest Music of the Vietnam War:
Description and Classification of Various Protest Songs, p.81.
[2] Fogerty,
J. (1969) Fortunate Son. California:
Fantasy Records.
[3] Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment