Woodstock: Country Joe McDonald

One performer that received much acclaim for his sets at Woodstock was Country Joe McDonald. In particular his acoustic set on the first day of the festival was seen to be a moment in time in which the Woodstock Nation was brought together. Reflecting on this through the film footage and noting the selective inclusion of material in that film, Andy Bennett states:

An illustrative example of such artistic licence on the part of the Woodstock production team is Country Joe McDonald’s rendition of ‘Fixin-to-Die’ , a powerful anti-Vietnam War song that assumed anthemic properties as a result of its inclusion in the film... In the now legendary film sequence of Country Joe’s Woodstock performance, subtitled lyrics are added to the bottom of the screen, urging cinema audiences to sing along with the satirical chorus lyric[1]:

And it’s one, two, three what are we fighting for,
Don’t ask me I don’t give a damn, the next stop is Vietnam
And it’s five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates,
Don’t ask me to wonder why, whoopee we’re all gonna die...

Country Joe McDonald also played an electric set at Woodstock that was not included in the film. Dave Allen suggests that this led to the determination of this artist’s subsequent reputation in a way that effected no other artist – Country Joe McDonald was characterised from then on as an acoustic political musician despite being diverse in instrument selection.[2] Indeed Country Joe and the Fish had been a psychedelic band and known as the main band from Berkeley.[3] Allen reflects on the influences on the band by stating:

“The songs of Country Joe and the Fish are more explicitly political than those of the Grateful Dead because of the influence that Woody Guthrie exerted on McDonalds career...he is clear about his role as a modern day troubadour... and his purpose in singing about war, army veterans, nursing, and other political, social and personal issues.”[4]

Dave Allen and Country Joe McDonald wrote the afterword to this text and in doing so examine McDonalds personal perspective on Woodstock:

I am an honourably discharged Vietnam veteran having served three years in the regular navy. I also grew up in Southern California with American Communist Party members as parents. Having had both these experiences in my background left me feeling victimized. I had no love for the leaders of the American military or the American Left – I was neither enamoured of or mystified by, either. Consequently, a life mission emerged from these experiences that I was never to abandon:

Dedicated to the cause of justice
A dream of peace
To try and help those who cannot defend themselves[5].

McDonald states:

The vast majority of the 50 million people making up the Vietnam generation did nothing but wait the war out. Ten million people – 9 million men and 1 million women – served in the Vietnam-era military, and several million were in the peace movement or the counter –culture, as it is sometimes called... At times I have resisted my connection to the Vietnam War. It has been consistently bad for business and I have been warned and cautioned by many of my peers for constantly bringing up the issues of the Vietnam War in my songs and in my chats to audiences. Over the years I have accepted this as my fate. Ever since I sag ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin-to-Die-Rag’ at Woodstock I cannot escape a connection with the Vietnam War. Whether or not I chose to make Vietnam a focus of my life, it seems to have chosen me. My efforts to help veterans and the country heal from the war have been both reviled and honoured, just like the war itself... In 1989 I appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show as part of the ‘celebration’ of the 20th Anniversary of the Woodstock festival. On air I said:

"My appearance at Woodstock essentially ruined my career and I have never recovered...”[6]

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[1] Andy Bennett, ‘Everybody’s happy, everybody’s free’: Representation and nostalgia in the Woodstock film’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 46
[2] Dave Allen, ‘A public transition: acoustic and electric performances at the Woodstock festival’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 112
[3] Dave Allen, ‘A public transition: acoustic and electric performances at the Woodstock festival’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 118-119
[4] Dave Allen, ‘A public transition: acoustic and electric performances at the Woodstock festival’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 120-121
[5] Country Joe McDonald and Dave Allen, ‘Afterword: Country Joe McDonald remembering Woodstock’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 146
[6] Country Joe McDonald and Dave Allen, ‘Afterword: Country Joe McDonald remembering Woodstock’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 152-153