To Brother Light Searcher
From: holderlin66
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2004 1:57 pm
Subject: To Brother Light Searcher
You must remember Country Joe and the Fish..
Well it's one, two, three, what are we fightin for...
On February 22, 2004 FROM Randall Bart:
Fixin' to Lie Rag
by Randall Bart
Come on all you Americans.
Bush is President again.
He found a guy who's really bad.
The name's Saddam. He's in Baghdad.
So show some ID, take off your shoes.
What have you got to lose?
And it's one, two, three,
What are we searching for?
George said it, it must be true.
I believe in W.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why,
'Cause Presidents never lie.
The USA's the worldwide cop,
And evildoers must be stopped.
Saddam's got nukes and poison gas.
Let's go kick him in the ass.
Conquer the land, sell off the oil.
To the victor goes the spoil.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we searching for?
George said it, it must be true.
I believe in W.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why,
'Cause Presidents never lie.
Now there's rebuilding to
be done.
Halliburton is the one.
Cheney says they have the skills.
We're the ones who pay the bills.
So give up your rights. Write me a check.
We'll make the whole world a wreck.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we paying for?
Dick said it, it must be spent.
He's our Vice President.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why.
Vice Presidents never lie.
Molly Ivins
04.06.04
AUSTIN, Texas -- Iraq. What.
A. Mess.
As Cousin Eddie Faulk used
to say during Vietnam, "If those folks don't like what we're
doin' for `em, why don't they just go back where they come from?"
Eric Alterman sums up the
position of the "We told you so" crowd thusly:
The invasion of Iraq will
cause, not prevent terrorism.
The Bush administration was
not to be trusted when it warned of the WMD threat.
Going in without the United
Nations is worse than not going in at all.
They were asleep at the switch
pre-9/11 and have been trying to cover this up ever since.
And they manipulated 9-11
as a pretext for a long-planned invasion of Iraq.
Any occupation by a foreign
power, particularly one as incompetently planned as this one,
will likely create more enemies than friends and put the United
States in a situation similar at times to Vietnam, and at other
times, similar to Israel's occupation of Lebanon; both were disasters.
An invasion of Iraq will draw
resources and attention away from the genuine perpetrators of
the attack on us, and allow them to regroup for further attacks.
Bonus: Mel Gibson's "The
Passion of the Christ" will increase anti- Semitism worldwide."
OK, that's the bad news. What
talkingpointsmemo.com's Josh Marshall calls "the hunky-dory
crowd" is still telling us the electricity is back on and
things are almost back up to where they were under Saddam Hussein.
There's a mark to aim for.
Look, I never root for bad
things to happen, and maybe Moqtada Sadr has just set off a spasm
of violence, not a real Shiite insurrection. As Marshall also
notes, we expected Sunni opposition, but it doesn't make much
sense for the Shiites to rise up now when all they have to do
is sit back and wait. Maybe the Shiite outburst is just a reaction
to Paul Bremer's incredibly dumb move in shutting down their
newspaper. (Just for the record, occupiers purporting to bring
democracy should never shut down newspapers.) If that's the case,
why wasn't Sadr invited to the table and given a stake in the
transition?
The "we told you so"
crowd often points out we'd be a lot better off if anyone in
the administration read history, usually citing the British occupation
of Iraq. Hell, try Napoleon's occupation of Egypt -- and he was
an administrative genius who brought along a team of culturally
sensitive advisers.
I like to think of myself
as part of the "so what do we do now?" crowd, but it
is like drinking gall. We could try what we clearly should have
done from the beginning -- put more boots on the ground. We've
got 130,000 troops there now. (Remember when the Bushies told
us it would be down to 30,000 by the end of last summer?) Gen.
Eric Shinseki's "several hundred thousand" prediction
looks more prescient all the time. The trouble with that scenario
is that it violates the First Rule of Holes (when you're in one,
quit digging.) Second, it may be too late.
Then there's the old reliable,
"Bug out now." I always liked Sen. Aiken's advice on
how to get out of Vietnam: "in boats." Yep, it could
be time to declare victory and go home. That seems to be President
Bush's plan. He can just say, "Well, we took care of the
weapons of mass destruction, so we're outta here."
As many others have pointed
out, June 30 is just a ridiculous deadline. Even though we're
not planning to withdraw on June 30, damned if I can see how
we're going to hang onto what was supposed to be the great strategic
advantage of this war. Those of you who follow neo-con thinking
know this never was about weapons of mass destruction, it was
supposed to give us a place to plonk ourselves down so we could
restructure the entire region.
I suspect what we'll wind
up doing is the inevitable "muddle along" until our
leaders can lie us out more or less gracefully. (George W. Bush
will admit he made a mistake the day the Cubs win the World Series.)
If I were John Kerry, I would
be having such horrible nightmares about winning the election
-- and actually having to ask an American soldier to be the last
man to die for a mistake."
...................................................................................................................................
From: Tarjei Straume
Date: Thu Apr 8, 2004 9:08 am
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] To Brother Light Searcher
Hey, Bradford, I love this kind of thing,
and this is a blast. My regards to Randall Bart!
Tarjei
At 22:57 07.04.2004, Bradford wrote:
You must remember Country Joe and the Fish..
Well it's one, two, three, what are we fightin for...
On February 22, 2004 FROM Randall Bart:
Fixin' to Lie Rag
by Randall Bart
Come on all you Americans.
Bush is President again.
He found a guy who's really bad.
The name's Saddam. He's in Baghdad.
So show some ID, take off your shoes.
What have you got to lose?
And it's one, two, three,
What are we searching for?
George said it, it must be true.
I believe in W.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why,
'Cause Presidents never lie.
The USA's the worldwide
cop,
And evildoers must be stopped.
Saddam's got nukes and poison gas.
Let's go kick him in the ass.
Conquer the land, sell off the oil.
To the victor goes the spoil.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we searching for?
George said it, it must be true.
I believe in W.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why,
'Cause Presidents never lie.
Now there's rebuilding
to be done.
Halliburton is the one.
Cheney says they have the skills.
We're the ones who pay the bills.
So give up your rights. Write me a check.
We'll make the whole world a wreck.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we paying for?
Dick said it, it must be spent.
He's our Vice President.
And it's five, six, seven,
Tell me who I should hate.
There's no need to wonder why.
Vice Presidents never lie.
...................................................................................................................................
From: Jo Ann Schwartz
Date: Thu Apr 8, 2004 1:08 pm
Subject: I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag [was: To
Brother Light Searcher]
Hi Brad--
I love this song!! My friends and I used to
do an "Andrews Sisters" version -- it swings if you
time it right. <G> [Dottie, if you don't know this song,
you can listen to it on Country Joe's website: http://www.countryjoe.com/rag.htm
]
For nostalgia's sake, I'm sending along the
original [which I meant to do back when we were discussing Dylan's
anti-war period] as well as a newer version for today.
WARNING: Newer version contains strong language.
Read at your own risk!!
Musing on how those who don't understand history
are doomed to repeat it...
JoAnn
I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die
Rag
(Vietnam Rag)
Words and Music by Joe McDonald
Come on all of you big strong
men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
Chorus:
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
2:
Come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds —
The only good commie is the one that's dead
You know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
[Chorus]
3:
Come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
Supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
[Chorus]
4:
Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before it's too late.
You can be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
[Chorus]
Note: As I [Country Joe] have
mentioned elsewhere I am guilty of leaving out
the women in my early material so now I always sing the last
verse like this:
Come on mothers throughout
the land
Pack your boys off to Vietnam
Come on fathers, don't hesitate
Send your daughters before it's too late
And be the first one on your block
To have your kids come home in a box.
Copyright © 1965 Joe
McDonald
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
I Feel Like I'm Fixin'
to Die Rag by Country Joe MacDonald
(editing by Thunder, AGR, January, 2003)
Well come on all you big strong
men
Old Dubya needs your help again,
The mess he's in is really tough,
Way down yonder in the Persian Gulf,
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lot of fun.
And it's one, two, three,
what are we fightin' for,
Don't ask me I don't give a fig, next stop is them oil rigs.
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates.
Well, there's no time to wonder why,
Whoopee!
They're all gonna die.
Come on wall street don't
be slow.
Why, Man, this war is a-Go-Go-Go.
There's plenty of good money to be made
By supplyin' the Army with the tools of its trade.
But just hope and pray that if they drop a nuke,
They drop it on old KirKuk .
And it's one, two, three,
what are we fightin' for,
Don't ask me I don't give a fuck, just keep my gas below two
bucks.
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates.
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee!
They're all gonna die.
Come on Generals, let's move
fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those Rags--
Cause the only good Iraqi is in a body bag.
And you know that peace can only be won,
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
And it's one, two, three,
what are we fightin' for,
Don't ask me I don't give a rat's ass, let's mop us up some Iraqi
trash.
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates.
Well, there's no time to wonder why,
Whoopee!
They're all gonna die.
Come on Mothers now don't
be sad,
Pack your boys off to old Baghdad.
Come on Fathers, don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in your block
To have your boys come home in a box.
...................................................................................................................................
From: holderlin66
Date: Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:49 pm
Subject: I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag
Jo Ann Schwartz wrote:
Hi Brad--
I love this song!! My friends and I used
to do an "Andrews Sisters" version -- it swings if
you time it right. <G> [Dottie, if you don't know this
song, you can listen to it on Country Joe's website: http://www.countryjoe.com/rag.htm
]
I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die
Rag
(Vietnam Rag)
Words and Music by Joe McDonald
Come on all of you big
strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
Chorus:
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
[Bradford:]
Published on Friday, April
23, 2004 by CommonDreams.org Country Joe Band, 2004: "Uncle
Sam Needs Your Help Again" by Norman Solomon
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0423-06.htm
Taking the stage at a community
center in the small Northern California town of Bolinas, a group
of four musicians quickly showed themselves to be returning as
a vibrant creative force centered very much in the present.
Not that the music of Country
Joe and the Fish ever really disappeared. Since the release of
the band's first two albums in 1967 -- "Electric Music for
the Mind and Body" along with "I-Feel- Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die"
-- many of its songs have meandered through the memories and
semi-consciousness of millions of Americans who came of age a
third of a century ago.
Now reconstituted with four
of the legendary group's original five members, the new Country
Joe Band has just begun to tour. When I saw them perform, midway
through April, the music was as tightly effusive as ever, with
poetic lyrics mostly brought to bear on two perennials: love
and death.
Their new song "Cakewalk
to Baghdad" is in sync with Country Joe McDonald's compositions
that stretch back to the escalating years of the Vietnam War.
With the post-"victory" occupation of Iraq in its thirteenth
month bringing death to many people including children, his old
song "An Untitled Protest" remains unfailingly current.
Sung the other night, it was no more dated than today: "Red
and swollen tears tumble from her eyes / While cold silver birds
who came to cruise the skies / Send death down to bend and twist
her tiny hands / And then proceed to target 'B' in keeping with
their plans."
No less than its previous
incarnation, the Country Joe Band exemplifies how rock music
can transcend itself as an art form. This is no small feat for
any musicians, including those who create songs that encourage
resistance to deadly routines of the status quo.
Rhetoric is destructive to
art. On the other hand, ambiguous or self-absorbed artistry is
apt to be isolated from key social realities. But the Country
Joe Band is not agitprop or evasive. For an overview, take a
look at www.countryjoe.com -- a website that reflects how a
creative process can stay grounded in humanistic projects of
our times.
Songs that Country Joe and
the Fish released in 1967 are so intricate that an attentive
listener is bound to agree with McDonald's recent comment to
an interviewer: "Those songs are very complex and difficult
to play, they're less rock 'n' roll and perhaps more ... well,
symphonic." Rendered by the Country Joe Band, the psychedelic
sound can seem orchestral. Yet there's still no reliance on high-tech
sound effects.
By now, apparently, we'd be
foolish to take the integrity of talented artists for granted.
Maybe, as a late '60s advertisement proclaimed, "the man
can't bust our music" -- but the corporate system can sure
water it down a lot. Or turn music into outright pabulum. Television
showcases plenty of grim results when so many knees bend toward
corporatized altars.
These days, cynicism about
famous musicians with protest credentials is running high. Weeks
ago, Bob Dylan began to appear in a Victoria's Secret commercial.
It may seem that the times they are a prostitutin'.
Media outlets are filled with
ads, commercial plugs and vapid -- or corrosive -- content leaving
the impression that gifted artists sell out to the almighty dollar
sooner or later. "Today's musical superstars seem more interested
in hawking their clothing lines and name-brand perfumes than
in any meaningful form of political action," magazine editor
Leslie Bennetts wrote in a Los Angeles Times essay. By coincidence,
the article appeared on the same day that I saw the Country Joe
Band in concert.
Unlike the profuse and dreary
examples now personified by Dylan, quite a few musicians -- renowned
or scarcely known -- have successfully struggled to retain creative
control over their work. They continue to resist the corporate
juggernauts that routinely flatten talent into the pap of pop.
A new development to celebrate
is the rise of the Country Joe Band. While standing the test
of time, music from the ensemble group resonates profoundly each
day as young Americans in uniform do their best to survive in
a faraway country: "And pound their feet into the sand of
shores they've never seen / Delegates from the western land to
join the death machine / And we send cards and letters."
It happens that Country Joe
McDonald and the band's other musicians have returned to public
space together at a time when many American soldiers -- following
the orders of the commander in chief -- are continuing to kill
and be killed. An old question is also new: What are we fighting
for?
"And those who took so
long to learn the subtle ways of death / Lie and bleed in paddy
mud with questions on their breath / And we send prayers and
praises."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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