z+Feel+Like+I'm+Fixing+to+Die

Well, 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.

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.

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow, Why man, this is war au-go-go There's plenty good money to be made By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade, But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb, They drop it on the Viet Cong.

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.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast; Your big chance has come at last. Now you can go out and get those reds 'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead 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 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.

Come on mothers throughout the land, Pack your boys off to Vietnam. Come on fathers, and don't hesitate To send your sons off before it's too late. And you can be the first ones in your block To have your boy come home in a box.

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.

"back to "Songs of the Vietnam Era"

This song was chosen because it happened to be sung at Woodstock. Where almost a million teenagers and grown adults came to sing and protest the war. Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die was sung by Country Joe, his lyrics provoked many thoughts and questions among the people at Woodstock. What ARE we fighting for? Because the government was afraid of communism, innocent young men were to go to a strange country and get shot by supposed communist. However, they didn't see any Senators or Cabinet members traveling over to Vietnam and seeing what those boys had to see. The song also addressed the point that the U.S. was spending millions of dollars over in a war torn country that the U.S. had no right to fight in, it was a civil war, meant to be fought between each other, not a country red with the fear of communism. Finally, The last stanza before the chorus talks about how many of the men that were drafted, so they didn't have a choice but to go, often didn't return still breathing or with all their limbs, hundreds of thousands of boys and men were dying over in a foreign country