We lost one of the icons of my youth earlier this week. Country Joe McDonald died from complications of Parkinson’s Disease in his hometown of Berkeley, Calif. He was 84.
McDonald—with and without his band, The Fish—was anti-war
all his life. His big Woodstock moment started with him shouting, “Gimme an F,”
and exhorting the audience to fill the somewhat weedy air with “FUCK!” Then he
segued into the “I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag”.
This song is particularly apt this week, as it turns out.
You could substitute “Tehran” for “Vietnam”, while the “be the first one on
the block to have your boy come home in a box” line is as true as it was in
1969.
This makes me very tired, that nearly 60 years after Joe
asked for that F, we’ve still got leaders who think that a “short, victorious
war” is what will settle domestic unrest. Only this time it's so much more unhinged.
Crank up the volume.
©2026 Bas Bleu
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