Music+3

=Rachel Irizarry, Chris Willem, Steve Willard= = = =Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival=

Some folks are born made to wave the flag, Ooh, they're red, white and blue. And when the band plays hail to the chief, Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no,

Yeah! Some folks are born silver spoon in hand, Lord, dont they help themselves, oh. But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes, Ooh, they send you down to war, lord, And when you ask them, how much should we give? Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one.

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no\

-John Fogerty

[|Fortunate Son Lyrics]

"Fortunate son" has been interpreted in many ways but the most particular way is that the majority of people drafted into the war were middle and lower class citizens. Many citizens were forced to go to war by simply being handed a number, if the number was called they were drafted into the war or they had to pay a fee. The upper class citizens were referred to as the "millionaires son" and the "fortunate son" because they were able to pay.The song symbolizes the thoughts of a man who is being drafted.

During the war an estimated 125,000 Americans fled to Canada to avoid the being drafted and approximately 50,000 escaped American servicemen. In 1977, United States President Jimmy Carter granted a full, complete condone to all Vietnam-era draft dogers. Draft dogers are people who disobey policies in which he or she is a citizen or resident by leaving the country, going into hiding, or other attempts at counterfeit mean. [|Song Meanings]

Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) is a classic rock band that was active from 1967 to 1972. The band consisted of frontman, John Fogerty (Lead Guitar and Vocals), his brother Tom Fogerty (Rhythm Guitar), Stu Cook (Bass Guitar) and Doug Clifford (Drums). The band formed in the San Francisco area amidst the beginning of the Vietnam War. Both John Fogerty and Doug Clifford were enlisted in the military in 1966, postponing their careers until 1968 where they were discharged and began working with the band again.

The band's fame was contributed to their appearance at Woodstock. John Fogerty stated that their set at Woodstock was not that good, but their appearance itself gained fame across the anti-disestablishment culture of the sixties.

The band's fourth album, "Willy and the Poor Boys," was their breakthrough album in 1969. With all of the Vietnam protest songs produced, "Fortunate Son," was one of the most predominant songs of the time. The song reached #3 on the charts and was a hit. The song reflected America's military and America's politics. They would not super-cede this success with another War protest song, but it gave the anti-war group a soundtrack for their opinions.

[|Wikipedia]

Fortunate Son by Credence Clearwater Revival is a cynical song about the Vietnam Era. This song speaks about a teenager who is drafted to go fight in Vietnam. It states that if he was a “fortunate” person he wouldn’t of had to go and fight. In his eyes a “fortunate” son is someone who is wealthy or is the offspring of someone wealthy.

The chorus of the song is “It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators' son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one.” This specifically talks about how someone who is wealthy would be excused to fight in the war. Another line that supports this is “Some folks are born silver spoon in hand, Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.”

This song reflects the era mainly because this is how many people were feeling. It wasn’t like WWII in which people supported the war. Vietnam was the most protested war in history. What made its protesting even more mainstream was because of celebrities being involved. Music, movies, tv, etc. all protested the war. So the lack of support of the Vietnam war was everywhere in the media. [|Wikipedia]

//Works Cited// "Creedence Clearwater Revival." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .

"Fortunate Son." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 29 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .

Rev. of Fortunate Son; Creedence Clearwater Revival. Song Meanings. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .

Wiki page. Vietnam War. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .

Wiki page. Vietnam War. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .