Fortunate Son
Music meaning presentation By Anthony Dominguez
Artist
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Fortunate Son
Fortunate Son as written by John C. Fogerty.
Lyrics
´Some folks are born 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 ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no,
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't 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 ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,
Lyric meaning
´The rich had a choice to send their children to war, the poor and middle class did not. 'Some folks are born, made to wave the flag', meaning once a child was born of a poor family, that was it, you were bound to go to war, no dispute. 'Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand', meaning the rich, born with a bit of money in your back pocket and you were safe from the horrors of war.
Fogerty's lyrics argue that it is the fathers of the fortunate sons—"senators," "millionaires"—who got America entangled in Vietnam, but it is the sons of the powerless—disproportionately poor, black, and brown—who have to pay the ultimate price.
Lyric Meaning (continued)
But for the unfortunate sons of America, who have no inherited wealth or privilege to protect them, the draft is likely to send them off to the jungles of Vietnam to fight and maybe die in a seemingly pointless war against an intractable enemy.
Issue
´"Fortunate Son" is a strong, impassioned statement against the Vietnam War and the political establishment in late-1960s America.
´The entire song is built upon the idea that there is as unbridgeable divide that splits the fortunate sons and the unfortunate sons in America.
The song has been widely used to protest military actions and elitism in western society, particularly in the united states; as an added consequence of its popularity, it has been used in completely unrelated situations, such as to advertise blue jeans.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, a band with an unimpeachable blue-collar background and perspective, called into question Nixon's notion that the antiwar movement was composed only of bums, burnouts, and campus elitists.
The song was incredibly critical of the Selective Service System, which produced a military that was disproportionately composed of minorities and the poor.
These unfortunate sons lacked the resources to obtain educational or medical deferments, which were quite common among more affluent draftees.
"Fortunate Son" poked holes in Nixon's rhetoric claiming that a "great silent majority" in America wholeheartedly supported the war. Instead, there may have been more of a "great angry majority." And "Fortunate Son" was their anthem.