Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son” (1969)
Group Members: Alexis M., Kendra M., Stephanie H. Nathan R.
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About Me
- Erin M.
- BA, English - Wingate University, 2004. MA, English - Clemson University, 2007. GC, Latin American/Latino Studies - University of Louisville, May 2011. PhD, Humanities, University of Louisville (in progress). Adjunct Instructor of English, Jefferson Community & Technical College and Indiana University Southeast.
14 comments:
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son” (1969)
Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, theyre 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
Hello group
My name is Alexis. I am a business major and in the fall I am going to U of L. The song “Fortunate Son” seems like it was written by a man that was not very wealthy. The writer didn’t seem to be very patriotic either. He says he “aint no senators son” and “aint no millionaires son”. He also goes on to say that “some folks are born silver spoon in hand”. This not only leads me to assume that he was not wealthy, but it also leads me to think that he holds a grudge against people that are wealthy. I also get the vibe that the writer is against the war. He seems to think that some people are born to fight for their country but not him.
Alexis Motsch
Dear Folks,
Hi my name is Nathan and I am majoring in biology. I think this song is in reference to political corruption. The title of this song is “Fortunate Son”, I think what he means by fortunate son is all of these politics that are telling others to join the war are mostly in it for the money. I think he is referring to all of the politicians who are for the war and he is saying it is easy to be pro war if you are not the one going over there. I think he comes from a poor background and is saying all of these rich upper class people that act like they are better than you are some of the most corrupt and cheating people out there. I also think he is telling all of these politicians to think of how it would feel to send their son to war.
Thanks,
Nathan R.
My name is Stephanie. I am studying radiology at JCC. In the first stanza I think it means some people are born into politics and when artists write about them they are out to get them. In the chorus of this song I think he’s trying to say he’s not like the politicians. When he says “I aint no fortunate one,” I think he’s talking about wealth. In the second stanza when he says “born with silver spoon in hand, “I think he’s talking about money, our taxes. I think he’s saying the politician’s son helps himself to the tax payer’s money. And when it’s time to collect taxes they see the people struggling to pay them that are why the house looks like a “rummage sale.” Then the chorus plays again. In the third stanza he says “Some folks inherit star spangles eyes,” I think he’s trying to say that some people are born to be leaders of this country. And these leaders want to send us to war and want us to keep fighting harder and harder. It’s never enough fighting for them. The chorus plays again pretty much saying that he’s not a leader or a fighter, he’s a normal guy.
Stephanie H.
Hello group
I agree with both Nathan and Stephanie when they state that the song seems to be about politics. After reading their blogs and rereading the song, I definitely see what they are referring to. As soon as I read the lyrics, I realized that it referred to money but I never thought about the political side until I read Nathan and Stephanie’s comments. The write keeps repeating “it ain’t me, it ain’t me”. He is wanting to make sure that everyone that hears the song knows that he is not wealthy or in politics. Overall, you can tell that the writer is very strongly against the war.
Alexis Motsch
Hello Group,
Sorry for being late with my response I have been taking care of my sick children. My comment was quite similar to both members in my group. Alexis’ comment helped me realize the writer held a grudge against wealthy people. Mine and Nathan’s comments were very similar about political corruption. I agree with Alexis about the writer being against the war whether he’s apart of it or not.
Thanks,
Stephanie H.
Hello,
My name is Nathan Reid sorry mine is late I completely forgot. One thing that I over looked in my first letter was his wealth. I agree with Alexis that it appears that the writer was poor and not patriotic. This is shown through his whole song. I also agree with Stephanie he seems like the person who thinks that politicians are out to get him and that they are his enemies instead of allies. It seems in this period the government was thought of as an evil entity instead of a uniting system. A lot of people thought there voice was not being heard. So they began to publicly speak out through songs and protests and I believe this is what the author of this song is doing. He seems like the person that thinks the government is a business just trying to drain more and more from society. First their money then their lives and why would you five your life to fight a battle you don’t believe in.
Thanks,
Nathan Reid
Hello group!
Stephanie and Nathan I agree with both of you. Not only is the song written by a poor man that is not patriotic, but he hold a grudge against the wealthy. He is not the so of a political man and he does not believe in the war.
http://halfmoonbaymemories.com/wp-content/1969.jpeg
I found this picture on google of a man holding a sign. The sign has a peace sign painted on it and it says "now". This man is opposed to the war just like the writer of the song lyrics. It seems that many people did not agree with the war that was going on. It seemed the war was publicly opposed to.
Alexis Motsch
Hey Group,
Sorry I’m posting these so late but I was sick ALL last week and I am just now receiving the proper information about the blog assignment. I am a full time student majoring in Occupational Theraphy with big goals for myself. After reviewing these lyrics and actually listening to the song I think that the guy is really trying to put his point across about his fortune. He even states that he was not born “silver spoon in hand” like some people are which leads me to believe that he appreciates and values what he DOES have. I also feel that he is not really for the war thing. He feels some people are born to fight for their country however, he is Not one of those people. I don’t think that he even approves of the war and would like for other to put themselves in the shoes of the soldiers that are sent to fight.
Kendra Maxwell
Hey Group,
Sorry I’m posting these so late but I was sick ALL last week and I am just now receiving the proper information about the blog assignment. I am a full time student majoring in Occupational Theraphy with big goals for myself. After reviewing these lyrics and actually listening to the song I think that the guy is really trying to put his point across about his fortune. He even states that he was not born “silver spoon in hand” like some people are which leads me to believe that he appreciates and values what he DOES have. I also feel that he is not really for the war thing. He feels some people are born to fight for their country however, he is Not one of those people. I don’t think that he even approves of the war and would like for other to put themselves in the shoes of the soldiers that are sent to fight.
Kendra Maxwell
Hello Again Group,
Sorry about the double post I didn’t know if I was posting my comment correctly. I agree with Nathan and Alexis about how the artist is speaking on politics and their opinions. I don’t think they really understand how tough things in the real world can get for people especially finically. I could only imagine how a parent felt sending their son off to war or even how a wife felt watching her husband leave for war as well. Then having to think about not having enough finances to take care of home while they are away has to be hard. This song could be a reflection of that and his struggle can be heard through these lyrics.
Kendra Maxwell
My Dear Group,
You guys are wonderful and after reading everyone’s comments we all seem to have captured the same meaning of this song and agree with one another on his feelings toward politics, war and wealth. I agree with everyone and feel we all did a great job analyzing the song. I pulled my image off blogger.com after I googled it. Its of a man with his empty pockets hanging out. I feel its expressing how the song is stating how he is “no fortunate son”.
www.blogger.com
Kendra Maxwell
Hello
This is Nathan. We all have the same imagery about this song. The writer obviously does not think this war is worth the lives of the people at stake. I think he is writing this song to show these politicians that the decisions they make affect millions of people and the lives that are involved in a real life game of chess. The consequence of a poor decision of someone with such power is the ultimate one, LIFE. I think he wants them to realize the bloodshed that their decisions have caused.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/exhibits/redstick/protest.jpg
This picture is speaking to the same powerful people with the same perspective on this war as the writer. It states the number of lives lost. Sometimes it seems that people put the lost lives on the same scale as the money cost for war. I do not believe you can put these two in the same category. The person in the picture obviously disagrees with this war.
Hello Group,
I really liked Alexis’ and Nathan’s pictures, I think they both relate to the song and being against the war. Nathan, I like your picture the best because of the facial expression on this girl’s face. She looks very angry that so many people have died because of the war. Here is my picture I looked up on google: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/rma0106l.jpg
This picture is of a drawing of two politicians involved in the war. I feel there are similar actions in the picture and the song. The picture is pretty much saying the same thing the song is saying about the politicians wanting so much control. The picture says, “It’s a very orderly process, now that we’ve normalized relations with Vietnam, we can invade Bosnia.” Thank you group for your time, I am sorry all of my responses have been late.
Stephanie H.
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