I - Feel - Like - I’m - Fixin’ - to - Die Rag and The Ballad of the Green Berets are two songs which refer to the war in Vietnam. The former was released in 1965 by Country Joe McDonald and his band; while the latter was launched in 1966 by Barry Sadler and Robin Moore. The two songs have very different approaches to the way they describe and reflect on the Vietnamese war.
Country Joe and the Fish’s I - Feel - Like - I’m - Fixin’ - to - Die Rag is a carnival type song which became very popular in the anti-war movement. It came out while the war was beginning to make people understand the extent to which such conflict was nonsensical and worthless. The singer uses a sarcastic tone as he promotes war and death. He thinks that war is senseless, so he uses such a foolish and crazy tone to tackle it. In the first stanza, McDonald sings, “So put down your books and pick up a gun, / We’re gonna have a whole lot of fun!”. The cantor refers to the unlucky college students who are drafted and end up dying for no serious cause. In the chorus, McDonald says, “What are we fighting for? / Don’t ask me, I don’t
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Throughout the song, the authors keep referring to the Green Berets. They constitute a special force of the United States Army, which was established during the Korean War and was very active in Vietnam. In the first stanza, Sadler and Moore refer to the Green Berets as fearless and very courageous soldiers. In the second and fourth stanzas, the cantors emphasize the greatness and selectivity of the Green Beret. The fifth stanza underlines how these soldiers are disposed to sacrifice themselves for the oppressed. In the last stanza, the singer hopes for his son to become a Green Beret, and thus to be involved in Vietnam. The authors are probably veterans, and for such reason they want their sons to fight for the United