Country Joe and the Fish were a band that was created back in 1965. They were established in Berkeley California. They were an American psychedelic group who wrote about controversial things. Including anti war protest songs. This song was the band's most famous hit. The song is completely satirical and nothing is meant literal, they were protesting the thought of going to war. They used a dark sense of humor to reach a vast audience. They were showing the dark parts of going to war and singing it with a happy melody. They talked about fathers sons coming home in a casket, and killing communists. They use “Pearly Gates” as a sign of soldiers dying and going to heaven. They also talk about using atomic bombs on the Vietcong. When I first heard