"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Give me a F! (F!)
Give me a U! (U!)
Give me a C! (C!)
Give me a K! (K!)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
Yeah, he's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
Gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Yeah, come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
You can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Give me a U! (U!)
Give me a C! (C!)
Give me a K! (K!)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
What's that spell ? (FUCK)
Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
Yeah, he's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
Gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Yeah, come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
You can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
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Is there a better anti war song out there??? - I think not
damn right there aint.this song expresses it all. and its especially written about veitnam, brother. i fucking love this tune.
Yeah, and if anyone hasnt figured out what it is about. Then well yeah, you must be a fuckin idiot.
Great song though, the studio version is a litle cheesey, but the one live from woodstock is awesome. Hearing like hunrdeds of thousands of people sing along with him.
yes. i love the woodstock version. the studio version does not do justice to the protest of this entire song. my favorite part is in the middle of the song when the crowd stops singing along and the singer goes: "listen people i don't know how you expect to everstop the war if you can't sing any better than that. they'res about 300,000 of you fuckers out there, now start singing!"
This is still the best anti-war song & the best live-performance song from one of the best 60's tour bands ever (tied with the Who). Believe me, I'm 57 and I was there. I taught this to my teen-age kids (substituting "Afganistan" for "Vietnam") in late 2001 during THAT invasion. When I'm not listening to Green Day or Chili Peppers, I slip this one on the turntable for a blast from the past that still thrills. Get the live version.
Anyone know where I can find a copy of CJ Fish at Woodstock?
This is a very powerful, wonderfully sarcastically-funny song.
I would enjoy this song more if Country Joe wasnt a hippie. I dont like them. Ive heard alot of anti war songs, but I still think this one's the funniest. Although, I dont think anti war songs are meant to be funny. So I suppose this is the only funny anti war song. I agree that the Vietnam war was a conflict that shouldnt have happened. However, some wars are necassary, saying all wars are pointless is stupid. Im not saying that CJ said that, but Im just saying.
I'm pretty sure Country Joe wasn't trying to make the war seem funny, JonyPill, but was instead trying to shed light on how ridiculous the entire war was. But I definitely see where your coming from.But the idea that every time a government get's into a political jam they feel the need to attempt to solve the problem by killing their own citizens is insane (and it also apparently doesn't work via Vietnam, Iraq). I absolutely love this song: truthfully I love any song that spells our Fuck.
The studio version doesn't actually spell out F-U-C-K, at the beginning, rather F-I-S-H, the name of Joe's band.
The F-U-C-K part is from Woodstock.