Conservatives Freak Out When Springsteen Sings ‘Fortunate Son’
[su_right_ad]At the Concert for Valor, Bruce Springsteen joined Zac Brown and Dave Grohl performing Creedence Clearwater’s “Fortunate Son”. And deep misunderstanding of the song led conservatives to go ballistic.
…conservative opinion magazine The Weekly Standard raged against the performance, calling “Fortunate Son” an “an anti-war screed, taking shots at ‘the red white and blue.’ It was a particularly terrible choice given that ‘Fortunate Son’ is, moreover, an anti-draft song, and this concert was largely organized to honor those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
[su_thin_right_skyscraper_ad]John Fogerty has explained the song.
[He] was inspired to write “Fortunate Son” because “I did not support the policy or the war… If you asked anyone in the army at that time why we were going to Vietnam to fight, no one could answer… Probably the real answer was keeping the war machine going, and business. To sacrifice a young man’s life with no real purpose, taking these young men from their mothers and families, was wrong. I was the guy who was living this life… I had very strong feelings about all of this… To me, those soldiers were my brothers. I understood them because I was also drafted into the army just like them. The protest was against the policy, not the soldiers…
“I had been thinking about all this turmoil… It had been on my mind for some time how sons of certain senators escaped the draft. It was very upsetting to me, as a young man of draft age. In political conventions, many times, states will use the phrase “favorite son,” as they recognize their leader to make a nomination. The songwriter in me thought about this, and I changed the name to ‘Fortunate Son,’ a phrase to describe what we have all witnessed in our time… When the troops came home, Nixon turned his back on the soldiers. As my feelings about this got stronger and stronger, I knew I had to write about it.”
Anomaly 100 November 13th, 2014 at 7:26 am
The best anti-war song (not anti-troop) ever made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I
Roctuna November 13th, 2014 at 7:37 am
Damn right it is. No surprise the tea and gop can’t understand anything with depth of meaning, is it? The same way they think Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” is red, white and blue patriotic. They can’t be bothered to understand those lyrics either.
tracey marie November 13th, 2014 at 8:05 am
I was thinking the same thing. No nuance with the goptp is allowed
Bunya November 13th, 2014 at 2:42 pm
My favorite was always “I feel like I’m fixin’ to die rag” By Country Joe McDonald.
Come on mothers throughout the land.
Send your sons off to Viet Nam.
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate.
Send your sons off before it’s too late.
Be the first ones on your block.
To have your boy come home in a box.
Anomaly 100 November 13th, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Whoa! That’s intense.
I like it.
Annie November 13th, 2014 at 7:00 pm
This one always gives me goosebumps
rg9rts November 14th, 2014 at 10:18 am
One Two Three Four
What are we fightin for?
I don’t give a damn
Bunya November 14th, 2014 at 11:10 am
…And it’s five, six, seven
Open up the pearly gates.
Well, there aint’ no time to wonder why.
Whoopie! We’re all gonna die!
rg9rts November 14th, 2014 at 1:53 pm
We showin our age???
Bunya November 14th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
What a drag it is getting old. =(
Hirightnow November 13th, 2014 at 8:07 am
Well, we can’t support our troops if there’s no war, now, can we?
And RIBBONS!
Let’s not forget those ribbons!
Tommy6860 November 13th, 2014 at 8:24 am
It’s always interesting to see the wingers get all up in arms over anti-war songs, especially considering how patriotic they for those who fight in their stead.
arc99 November 13th, 2014 at 10:37 am
Right wingers demonstrate a curious patriotism.
They love this country when it suits their political agenda.
But when they lose an election, they throw childish tantrums and rant about secession from the union.
rg9rts November 14th, 2014 at 10:17 am
You ever wonder how many of them are veterans?? The only time any of them marched was on memorial day wrapped in the flag to proclaim to one and all what true american patriots they are.. Love to ask them what they did in the war? Daddy?
arc99 November 13th, 2014 at 10:32 am
John Fogerty wrote the song.
Bruce Springstein performed the song at a Veteran’s Day celebration
John Fogerty is a VETERAN.
Right wingers need to STFU
And as Forrest Gump would say, that’s all there is to say about that.
Suzanne McFly November 13th, 2014 at 11:31 am
Funny how the right has deemed the pro war types as more patriotic than service members.
Ol Blue November 13th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
They would rather hear the draft-dodging pedophile Nugent’s hate-filled screeds AGAINST the country. Go figure.
rg9rts November 14th, 2014 at 10:19 am
Judge the comments by the source