Feelsongs: I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag -- Country Joe McDonald and the Fish

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam Way down yonder in Vietnam So put down your books
and pick up a gun, We're 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; nd 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. Gotta go out and get those reds The only good commie is the one
who'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 we're all gonna die.
Well, come on Wall Street, don't move 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 the 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. Well, come on mothers
throughout the land, Pack your boys off to Vietnam. Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late. Be the first one on 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

This is a satire of US government attitudes toward the Vietnam War. Country Joe MacDonald released it at the height of the war after he had been discharged from the US Navy for several years. He wrote it in about 30 minutes after it popped into his head.

The song attempts to put blame for the war upon the politicians and leaders of the US military and the industry that makes its money from war, but not upon those who had to fight the war... the soldiers. It expresses the thoughts of a person trapped in the military system and forced to go to war by something called "conscription." Conscription, or the "draft" as it was called, was a system that picked young people and forced them into the military and into the war. The only other choice was jail or an attempt to "dodge the draft" for religious, physical or mental reasons. It was very hard to get out of the draft because so many people were being killed in the war that they would take just about anyone. The song attempts to address the horror of going to war with a dark sarcastic form of humor called "GI humor." GI humor is a way people have of complaining about their situation so it will not get them in trouble and keep them from going insane in an insane environment: war. (songfacts.com)