American History

The 1960s was a time of social and political upheaval in the United States and even musicians have taken notice of it and used their songs to express their sentiments on the prevailing issues at the time.  Songs are considered to be more effective than speeches as music has a unique way of penetrating the human psyche and deliver the subliminal message.    In this case, two such songs come into mind, Feel Like Im Fixing to Die by Country Joe McDonald in 1967 and Bob Dylans Blowin in the Wind in 1963.  They were first sung at the height of social and political upheaval in the United States brought about by the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War and these songs have a message to convey with regard to these issues.

Cultural Analysis
These songs underscore the new kind of  culture  raging through the 1960s.  It was a culture that was demanding change from the old ways of the prewar and war time period which was conservative in nature and this showed in the civil rights movement where blacks were struggling for equality and were challenging the status quo to eliminate segregation.  This is underscored in Blowin in the Wind in the line,  How many years can some people exist, before theyre allowed to be free (Dylan, 1963)   In  Feel Like Im Fixing to Die, the song is filled with sarcasm and irony as it pokes fun at Americas seemingly misguided patriotism in fighting what activists consider a war with an unworthy cause as expressed in the lines,   Uncle Sam needs your help again. Hes got himself in a terrible jam. Way down yonder in Vietnam. (McDonald, 1967).  This line reflects how people now question Americas involvement in world affairs compared to what it had done in the two world wars and in the refrain,   What are we fighting for Dont ask me, I dont give a damn (McDonald, 1967).   This underscores the lack of a just cause that makes people oppose the war which they feel was not worth fighting and sacrificing American lives.

Historical Analysis
As stated before, the songs were timely in the context of the period.  Blowin in the Wind initially became anthem of the civil rights movement as the movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr. challenged American society to make the change and the songs lyrics serve as a rhetorical question to the issues they were facing then as mentioned above.  The song also became the anthem of the antiwar movement during the Vietnam War as peace was the quest of the protestors and the line from the song underscores that by saying,  How many times must the cannonballs fly, before theyre forever banned (Dylan, 1963)

McDonalds song, as mentioned earlier, appears to taunt those who support the war and the lines of the song underscores the sarcasm that goes, To have your boy come home in a box (McDonald, 1967).  There is absolutely no fun nor is it amusing for families to send their sons and daughters to war just to have them killed and be proud of it.  From the view of the antiwar movement, the war was unjust and they were trying to discourage people from supporting it by saying it was not their war and that the politicians were deceiving them into thinking they need to save the world from the communist menace since this was also the Cold War.

Conclusion
In conclusion, these songs became the anthems of a  revolution  that swept America in the 1960s.  It was a kind of revolution that challenged the old way of thinking and attempted to introduce something new.  In the case of the civil rights movement, the challenge was to consider people of different races as equals in humanity.  In the Vietnam War, to oppose  unjust  wars to spare young men and women from making needless sacrifices.  These are the messages of these two songs.