The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag

Although the song achieved national notoriety when it was included on Country Joe and the Fish's second album, I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die, it was first composed and distributed two years prior.[3] In 1965, Country Joe McDonald founded and edited for a local counterculture magazine in Berkeley, California, which he called Rag Baby – a Bay Area adaptation of the folk magazine Broadside. McDonald published four editions of the magazine, and sought to incorporate musical influences to support Rag Baby's left-wing message.[4] To accommodate the issue, McDonald was inspired to distribute a "talking issue" of the magazine, an extended play called Rag Baby Talking Issue No. 1. In June 1965, an early incarnation of Country Joe and the Fish recorded an acoustic version of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag", the later debut album track, "Superbird", and two other songs by local folk musician, Peter Krug at Arhoolie Records Studios, under the guidance of record producer Chris Strachwitz.[5] According to McDonald, the rag was written in under 30 minutes with a conscious purpose of reflecting on the escalation of the Vietnam War, while he composed another song, "Who Am I", which was also relating to the US's increasing armed involvement.[6] About 100 copies of the EP were pressed on McDonald's independent label and, were sold at Sproul Plaza in UC Berkeley, during a Teach-in, and in underground stores that stocked Rag Baby.[4]

The song's lyrics implicitly blame American politicians, high-level military officers, and industry corporations on starting the Vietnam War. McDonald composed "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" in the summer of 1965, just as the U.S.'s military involvement was increasing, and was intensively opposed by the young generation.[6] It expresses discontent towards the process of conscription, through the use of dark humor, and culminating in a reflection of casualties of the war, as hinted in the satirical invitation to "be the first one on your block, to have your boy come home in a box". In addition, the song features a signature chorus:

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,
Whoopie! We're all gonna die![7]

The album version concludes with the uttering of several light machine guns firing and a final explosion, evoking the dropping of another atomic bomb.[8]

After a brief stint performing as a duo in Berkeley, McDonald and Barry Melton recruited more members and eventually signed a recording contract with Vanguard Records in December 1966.[9] Inspired by the live performances of Bob Dylan and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the group became fully intertwined in electric rock, and recorded a new electrified version of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" in Sierra Sound Laboratories, in February 1967.[10][11] Initially, the song was going to be featured on Country Joe and the Fish's debut album, Electric Music for the Mind and Body, but record producer Sam Charters insisted that the track remain off the record. When the controversial composition "Superbird" was not banned from airplay, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" was placed as the opening to their second album, I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die.[12][13]

The song was a popular attraction in the band's live performance. The song began with a "Fish Cheer", in which the band spells out the word "F-I-S-H" in the manner of cheerleaders at American football games ("Give me an F", etc.).[7] In the summer of 1968, the first instance of the slightly altered version known as "The Fuck Cheer" appeared in New York City at the Shaefer Summer Music Festival, among a crowd of nearly 10,000. Drummer Gary "Chicken" Hirsh suggested that the opening chorus spell out "fuck", which was positively received by younger listeners, and led to unexpected radio exposure of the album version on both alternative radio stations and AM radio.[14] Although Hirsh has never explained why he made the change, writer James E. Perone has speculated in his book Songs of the Vietnam Conflict that it was a "rebellious counterculture political act demonstrating free speech rights in the mid-1960s".[15] However, executives from The Ed Sullivan Show were present at the concert, and barred Country Joe and the Fish from their scheduled appearance and any future performances on the show.[5]

This version of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" was issued as a single in Sweden through Vanguard Records in 1968.[16] It was backed by "Rock And Soul Music", another original by the band which had appeared on their third album Together in August 1968.[16][17][18] Although this release failed to chart, the group saw critical success in Sweden following a tour there during the autumn of 1968.[19] This led Vanguard to re-release the single in April 1969 after which it charted on Tio i Topp.[20] It entered that chart at a position of number seven on April 12, 1969, before peaking at number one on May 17, 1969, staying at the top for four weeks.[21] It exited the chart at a position of number 13 on June 28.[22] Following this, it also charted on sales chart Kvällstoppen on May 20 at a position of number 16 before peaking at number four on June 3.[23] It exited the chart on July 1, having spent seven weeks on the chart.[24] The single was imported to Denmark, where it reached number three.[25] Following the success of the song in Sweden, Vanguard released in as a single across Europe and in Japan throughout 1969 and 1970, though it failed to chart in those territories.[16]

On August 16, 1969, the second day of the Woodstock Festival, McDonald made an unexpected solo performance of "The Fuck Cheer" at the conclusion of his set list, after Quill. McDonald was augmented with a Yamaha FG 150 guitar that he found and holstered with a rope.[26] According to McDonald, "I went on with my guitar and it was like 'Here is this guy who's going to sing' but no one paid any attention. I played 'Janis' and 'Tennessee Stud' and then I walked off the stage. I asked my tour manager if he thought it would be OK if I went back on and did the cheer and he said yeah. So I went "Give me an F!", and they all yelled "F!"[27] The audience receptively responded by cheering the "F-U-C-K" chant along with McDonald. The performance was featured on the Woodstock film, which included sing-a-long lyrical subtitles of "The Fuck Cheer".[28] Country Joe and the Fish also performed on the third day of the festival, and also concluded their set with the cheer and "Fixin'-to-Die Rag".

In 2001, the heirs of New Orleans jazz trombonist Kid Ory launched a lawsuit against Country Joe McDonald, claiming that the music of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" constituted plagiarism of "Muskrat Ramble", a number by Ory,[29][30] recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1926. In 2005, a court dismissed the suit, holding that the Ory estate had waited too long to make the claim. If the action had been successful, Country Joe McDonald would have been required to pay $150,000 for each live performance of the song in the three years since the lawsuit was filed. McDonald would have also been barred from ever performing the song again without the possibility of further damages.[29]