Hippie Movement

[MylesBAstor]

Was watching a special on the hippie movement and of course, one of the antiwar musicians profiled was Country Joe and the Fish.

I wonder what he might have written today?

Well, 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;
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 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,
But 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 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.

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.
And 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.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

He'd have to change the second verse. War's not so good for business this time around.

Tim

 

[stargate]

The good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratic regimes friendly to the United States" - Richard Cheney

 

[Gregadd]

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.

He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.

And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.

And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.

But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.

He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.

I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I just worry about the kids who seemed doomed before they start.



GOD BLESS ALL THE VETERANS!

 

[karma]

HI All,
Were any of you hippies? I mean real hippies. The kind that smoked dope endlessly, dropped acid at the drop of a hat, practiced Eastern religions, loved acid rock, discovered free love, lived for concerts, domiciled in communes, learned to like vegetarian cuisine (?) and protested the Vietnam war and marched for civil rights.

I was. All of it. Tim Leary was my light. Dropped out of an aerospace engineering career path, found a beautiful young woman run away, moved from Houston NASA and ended up in a hippie mecca in Santa Fe, NM. Oh, and yes, I had a van, of course. Have I hit the high points of the stereotype? As I type I'm listening to Alice's Restaurant. HI, Arlo.

Well, time and economic necessity, moved me to open my own hi fi repair shop business in Santa Fe at the most wonderful (and hippie) music shop in town. I wasn't a very serious businessman. We were on the standard route for every drug dealer in the Southwest. This didn't lead to serious business!! But it did lead to serious drug consumption. I had friends that never knew me straight.

I had a ball!!!!! I would not trade that time for anything. I learned so much, things you can't find in a straight life or text book. I found God in a most serious and direct way which changed my life forever.

Although most normal things left my life, hi fi and music were a constant. Being in the industry I usually found great deals on good equipment. I always had the best system on the block. As you might guess, the best sound most hippies had was from boom boxes so the competition was not tough.

Eventually, I grew tired of being poor. This led to a new career at a National Laboratory. How I ever got a security clearance I'll never know. And there I remain, 30 years later. I completely severed ties with the hippie world, grew old, became a conservative, and lost my teeth.

Friends, I have to tell you that the best years of my life was as a hippie. But it's not practical and had to go away. I still have my pony tail and beard, a symbolic tie to my former life.

Sparky

 

[stargate]

Sparky-I am going to open a wonderful bottle of vino tonight and cheer your life-and throw down some Bob dylan..yes I was one also...

 

[fas42]

Sparky, goodonya mate, for having a great journey like that! No, this wasn't my bag, not at all, I was very straight in fact, but enjoyed the sense and energy of the times immensely. Flirted with the commune thing, did a few marches, that's about it. Hell's bells, I'm so low key and unfussed about it I'm still waiting for the Blu-ray of Woodstock to go on special before acquiring!

And I'm still not sure what Alice's Restaurant was all about ...

Frank

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I think my avatar tells the tale. That would have been sometime in the very early 70s, I think, when I was fronting a band named Bodine Fripp that played, among other things, the entire first side of The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.

Tim

 

[karma]

Sparky-I am going to open a wonderful bottle of vino tonight and cheer your life-and throw down some Bob dylan..yes I was one also...

HI stargate,
Glad to know I'm not alone here. As for the wine I'll join you in a toast with fruit juice. I don't drink anymore. My musical guru then and now is Shawn Phillips. Do you know of him? If you don't, you should.

And fas42, glad to hear you got a contact high from us nuts. Honestly, I really had no idea how we were affecting the straight world and I really didn't care. I guess I thought very little. So, your post has opened my eyes a little. Thanks.

Oh, I would not put too much thought into Alice's Restaurant. Arlo's silly and so is the song. But I like it for that reason. It is still dead serious compared to his Motorcycle Song which I also love. I really don't want a pickle, I just..............!



Sparky

 

[fas42]

I was fronting a band named Bodine Fripp that played, among other things, the entire first side of The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.

Tim

And, gosh, you still haven't lost the ability to make people roll their eyes ....!!

Frank

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

And, gosh, you still haven't lost the ability to make people roll their eyes ....!!

Frank

I'll always be here for you, Frank.

Tim

 

[fas42]

I'll always be here for you, Frank.

Tim

The loyalty of man's best friend! That's what the world needs now, dum dum, de dum ...

Frank

 

[fas42]

I am proud of that generation, no matter where some paths lead. They took them and they made change HAPPEN. I wish I had been born in the forties and been part of that hippie group.

...

Tomelex

Yes, they made some bloody good music, aawwll right!!

Frank

 

[MylesBAstor]

Let me say this about that hippie thing. I was on the tail end of that era, graduating from high school in the seventies, however, I can not think of any modern generation that has made such significant strides for everybody in our country. No, those who fought in the world wars included. This is what I mean:

Those so called hippies rose up against their government establishment, against the status quo, they were revolutionaires, they stood for equality, for womens rights, for freedom from wars that did not make sense, for freedom of sexual expression and orientation and tolerance and openess.

They were hated or feared by their parents and their government.

They took ACTION and made things happen.

See anything like that since those days? No.

I am proud of that generation, no matter where some paths lead. They took them and they made change HAPPEN. I wish I had been born in the forties and been part of that hippie group.

And yes, they had courage. Lots of it.

And, there was a lot of cool music then too. And what I call happy music that is still some of my favorite stuff to listen to today.

Thanks to those who stood up for what they belived in, that is the real thing, baby.

Tomelex

When I was 16, my birthday was number one for THE draft. When I was 17, my number was 115 and that was the year the war began winding down and they only took to 100. Talk about dodging a bullet (NPI)

 

[Fred]

I went on to a career in law. So my response to this is "no comment."

 

[c1ferrari]

Graduated from college in 1980...

the 70's...an ABSOLUTE blast
My ethos...redolent of the 60's

 

[andy_c]

A friend of mine was drafted to serve in Vietnam after trying several things to get out of it, including conscientious objector status. Those attempts all failed. Desperate, he read a book called "Steal This Book" by Abbie Hoffman, in which the author recommended a tattoo on the edge of the right hand opposite the thumb saying "F#%^ You". The idea was that any time you salute, it would be displayed to the superior.

He had it done, and it worked! They let him go. But my parents would often invite him for dinner, and he had to sort of twist his hand in a funny way when he was eating so the tattoo wouldn't show.

I guess they didn't have any good ways of tattoo removal back then?