The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag Lyrics

[Intro]
Give me an F!
Give me a I!
Give me an S!
Give me an H!

What's that spell?
Fish!
What's that spell?
Fish!
What's that spell?
Fish!

[Verse 1]
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, pick up a gun
Gonna have a whole lot of fun

[Chorus]
And it's 1, 2, 3
What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam
And it's 5, 6, 7
Open up the pearly gates
Ah, ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee!
We're all going to die

[Verse 2]
Well come on generals let's move fast
Your big chance has come at last
Gotta go out, get those reds
The only good commie is the one that's dead

And you know that peace could only be won
When we've blown them all to kingdom come


[Chorus]
And it's 1, 2, 3
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam
And it's 5, 6, 7
Open up the pearly gates
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee!
We're all going to die

[Verse 3]
Well come on Wall Street don't move slow
Why man, this is war-a-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

[Chorus]
And it's 1, 2, 3
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam
And it's 5, 6, 7
Open up the pearly gates
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee!
We're all going to die

[Verse 4]
Well come on mothers throughout the land
Pack your boys off to Vietnam

Come on fathers don't hesitate
Send them off before it's too late

Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box


[Chorus]
And it's 1, 2, 3
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam
And it's 5, 6, 7
Open up the pearly gates
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee!
We're all going to die

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About

Genius Annotation

Country Joe’s anti-war song.
Humour adds to the effectiveness of the message.

An alternative version was sung at Woodstock where the crowd is asked to spell the word “fuck”.

The fish cheer means the odd cheer.

Contains an interpolation of Muskrat Ramble, a jazz standard written by Kid Ory and popularized by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five.

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