Every Vietnam War Veteran Alive Remembers These 3 Must-Hear Anthems From 1967

The 1960s dished out an endless stream of songs, across genres, about the Vietnam War. Plenty of Vietnam War veterans heard their share of albums through the decade, but the following tunes from 1967 likely resonated with quite a few of them. If you’re a vet, these songs might just ring a bell.

“I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” by Country Joe and The Fish from ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die’

This classic from Country Joe and The Fish dropped in late 1967, and it’s a fairly psychedelic entry on our list of anthems. “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” is a Vietnam War protest song, one that took advantage of free speech to drop a few F-bombs during live versions, which led to a television ban. No matter your feelings about the war as a veteran, you probably heard this song at least a few times back in the day.

“I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” obviously didn’t chart because of the controversy surrounding the song, but it did become something of an underground anthem in 1967.

“Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie from ‘Alice’s Restaurant’

This song about the draft had a hefty dose of comedy to it, and lots of Vietnam War veterans still get a kick out of it years later. Written by Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody Guthrie, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” is a talking blues-style tune about a humorously exaggerated but true story about the time Guthrie got arrested for illegal trash dumping, which inadvertently affected his ability to be drafted. The album of the same name ended up becoming a No. 29 hit on the Billboard 200, and the title track is still a standout from Guthrie’s career.

“Waist Deep In The Big Muddy” by Pete Seeger from ‘Waist Deep In The Big Muddy And Other Love Songs’

Unsurprisingly, Pete Seeger makes it to our list of anthems from 1967 that Vietnam War veterans likely remember. The narrative of “Waist Deep In The Big Muddy” takes place in 1942 in Louisiana, but the symbolism of the song is clearly about the Vietnam War and then-President Johnson’s escalation policy.

“Waist Deep In The Big Muddy” by Pete Seeger remains one of the folk singer’s most famous tunes, and it has been covered and partially sampled by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to John Fogerty.

Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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