1. War Protest Song Assignment Name:_________ Citation(s) Author’s last name, first name. “Article Title.” Main Website. Publisher. Date of Publication. Medium of Publication. Date of Access.. “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag.” Songfacts. Songfacts, LLC, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.. McDonald, Joe. “How I Wrote the Rag.” Country Joe’s Place. n.p. 2000. Web 18 Nov. 2013.. “The 1960's - Civil Rights and Turmoil.” America’s Best History. Americasbesthistory.com. 2012. Web 18 Nov. 2013.. Rosenberg, Jennifer. “1960’s Timeline.” About.com 20 th Century History. About.com. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.. Objectives: I can analyze a theme in a song. I can cite strong evidence from the song to support the theme. I can analyze multiple interpretations of an event. (Vietnam War) I can find and cite quality evidence. I can use my research to write a well developed paragraph.

2. Background information about the Song What is the name of the song? “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” Who wrote the song? Joe McDonald What year was the song written? Summer 1965 released in October What were three important events that happened in the same year that they song was recorded? *U.S. sends troops to Vietnam *Malcolm X Assassinated *The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson *The Watts race riots in Los Angeles begin a five day siege, culminating in the death of thirty-four people and property destruction in excess of $200 million. *Kevlar is developed by Dupont scientist Stephanie Louise Kwolek. She would patent the compound, used extensively in bullet proof vests, in 1966 *Miniskirt First Appears *New York City Great Blackout Was there a special event that inspired the song? Explain. Joe McDonald had been discharged from the US Navy for several years. He had been working on another song about the Vietnam War called “Who Am I?” for several day and therefore had the war on his mind. Was the song performed anywhere special? Explain. Woodstock War Protest Song Assignment

3. War Protest Song Assignment What is he trying to say about this particular point? It is not the fault of the soldiers, but the politicians and leaders. They deserve the blame. Theme of the Song What is the songwriter trying to say about that subject? _That the politicians and the companies that make money from war are the people to blame, not the soldiers who are trapped and forced to fight. What makes this song different from other protest songs? It is written and sung in “rag” form which gives it almost a happy comical tone, but the words are the exact opposite, they are very serious What is its subject? War/ Politics Create a statement that embodies the theme or message of the song.__________________________________________________________________________ Write one quote from the song that is evidence to support this as the theme.__________________________________________________________________________