John Fogerty on ‘Fortunate Son’ being misunderstood by conservatives: ‘People thought it was a patriotic ditty to wave the flag and all that, not really understanding the cynicism and absolute defiance I had in the song’

https://www.vulture.com/article/john-fogerty-best-songs-most-misunderstood-creedence-clearwater-revival.html

43 comments

  1. i was literally listening to this song and talking about this with my wife this morning.

    Its ironic that the song perfectly fits trump, but not in the way his media (and generally) illiterate followers think

  2. Right after Born In the USA this is my favorite pro America song!

  4. Isn’t it an anti Vietnam song. ” I ain’t no senator’s son”

  5. Jesus Christ it’s right there in the lyrics plain as day

  6. You have to listen to this with your ears plugged to miss the message. It’s so obvious. ??

  7. Shocking that they don’t understand nuance .

  8. It’s like Starship Troopers. I love it, but knowing idiots exist who don’t understand it’s a critique and not actually advocating for that sort of mindset soaks some of the enjoyment out of it. 

  9. Probably the same ones who didn’t realize The Boys (series) was making fun of them, or that Rage Against the Machine has always been political, but the machine is not who they think it is.

    They probably also really liked the Colbert Report.

  10. How about when they invited Canadas own
    Guess Who to play American Woman at the white house in the 70’a ! 🤣

  12. Conservatives have never been a part of culture in any way that doesn’t involve killing something or polluting the environment.

  13. GOP, always assuming the message is a positive, supportive one for their twisted beliefs.

  14. In my experience, conservatives generally don’t understand the lyrics of songs they proport to enjoy.

  15. Please, everyone knows it’s a protest song. It’s like Reagan’s embrace of “Born in the USA”. They know, we know but they love to subvert and bend any and all art to their will

  17. It is literally a song about Trump aka Private Bonespurs.

    Conservatives simply have to read or listen to the lyrics to understand ots about the poor and minorities going off to Vietnam while the rich and privileged stay home.

  19. I would’ve been surprised years ago. Today, it’s not shocking at all MAGA thinks this song is patriotic.

  20. It’s crazy how nowadays we’re just expected to act like it’s normal for adults to not understand things that are obvious to 5 year olds

  21. The entire basis of modern conservatism is only having a superficial understanding of everything.

  22. Conservatives and not understanding, well, anything—name a more popular duo.

  23. God, just listen to the words. It’s a protest song. It’s a good song too.

  24. Born in the USA by Bruce was another they didn’t quite get.

  26. One big reason why so many conservatives hate art is because they’re too stupid to understand and they’re jealous that the rest of us can. When they get too much power and start doing fascism, they always go after artist they dont like (the ones who actually dont make art aimed at appeasing them)

  27. Conservatives understanding lyrical context challenge level impossible

  28. I’ve heard covers (specifically acoustic) that give the song a completely different feeling and vibe , the lyrics really hit in a different way than the original.

  30. These are the same conservatives that are shocked Rage Against the Machine is a socialist band. They also love “Born in the USA” without understanding the lyrics at all.

  31. HE’S LITERALLY FUCKING SINGING IT OPENLY, OUT LOUD

    It’s not like he’s singing quickly, or it’s a complicated song.

    He’s singing in plain language about class struggle and distrust for the patriotism and propaganda used by “fortunate ones” to take advantage of the poor.

  33. Why do artists wait decades to point out obvious misinterpretations?

  34. Kind of like they didn’t realize what machine was being raged against.

  35. Yes that was extremely clear if you listened to the song lol

  36. Same people that queue up Born in the USA next to show their patriotism.

  37. It’s a shame people cant be bothered to listen, read, or think about things. They just want to sing along.

    That’s what Cobain was talking about: “…who likes all our pretty songs…likes to sing along, but he dont know what it means.”

  38. This song has always been one of the most anti-war songs ever written. Who in their right mind thought it was anything other than that?

  39. Conservatives misunderstanding the core theme and message of a popular piece of popular culture?

    The hell, you say!

  41. Conservatives don’t understand art? I’m positivity shocked! Shocked I say!

  42. This, Nirvana’s In Bloom, so many songs that people cannot understand the meaning of. But that isn’t surprising **gestures all around**…

  43. Those of us with basic media literacy skills always understood

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