Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Ironic “Fortunate Son"

For many of the pieces and songs that we have touched on before, regardless of them being classic or cliché, have either been used heavily in visual media as intended, or not even remotely close. There are various serious songs that now have a new life in comedy, and some bright and happy songs being used ironically in terrible or dark scenes. That is how some film-makers create contrast. However, there are some contrasts musically, that may not be quite are obvious. One example of this, is Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son”.

History

Written and performed by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, the song was released on their 4^thstudio album titled, Willy and the Poor Boys in November of 1969. Leader John Fogerty wrote the song as an outcry against the war in Vietnam at the time. Both he and band’s drummer Doug Clifford both enlisted in the Army reserves in 1966 in avoidance of enlistment to Vietnam, and later discharged in 1968 after serving. He was not a fan of Richard Nixon, who was the president at the time, and believed that favoritism and social standing allowed for those around him to avoid military service. This would force the working-class citizens to go to war.

The song “Fortunate Son” speaks out against the war, yet expresses their support for the soldiers fighting that war. A true “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”, in song form.

 

How is it used?

Much like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.”, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” is often identified as a patriotic anthem, which is far from the truth. While often misinterpreted, the media still continues to use it in similar contexts of what the audience identifies as “American”. The song was often taken apart, using only the patriotic lyrics of the song for use in commercials in the early 2000s.  Fogerty could do nothing to prevent it, as he lost the publishing rights for several of his songs in a bad contract with ex-record label Fantasy Records. Regardless, Fogerty has always been promoting the true meaning of the song. He acknowledging that it gets misinterpreted, but content that it is being allowed to play at patriotic events, despite it being a protest song. However, there are times where it has been used in situations that Fogerty expressed his discontentment for, such as Donald Trump’s 2020 rally. 

Within the world of visual media, the song has been used countless of times in the context of war, masculinity, and patriotism. The song was famously used in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, during Forrest and Bubba’s arrival by a U.S. Army helicopter to the combat zone in South Vietnam. Although the executive music producer of the film at the time (Joel Sill) was looking for American artists only for the soundtrack in accordance to the film and its characters, the song became a success. Even in a comedic level, the song was used in a 2018 Family Guyepisode titled “’Family Guy’ Through the Years” (S16, E16), where Quagmire is portrayed as a Vietnam veteran in 1973. Not only has it been used in commercials, film, and television, but also gained fans from its appearance in several videogames as an in-game playable track. From similar context games such as Battlefield Vietnam (2004), to the rhythm games such as in the Rock Band DLC (2007), among several others.

 

 

Some other notable uses:

• Prefontaine (1997) – directed by Steve James
• The Manchurian Candidate (2004) – directed by John Frankenheimer
• Live Free or Die Hard (2007) – directed by Len Wiseman
• Battlefield (2012) – directed by Peter Berg
• War Dogs (2016) – directed by Todd Phillips
• Logan Lucky (2017) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
• American Dad “In Country…Club” (S6, E1) – directed by Josue Cervantes & Albert Calleros
• Chuck “Chuck Versus the Beard” (S3, E9) – directed by Zachary Levi
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) – Videogame
• Bioshock Infinite (2013) – Videogame
• Mafia 3 (2016) – Videogame
• Grand Theft Auto V re-release (2014) - Videogame

 

Classic or Cliché? 

For a protest song of defiance and blue-collar pride, it is incredibly ironic how often it is used in the context of war. Half used for its lyrics in soldier support, and half misunderstood by an audience that does not really care to pay attention to the lyrics. Quickly judged by its “patriotic” production, the song has become a sort of unofficial theme for the Vietnam War. It has gained a following from two very different perspectives, and whether that is from a more cultural and historic view or a more aesthetically significant view, the song has been quite extensively. However, the song itself is quite iconic musically empowering. An ultimate cult classic.