Gather: Study War No More Countdown

This week's gather column, and one I'm proud of...

10. Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees (1966)

Last Train to Clarksville's narrator is insistent with the repeated line, "... and I don't know if I'm ever coming home" because he was shipping out to Vietnam. According to the co-writer of the 1966 hit, Bobby Hart, "We couldn't be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn't really make a protest song out of it - we kind of snuck it in." Watch/listen on YouTube.

9. Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)

In a Rolling Stone interview, John Fogerty noted, "Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved with the war. In 1969, the majority of the country thought morale was great among the troops, and like eighty percent of them were in favor of the war. But to some of us who were watching closely, we just knew we were headed for trouble." Watch/listen on Google Video.

Here's the link to the full "countdown" list.