To me, Fogerty's lyrics are a sociologist's dream, as he explored the psyche of a nation during the political upheavals and socio-economical impacts of the Nixon era. The nation was starting its slide into a deep recession, an unpopular war raged on in Vietnam, and the Cold War continued to cast a shadow of fear and doubt...we all were experiencing the blues. Fogerty penned these collective emotions to paper and then to music. My god, he could sing the blues...our blues...
Back in 1969, CCR released their album "Willie and the Poor Boys" with much acclaim and success. One of the album's songs is relevant to the topic of UFOs. "It Came Out of the Sky" speaks of the hysteria of society and the reaction of government/media/religion as all attempt to capitalize on this collective hysteria. Fogerty penned a parody that humorously captured this theme. I loved it then and still love it now.
To listen to the song, go to youtube. Here are the lyrics:
"It Came Out Of The Sky"
Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't b'lieve what he seen
Laid on the ground and shook, fearin' for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin' "It came out of the sky."
Well, a crowd gathered 'round and a scientist said it was marsh gas
Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax
The Vatican said, "Woe, the Lord has come"
Hollywood rushed out an epic film
And Ronnie the Popular said it was a communist plot
Oh, the newspapers came and made Jody a national hero
Walter and Eric said they'd put him on a network T.V. show
The White House said, "Put the thing in the Blue Room"
The Vatican said, "No, it belongs to Rome."
And Jody said, "It's mine and you can have it for seventeen million."
Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't b'lieve what he seen
Laid on the ground a shakin', fearin' for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin' "It came out of the sky."
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't b'lieve what he seen
Laid on the ground and shook, fearin' for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin' "It came out of the sky."
Well, a crowd gathered 'round and a scientist said it was marsh gas
Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax
The Vatican said, "Woe, the Lord has come"
Hollywood rushed out an epic film
And Ronnie the Popular said it was a communist plot
Oh, the newspapers came and made Jody a national hero
Walter and Eric said they'd put him on a network T.V. show
The White House said, "Put the thing in the Blue Room"
The Vatican said, "No, it belongs to Rome."
And Jody said, "It's mine and you can have it for seventeen million."
Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't b'lieve what he seen
Laid on the ground a shakin', fearin' for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin' "It came out of the sky."
Did Jody see and recover a meteorite, or something else? I'm leaning towards a meteorite, but take notice that scientist claimed it was "marsh gas." Reference to Project Blue Book or academia in general?
Why would Spiro (Spiro Agnew, Nixon's Vice-President) give a speech to raise the "Mars tax" for a run of the mill meteorite...or was it something else?
Ronnie the Popular (Ronald Reagan) said it was a communist plot, linking the "event" to the Cold War. Now this would appear to rule out a simple meteor. What could those dastardly Soviets been up to?
What ever it was, it was enough to cause Jody to fall off of his tractor and run screaming into town. Despite this great awakening moment, capitalism wins the day as Jody was willing to part with it for $17 million.
Its a period piece of satire, but it humorously illustrates how ridiculously we tend to react to something unusual. Should this be Roswell's theme song? Based on the current state of affairs with ufology, researchers should take solace...Fogerty sings your blues.
Note to reader: Lyrics obtained from azlyrics.com and can be seen here.
You have great taste in music, my friend...
ReplyDeleteThanks James. I love CCR, always have, always will. My mother was a young teenager when I was born, so naturally I grew up listening to the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard...all blues artists. It was a southern thing and music crossed racial lines.
ReplyDeleteYou can say that he remembers his mother as an 18 or 19 year old...I can.
Sorry James, I meant to say, "Who can say that he remembers his mother as an 18 and 19 year old?...I can." She was very yound when I was born. A tough old gal at that, and still is! But its the music that she instilled in me that still sticks to this day.
ReplyDeleteDespite the above, my favorite music is that of the 1980s. I still can remember Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" blasting from the LCC stereo speakers at Lima-01 while my deputy and I were busting our asses during a squadron wide anti-jam mode event...those were the days!