Draft Dodger Rag

Annotation — Phil Ochs

Newport Folk Festival - annual folk / contemporary folk gathering in Newport, Rhode Island, which started in 1959, which became closely connected to the protest movements of the 1960s, such as the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, labor rights, environmental protections, etc. This 1964 edition featured a live version of "Draft Dodger Rag" (Vanguard Records # VRS-9184) performed by Phil Ochs.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I'm just a typical American boy from a typical American town / I believe in God and Senator Dodd and an keepin' old Castro down / And when it came my time to serve I knew better dead than red But when I got to my old draft board, buddy, this is what I said / Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen and I always carry a purse / I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat my asthma's getting worse / Consider my career, my sweetheart... / My poor old invalid aunt / Besides, I ain't no fool, and I'm goin' to school / And I'm workin' in a defense plant / I've got a dislocated disc and a racked up back / I'm allergic to flowers and bugs / And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits / And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs / I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes... / I hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies / But I think you gotta see that if someone's gotta go over there, that someone isn't me... / And if you ever get a war without any gore, well, I'll be the first to go But when I got to my old draft board, buddy, this is what I said / Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen and I always carry a purse / I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat my asthma's getting worse / Consider my career, my sweetheart... / My poor old invalid aunt / Besides, I ain't no fool, and I'm goin' to school / And I'm workin' in a defense plant / I've got a dislocated disc and a racked up back / I'm allergic to flowers and bugs / And when the bombshell hits, I…

Notes

Vanguard VRS-9184, "Newport Folk Festival, 1964 Evening Concerts, Vol. 1", side B track 3, 2:15; live at the Newport Folk Festival, 1964. [From Discogs]

About the artist

Phil Ochs, a leading protest / topical singer, born 19 December 1940 in El Paso, Texas, USA, and died on 9 April 1976, in Far Rockaway, New York, USA. He often played songs at anti-war and civil rights rallies in the 1960s and early 1970s, including outside the Democratic National Convention in 1968. He released many anti-Vietnam War songs during the era, which included "Talking Vietnam", one of the first Vietnam songs released, on his 1964 album All the News That's Fit to Sing. Other prominent songs included "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "Draft Dodger Rag", and "Days of Decision" on I Ain't…

Themes

Anti-War · Draft · Draft Dodger · Novelty

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Phil Ochs