The novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brian describes O’Brian’s survive in the Vietnam War. The first chapter begins with listing the many items that soldiers carried in the field. The items listed range from the essential to the mundane but hold some form of significant meaning to the induvial soldier. To the average American these items hold different meanings. A good pair of boots meant the world to American soldiers, while they may be a luxury to the average American, they were not a necessity. Music acted in very much the same way. Music was something every soldier carried with them, whether it was a radio or a song stuck in their head they carried it with them. Music also held different meanings. Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” is a song many attribute to be about drug use, but to many soldiers it reminds them of the smoke grenades used to signal helicopters. One song that both civilian and “grunt” could agree had the same meaning was “Fortunate Son” by Creedance Clearwater Revival (CCR). The song was able to pull upon the anger many felt towards the Vietnam War and how the privileged were sending many Americans to their death. More recently in 2005 the song “American Idiot” by Green Day was able to do the same thing. Using many of the same commonplaces as “Fortunate Son”, the song was able to voice the way people felt about a polarizing political event in the same way as “Fortunate Son”.
In order to prove that both “Fortunate Son” and “American Idiot” share the same message, one must first understand the political events surrounding the two hit songs. “Fortunate Son” was released in September of 1969. At this point, the US had been entangled in the war in Vietnam for four years, and the people where growing tired of it. People became frustrated not only with the horrors of war being broadcast back to the states by an ever-growing news media, but also with their politicians. The publicized reason for sending troops to Vietnam was not to engage the Viet Kong, but to provide aid and training for the existing South Vietnamese Army. Not only did our motives change in being there but there was no clear indictor of victory. In World War 2, our measure of when the war would end was measured in miles to Berlin. In Vietnam, it was solely measured upon the amount of Viet Kong killed. This created confusion back home, and made many wonder if there would ever be an end.
I plan to further elaborate on the problems that people had with the Draft and how “Fortunate Son” uses those common places to speak for the people. I will also do the same for “American Idiot” with explanation of the political atmosphere that the song was written in, and an analysis of the lyrics. I will compare their similarities in my conclusion