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Iana Murray
Sep 14, 2020
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It seems like Donald Trump needs to start paying attention to the songs playing at his rallies.
At a rally last week in Freeland, Michigan, Trump disembarked from Air Force One to the sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song ‘Fortunate Son’, which left many people baffled.
For those who aren’t familiar with the song, it is about wealthy men who avoid the Vietnam War draft.
Considering that Trump has reportedly avoided military drafts five times and claimed he was injured to get out of serving in Vietnam, he probably should’ve listened to the lyrics a little more closely.
Following everyone’s understandable confusion, the lead vocalist made a statement on the matter.
In a Facebook video posted on Friday, the musician roasted Trump in the most calm and polite way, as he called Trump’s use ‘Fortunate Son’ at his rallies “confounding, to say the least."
He then went on to explain the meaning of the song:
I wrote the song back in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War. By the time I wrote the song, I had already been drafted and had served in the military. And I've been a lifelong supporter of our guys and gals in the military, probably because of that experience, of course.
He continued:
Back in those days, we still had a draft, and something I was very upset about was the fact that people of privilege, in other words, rich people, or people that had a position, could use that to avoid the draft and not be taken into the military. I found that very upsetting that such a thing could occur, and that's why I wrote 'Fortunate Son.'
Just to really make it clear how ironic the whole situation is, Fogerty ends the video by arguing that he is the “fortunate son” that the song criticises.
Fogerty joins a long line of musicians who have criticised Trump for using their music, including Adele, Rihanna and Queen’s Brian May. (The list is so long it has its own dedicated Wikipedia page.)
Most recently, Neil Young denounced the use of his songs at Trump rallies after his songs 'Rockin’ the Free World' and 'Like a Hurricane' were played at an Independence Day event at Mount Rushmore.
Maybe Trump should just avoid playing music at his rallies altogether. There would be a lot less hassle.
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