Draft Dodger Rag, written by Ochs in 1965, is a satirical song about a draftee attempting to avoid service in Vietnam. It was one of the first protest songs to use comical overtones and remained very popular with the anti-war movement. Och’s lyrics reference Thomas Dodd, a Democratic Senator and noted Vietnam ‘hawk’, as well as Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Chinese premier Zhou Enlai.
Oh I’m just a typical American boy from a typical American town
I believe in God and Senator Dodd and keeping 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 18, I got a ruptured spleen and I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, my feet are flat, and my asthma’s getting worse
O think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain’t no fool, I’m a goin’ to school and I’m working in a defence plant.I’ve got a dislocated disc and a racked-up back, I’m allergic to flowers and bugs
When the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits, I’m addicted to a thousand drugs.
I got the weakness woes, I can’t touch my toes, I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me I’d probably start to sneeze.I hate Chou En-lai, and I hope he dies, but one thing you gotta see
That someone’s gotta go over there and that someone isn’t me.
So I wish you well, Sarge, give ’em Hell. Yeah, Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore I’ll be the first to go.
With the exception of music and lyrics, content on this page is © Alpha History 2018-23. Content created by Alpha History may not be copied, republished or redistributed without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use.