Hey, Mr. Draft Board

Annotation

Psychedelic folk rock group formed in New York City, USA, featuring David Peel, Harold Black, Billy Jo White, Larry Adams. Led by David Peel, born as Angel Perez, to Puerto Rican parents on 1 August 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and died 6 April 2017 in Manhattan, New York, USA, was said to have started out in the 1960s playing on the streets of New York with songs about drugs and dodgy cops. He served in the US military for two years, stationed in Alaska. He released the song "Chicago Conspiracy" on the 1972 album The Pope Smokes Dope about the demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the "Chicago Seven / Eight" - a reference to the high-profile activist arrested and put on trial. This album featured the song "Hey, Mr. Draft Board" (Elektra Records # EKS 74069), which took an anti-war perspective, with the narrator stating that "I don't want to go" and calling it a "dirty war". The narrator complained about being drafted, but not being able to vote. The narrator also suggested that those who started the war, the politicians, did not fight it, and thus it was not fair. The lyrics were backed by a military marching drum beat. At the end of the track, it included a spoken-word clip of a Vietnam veteran, being asked what he thought about the war: "I just come back from there, I think it stinks". Another man said that: "I'm damn fed up with the damn war over in Vietnam, I lost two brothers in the damn thing".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Hey Mr. Daft Board, I don't want to go / I had a dream last night about the commie fight... / There's war in another lands, we've got to fight for Uncle Sam... / We don't know the difference between right and wrong... / I love your pearly white teeth / But I hate your dirty war / You make me go into the service when I'm 18 years old / Yet I can't vote / You never fought a war in your life but you make me go / You make the laws and...the wars / If you're going to start a war, why don't you finish it / Listen draftboard, I can't stand you anymore / I don't want any more wars... / I'm from Washington Square with my dirty feet and long hair /I don't give a damn or really care

About the artist

formed in New York City, USA. David Peel, born as Angel Perez, to Puerto Rican parents on 1 August 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and died 6 April 2017 in Manhattan, New York, USA

Themes

Draft · Military

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · US Military & Veteran Songs