National Service Blues (Draft Dodger Blues)

Annotation

Folk musician Denis Gibbons, born 1932 in Port Elliot, South Australia. He released the song "National Service Blues (Draft Dodger Blues)" (W & G Records # WG-S-2594), a cover of the Phil Ochs novelty about avoiding the draft. According to Warren Fahey, Australian folklore collector and cultural historian, Gibbons was a "life-long conservative voter", who in 1999 "claimed to have no recollection of ever having recorded the song". Fahey suggested the protest songs may have had "money-making potential".12Sources1Warren Fahey: History of Australian Folk Clubs & Performers II↩2Wikipedia: Denis Gibbons↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs

Folk musician Denis Gibbons, born 1932 in Port Elliot, South Australia. He released the song "National Service Blues (Draft Dodger Blues)" (W & G Records # WG-S-2594), a cover of the Phil Ochs novelty about avoiding the draft. According to Warren Fahey, Australian folklore collector and cultural historian, Gibbons was a "life-long conservative voter", who in 1999 "claimed to have no recollection of ever having recorded the song". Fahey suggested the protest songs may have had "money-making potential".12 Sources1Warren Fahey: History of Australian Folk Clubs & Performers II↩2Wikipedia: Denis Gibbons↩

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

About the artist

born 1932 in Port Elliot, South Australia

Themes

Draft · Anti-War

In collections

Australian & New Zealand Songs · Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]