Incredible! Live! Country Joe!

Entertainment Is My Business

I'm flyin' in a silver bird zoom across the sky
Lookin' out the window it surely flyin' high.
Had to leave this morning to go and play and to sing,
So glad to be here — watch me do my thing.

Entertainment is my business, I want you to know
That I'm tryin to be a success, to give you a very fine show.
If you think you're ready, if you think you can,
Won't you get yourselves together now,
Let me hear you clap your hands!

Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Hey!

I traveled to Chicago, I went to Memphis, too,
Saw Mr. B.B. King — learned to play the blues.
Went to Detroit City just to get the Who
I come to play the hoedown just to play for you.

Entertainment is my business, I want you to know
That I'm tryin to be a success, to give you a very fine show.
If you think you're ready, if you think you can,
Won't you get yourselves together now,
Let me hear you clap your hands!

Come on! Hey!
Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah,
Hey!

I'm flyin' in a silver bird zoom across the sky,
Lookin' out the window it surely flyin' high.
Had to leave this morning to go and play and to sing,
So glad to be here — watch me do my thing.

Entertainment is my business, I want you to know
That I'm tryin to be a success, to give you a very fine show.
If you think you're ready, if you think you can,
Won't you get yourselves together one last time,
Let me hear you clap your hands!

Hey!
Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah!
Are you ready ? Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Hey!

  Right, thank you. Er, we're recording this tonight you know for a record, so... if there's anything you wanna say just... blurt it right out.

  Balls!

  Good, that's good, man... anything else you wanna say or is that it ? ... Is that it ?

Sweet Marie

Sweet Marie,
You know that she's the only one I'll ever love,
Sweet Marie.

Sweet Marie,
You know that she's the only one I'm thinking of,
Sweet Marie.

And at night
When the moon and stars are shinin' bright
I'll see my baby,
Don't mean maybe,
Talk about my sweet Marie, yeah.

Do dee do do da da da
D-do do do
Yes indeed oh she's my sweetie.
Do do do do
D-da da da da
D-da da da da da da da.

Way down in Nirvana
I met a girl named Sylvana,
She used to be the vamp of New Orleans.
And when she did the samba
I did think that I had an order
But it's not exactly as it seems.

She held me close and told me things
I'd never heard a woman
Say before now
Don't get sober
That was on my mind yeah.

Dee dee dee ... do da da.

  Just ... like in the past six months I've been doing a lot of uh... stuff for the G.I. movement, you know, performances and things, and this is a song that I particularly wrote for y'know G.I.'s. that expresses the sentiments of most G.I.'s I think... it's called "Kiss My Ass".

Kiss My Ass

Well, I got out of school and I was feeling kinda down,
I thought I'd join the Army just to take a look around.
I went on down to the recruiter man
And that's when all my troubles began.

Well, I've been up, down and around
This country more than a couple of times,
But I had never knew until I got into the Army
That thinking for yourself was a crime.

Get over here, stand over there,
Let's see your identification.
Shut your mouth, son, get back in line,
We're sending you to South East Asia.

Well, they gave me some shoes that hurt my feet
They gave me some food not fit to eat,
They told me that I wasn't fighting alone,
They sent me to Saigon and they stayed home.

Well, I've been up, down and around
This country more than a couple of times,
But I had never knew until I got into the Army
That thinking for yourself was a crime.

Get over here, stand over there,
Let's see your identification.
Shut your mouth, son, get back in line,
We're sending you to South East Asia.
Oh yeah.

Da da da da da da, ba ba ba ba ba ba...

I said one, two, three, four,
We don't want your fuckin' war,
A, B, C, D,
Get someone else, hey don't get me,
Left, right, left, right,
The whole damn thing puts me uptight.

I done my duty and I fought my fight
And I thought I knew I was doing right,
But that's all over, I'm free at last,
If they want any more, they can kiss my ass.

I've been up, down and around
This country more than a couple of times,
But I had never knew until I got into the Army
That thinking for yourself was a crime.

Get over here, stand over there,
Let's see your identification.
Shut your mouth, son, get back in line,
We're sending you to South East Asia — like hell.

  I have this sort of plot for a science-fiction book which I haven't written yet, which is that things get so bad and polluted that uh everyone moves in the geodesic domes and inside the domes it's really nice, you know. And this is a little song about how... how wonderful it's gonna be living inside these big domes, y'know.

Living in the Future in a Plastic Dome

They've covered the city with a plastic dome
So the air inside could be clean,
And it's really fine in our new home
We have everything we need.

There are no planes, no buses or trains
And if you wanna go somewhere,
Just think about where you'd like to be at
And before you know it you're there.

Living in the future in a plastic dome
Sounds mighty strange I agree,
But now I call it home sweet home
That's where I long to be, yeah,

Living in the future in a plastic dome
Sounds mighty strange I agree,
But now I call it home sweet home
That's where I long to be.

Now if you're hungry for food or drink
Just go to the teller machine;
You place your order and you just have to think
And look at the video screen.

But if you're lonesome and you think you would
Like to have a friendly chat,
Just talk to the teller machine
And the teller machine will talk back.

Hey, living in the future in a plastic dome
Sounds mighty strange I agree,
But now I call it home sweet home
That's where I long to be, yeah,

Living in the future in a plastic dome
Sounds mighty strange I agree,
But now I call it home sweet home
That's where I long to be.

Walk in Santiago

instrumental

Tricky Dicky

Late last night I was watchin' the tube when I saw the most incredible thing
They built a new mechanical man, looked just like a human being.
I started to become terrified, Good God it was makin' me sick
Then I began to realize it was no one but Tricky Dick.

It was Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah
It was Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah.
Well, he walks and he talks and he smiles, he frowns, he does what a human can,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man.
Try to sing it out with me, c'mon.

Well, he's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah, c'mon
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah.
Well, he walks and he talks and he smiles and he frowns, he does what a human can,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man.
Oh, that's great.

There is no cant  in American or so we once could say
But now our boys won't fight no more to bring us victory.
Where are the mountains majesties above the fruited plains ?
Who will come to lead us in our hour of pain ?

Why it's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah,
It's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah.
Well, he walks and he talks and he smiles and he frowns, he does what a human can,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man.

Well, oh my God, it's terrible here in the U.S.A.
The water's polluted, the economy's crashing and can someone save the day ?
The war keeps going on and on and the kids won't respect the cops,
It's even said that God is dead, well, when will it ever stop ?

Call Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah,
Call Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah,
Well, he walks and he talks and he smiles and he frowns, he does what a human can,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man.

And across the garbaged highways from the oil-drenched plains
Now we'll see a victory, America shall rise again.
Pass the word that the buffalo heard to the home of the free and the brave,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah.

Well, he's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda hip hip hip hurrah.
Well, he walks and he talks and he smiles and he frowns, he does what a human can,
He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man, oh yeah,
He's the genuine plastic man, huh uh,
He's the genuine plastic man, oh yeah.

  Thank you.

You Know what I Mean

  Gimme an F!

  F!

  Thank you. About two years ago, I stayed with the Fish, we played Worcester, Massachusetts and... did the Fuck like we usually do, I did, and nothing particularly strange happened, then we went to Boston to play the Boston Garden the next day. What we didn't know was that the Worcester police had called the Boston police and told 'em we were coming. And uh when we got there we met by seventy-five uniform police officers with guns, clubs and mace and three, er, lieutenants and a captain, twenty-five plainclothes men, a guy in trench-coat, three squad cars and a paddy wagon. And uh, they wanted to know er ... where I was, they finally found me and er... the captain said to me that he wanted me to know this wasn't Worcester, you know, I told him I knew that, I knew it was Boston. He said, "Well uh, we're just warnin' to tell you not to say it here." I said "What's it ?" And he said: "You know what I mean." I said, "No I, I don't know what you mean." He said, "Yeah, you know what I mean." I said, "No, I don't know what you mean." He said, "Yeah, you know what I mean." I said, "No, I don't know what you mean."

  So the lieutenant took me aside to explain me what's happening, you know, and he said, "Don't say it here." And I said "What's it ?" He said: "You know what I mean." I said, "No, I don't know what you mean." He said: "Yeah, you know what I mean." We did that for a long time, you know. I knew what they meant, you know, but I wanted to hear 'em say it, but I didn't know, it was my own ignorance, 'cause I didn't know at that particular time they have a national law that cops can't say 'fuck' on duty. Oh, so finally the Captain said that if we did anything that they didn't like they'd be certainly takin' us to jail. So I said, "I know what you mean."

  We got on stage there was thirty cops over here parade rest, thirty cops over here parade rest, the Captain walked back and forth, back and forth watchin' us you know, behind us was twenty-five plainclothes men and a guy in trench coat, I don't know if they were plainclothes men or not, you know, but it's the only concert I ever played with twenty-five guys who were all looking like... standing behind me, you know, and we didn't say 'fuck' that night 'cause uh we weren't feeling masochistic, you know, and uh so after it was all over with... they thanked us a lot, said we can come back anytime we want ed to... we said 'Fuck you!'.

Fly so high

We served our time
It wasn't so fine
Though we just ignored
The things could be better
So we lived by the ladder
Like a T.V. show,
And living in shame
There's no one to blame
For what you're feeling inside.
Thank God that's over,
Hey coming closer now
Let's go for a ride.

Oh my my I never knew that I could fly do high.
My sweet lover, there goes our cover
And you're sucking me inside now
Starting this night, yeah.

And floating back down
I can hear the sound
0f your breath in my ear
The smell of your hair
I feel you're all there
And I'm all here.
And lying so closely
I know that mostly
It was just foolish pride.
Thank God that's over,
Hey coming closer now
Let's take a ride.

Oh my my I never knew that I could fly so high.
My sweet lover, there goes our cover
And you're sucking me inside now
Starting this night, yeah.

  Now here's a little song you could song in a shower. If you wanna sing along, please join in.

Deep Down in Our Hearts

We love the Pathet Lao
We love the Pathet Lao
We love the Pathet Lao
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down,
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down,
Deep down in our hearts.

We love the Vietcong
We love the Vietcong
We love the Vietcong
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.

We love Madame Diem
We love Madame Diem
We love Madame Diem
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.

We love Angela Davis
We love Angela Davis
We love Angela Davis
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.

We love Che Guevarra
We love Che Guevarra
We love Che Guevarra
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.

We love Chairman Mao
We love Chairman Mao
We love Chairman Mao
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.
I said deep deep, down down
Deep down in our hearts.

  I spent a big rock concert in uh Canada, I can't remember the name of the place. The audience was pretty good, there was about 20,000 people in this huge stadium you know. There's this-a hippy-type with a big, big beard and long hair sitting down I don't know about twenty-five feet away from me on the stage, you know, and uh, during that he was like... he's goin' like this, yuh know, he's yellin' "Right on, right on, right on!" y'know, till I got to 'bout Chairman Mao and he went like this... Everyone has his limits, you know. OK. Here's another song about revolution, you know.

Free Some Day

Oh brothers and sisters come on and join the Army
We got to help each other throw away our chains.
Come on and make revolution — join the people's army
If we stand together we'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday
Yeah
Free someday
We'll be
Free someday
You know that we'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday
Yeah
Free someday
We'll be
Free someday
You know that we'll all be free someday.

I can see the sun a-risin' on a brand new morning
I can hear the voices singin' in a victory song,
I can see the people's army marchin' on to glory
If we stand together you know it won't be long

We'll be
Free someday
Yeah
Free someday
We'll be
Free someday
You know that we'll all be free someday.
Come on, sing it!

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday, oh yeah.

We'll be free someday
We'll be free someday
We'll be free someday
You know that we'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday.

Oh, brothers and sisters, come on join the army
We got to help each other throw away our chains.
Come on and make revolution, join the people's army,
If we stand together we'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday.

I can see the sun a-risin' on a brand new morning
I can hear the voices singin' in a victory song.
I can see the people's army marchin' on to glory
An' if we stand together you know it won't be long.

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday.

We'll be
Free someday    Free sisters
Free someday    Free brothers
Free someday    Free children
We'll all be free someday, oh yeah.

Thank you.

I'm on the Road Again

I like coffee and I like tea, huh uh,
Like the sweetness that you give to me.
Hey mama put your mind at rest
Home-cooking still tastes the best.

I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
Oh yeah.

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
Stormy weather caused your pump to rust.
Excuse me sisters if I sleep alone,
I'll make my pay and bring it all back home.

I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
Oh yeah, come on!

I like coffee and I like tea
I like the sweetness that you give to me
Hey mama put your mind at rest
Home-cooking still tastes the best.

I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again.

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
Stormy weather caused your pump to rust.
Excuse me sisters if I sleep alone,
I'll make my pay and bring it all back home.

I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again.

If you're broke and you need some cash
Rip it all from the ruling class,
The best things in life are free
If you steal 'em from the bourgeoisie.

I'm on the road again
I'm on the road again, oh yeah
I'm on the road again, whew!
Guess I'm on the road again, oh yeah.

  Thank you, goodbye.

  Thank you ladies and gentlemen for a fine show this evening. We wish to thank you for coming to the Bitter End, I hope to see you again.

Recorded at:
The Bitter End, New York City, late 1971
Engineers: Jeff Zaraya with Tony Orlando and Charlie Repka

Joe McDonald: vocals, acoustic guitar

Deisgn: M.S. & J.J.
Notes by Studs Terkel

Original vinyl release: Vanguard VSD.79316 [February 1972]
Original CD release:  One Way OW-30996  [April 20, 1995]

All songs copyright © 1972 renewed 1995 by Alkatraz Corner Music, BMI

This page made possible through the kind assistance of Serge Mironneau.