Although the song achieved national notoriety when it was included on Country Joe and the Fish's second album, I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die, it was first composed and distributed two years prior.
McDonald published four editions of the magazine, and sought to incorporate musical influences to support Rag Baby's left-wing message.
[5] According to McDonald, the rag was written in under 30 minutes with a conscious purpose of reflecting on the escalation of the Vietnam War, while he composed another song, "Who Am I", which was also relating to the US's increasing armed involvement.
[6] About 100 copies of the EP were pressed on McDonald's independent label and, were sold at Sproul Plaza in UC Berkeley, during a Teach-in, and in underground stores that stocked Rag Baby.
[4] The song's lyrics implicitly blame American politicians, high-level military officers, and industry corporations on starting the Vietnam War.
[6] It expresses discontent towards the process of conscription, through the use of dark humor, and culminating in a reflection of casualties of the war, as hinted in the satirical invitation to "be the first one on your block, to have your boy come home in a box".
[7] The album version concludes with the uttering of several light machine guns firing and a final explosion, evoking the dropping of another atomic bomb.
[9] Inspired by the live performances of Bob Dylan and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the group became fully intertwined in electric rock, and recorded a new electrified version of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" in Sierra Sound Laboratories, in February 1967.
The song began with a "Fish Cheer", in which the band spells out the word "F-I-S-H" in the manner of cheerleaders at American football games ("Give me an F", etc.).
[14] Although Hirsh has never explained why he made the change, writer James E. Perone has speculated in his book Songs of the Vietnam Conflict that it was a "rebellious counterculture political act demonstrating free speech rights in the mid-1960s".
[16] On August 16, 1969, the second day of the Woodstock Festival, McDonald made an unexpected solo performance of "The Fuck Cheer" at the conclusion of his set list, after Quill.
If the action had been successful, Country Joe McDonald would have been required to pay $150,000 for each live performance of the song in the three years since the lawsuit was filed.
In the liner notes of the latter, he reveals that he also did versions about Grenada and Panama, and adds, "Stay tuned for further developments from the race that can't quit fighting!
[36][37] Japanese band Omoide Hatoba included a 40-second-long cover on their 1992 album Black Hawaii, with the title reading "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fix-in-to-Die Rag."
Bruno Blum changed the lyrics from the Vietnam-oriented original to an Iran-oriented parody and recorded it as "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag (Revisited)" released on his 2017 Rock n roll de luxe album.
The song has been featured in the films Woodstock (1970), More American Graffiti (1979), Purple Haze (1982), My Science Project (1985), and Hamburger Hill (1987), and the HBO miniseries Generation Kill (2008).