La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "The Times They Are A-Changin' -- Into What, I Have No Freaking Idea" Edition

A friend writes:

Wow.

So I went back and read the lyrics to "Dawn of Correction" - the answer record to Barry McGuire's Top Ten 1965 protest hit "Eve of Destruction." By a studio group called The Spokesmen.

"DOC" was seen at the time as the ultimate anti-hippie song.

But in light of where we are now...It's wild at how far the MAGA Goons have gone.

Complete verses here - check the underscored/bolded lyrics:

You tell me that marches won't bring integration
But look what it's done for the voter registration
Be thankful our country allows demonstrations
Instead of condemnin', make some recommendations
I don't understand the cause of your aggravation
You mean to tell me, boy, it's not a better situation?
So over and over again, you keep sayin' it's the end
But I say you're wrong, we're just on the dawn of correction

You missed all the good in your evaluation
What about the things that deserve commendation?
Where there once was no cure, there's vaccination
Where there once was a desert, there's vegetation
Self-government's replacing colonization
What about the Peace Corp. organization?
Don't forget the work of the United Nations

Whew.

Wow indeed.

I mean really -- I remembered "DOC" as a laughable right-wing unhip Archie Bunkerish piece of shit, but upon relistening it seems like...jeez, the voice of sensible reason, at least in the context of the times we're currently enduring/living in. Kind of a mind boggler, actually,

And speaking of mind bogglers, have I mentioned that "DOC" was written by -- wait for it -- the team of John Medara and David White, who earlier wrote Danny and the Juniors' immortal anthems "At the Hop" and "Rock-and-Roll is Here to Stay"(!) and (later) Lesley Gore's proto-feminist(!) classic "You Don't Own Me."

Have I said wow?

Okay, moving right along, and politics aside, I must confess that I wasn't a fan of the original Barry McGuire record.

I thought the lyrics were trite, McGuire's vocal an unintentional parody of earnest folkie bullshit, and that the instrumental backing (granted, by the incomparable Wrecking Crew) was vastly inferior to the kind of then current Dylan-inspired folk-rock I dug, i,e, The Byrds or The Turtles.

In fact, my old band The Floor Models used to do an obviously tongue-in-cheek live version of it back in the day -- courtesy of our twelve-string genius Andy Pasternack, who switched one of the lyrics to...

"You may leave here for four days in space/
But when you return you can't find a parking place."

Heh.

Bottom line is, I never took the original as anything more than borderline kitsch. Until, that is, this 1984 cover by New Orleans punksters Red Rockers showed up on my MTV..

...and blew me away. I mean -- that's just fucking great, on every level. And I remember thinking -- why didn't we have the smarts to do it like that first?

Oh well. C'est la vie.

Which leads us to the weekend's business. To wit:

(A)...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis protest song (or topical song in general) is...???

And (B)...as recorded by who???

My fave, in case you haven't guessed, is Pete Seeger's great anti-nuclear war song. In the version by some mook whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels.

Discuss.

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

[h/t Roadmaster]