John Fogerty’s new CD has gotten much of its attention because of its title song, “Deja vu All Over Again.” The song compares the current war in Iraq to the ill-fated Vietnam War, making special note of the human cost of such controversial conflicts.
This sort of song is certainly not unprecedented for Fogerty. As the songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival during the Vietnam era, Fogerty established himself as a perceptive and passionate commentator with songs such as “Fortunate Son,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and “Run Through the Jungle.”
This time, though, Fogerty didn’t set out to write about the war in Iraq. He envisioned his latest album as having an upbeat tone, but he said he didn’t have a choice when it came to “Deja vu All Over Again.”
“I was resisting sort of doing what I thought everyone else would do. I just kind of wasn’t going there on this record,” he said.
But “I heard something whispering to me. I mean, it was very apparent, very real, the first line of the song. And I kind of brushed it away. But it came back again, and when I heard it the second time, I bolted up, upright. I mean, I realized ‘Oh-oh, what is that?’ It was so powerful and so compelling, I guess you would say. I ran over and got the acoustic guitar and it sort of just channeled through me, without me really knowing what it was or what it was about. …
“This thing just took over. It was a gift. I feel truly humbled that the thing was given to me. Of course, I’m very proud of it at this point.”
Fogerty certainly was not without his opinions on the war in Iraq. And while he noted that “Deja vu All Over Again” is not so much a political statement as a message about the sorrow and pain that comes with war, he is concerned that the war in Iraq will drag on without resolution and take on further tragic similarities to the Vietnam War.
“It’s a very large, tragic mistake that we’re making and very much like Vietnam,” Fogerty said. “And now I’m very fearful. I think Mr. Bush probably feels he has a mandate to go pursue this thing any way he wants. … I just feel that we’re going to see many thousands more perish now for what is really a tragic policy. I’m very sorry about it.”
Fogerty, who opposed Bush in the recent election, took his stand to the people as part of the Vote for Change tour in October.
During the shows he played several songs with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band serving as his backing group.
Fogerty said that aside from making a political statement, he joined the Vote for Change tour because he thought it would be a special musical experience.
“It turned out to be that way,” Fogerty said. “I mean, it was just a great ball playing with the E Street Band. Those guys really treated me like family. … It’s wonderful the way they kind of took me under their wing. They dug right in and learned everything the way it should be and they kept deferring to me, ‘How do you want this? How do you want that?’ It was really cool.
“And Bruce himself, I must say, was really magnificent, just truly a gentleman and a great friend to have there.”
Now Fogerty has turned his attention to his own tour, on which he promises to play a number of CCR favorites.
“I have kind of delved back into a lot of my past, things that were maybe lesser known … stuff like ‘It Came Out of the Sky’ or ‘Bootleg’ or ‘Night Time Is the Right Time,’” Fogerty said. “I’ve been longing to do this for some time.”
John Fogerty
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. $35, $45, 206-628-0888.
John Fogerty
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. $35, $45, 206-628-0888.
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