First of all, the lyrics continually repeat, “Fucking A man! CIA man!” in response to questions that accuse government authority of corruption. If that doesn’t accurately express their frustration with the government, I’m not sure what does. The reference to America’s distaste for communism is early on in the song with “Who can kill a general in his bed? Overthrow dictators if they’re Red?” The Fugs accuses America of wrongly sending troops into countries/parts of countries where we don’t belong with the lines, “Who can train guerrillas by the dozens? Send them out to kill their untrained cousins?” Since the song was originally released in 1965, it’s likely that this line was first created in opposition to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War; numerous Americans didn’t understand the purpose of sending troops to Vietnam, and several troops themselves didn’t understand their purpose overseas, leading to the intense antiwar movement of the time. Finally, they also reference the scandal with Nicaragua toward the end with the lines, “Who can mine the harbors of Nicaragua? Outhit all the hitmen of Chicag-ua?” This last line refers to an event that did not occur until 1984, so it is most likely that this stanza wasn’t added until the song was rereleased on The Fugs’ 1994 album, The Real Woodstock Festival.
First of all, the lyrics continually repeat, “Fucking A man! CIA man!” in response to questions that accuse government authority of corruption. If that doesn’t accurately express their frustration with the government, I’m not sure what does. The reference to America’s distaste for communism is early on in the song with “Who can kill a general in his bed? Overthrow dictators if they’re Red?” The Fugs accuses America of wrongly sending troops into countries/parts of countries where we don’t belong with the lines, “Who can train guerrillas by the dozens? Send them out to kill their untrained cousins?” Since the song was originally released in 1965, it’s likely that this line was first created in opposition to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War; numerous Americans didn’t understand the purpose of sending troops to Vietnam, and several troops themselves didn’t understand their purpose overseas, leading to the intense antiwar movement of the time. Finally, they also reference the scandal with Nicaragua toward the end with the lines, “Who can mine the harbors of Nicaragua? Outhit all the hitmen of Chicag-ua?” This last line refers to an event that did not occur until 1984, so it is most likely that this stanza wasn’t added until the song was rereleased on The Fugs’ 1994 album, The Real Woodstock Festival.