“Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival is a song born in the fire of 1969, and ever since it has carried something far bigger than a simple rock explosion. It is one of the most iconic protest songs in American music, an anthem of disobedience against the establishment, an anti establishment, anti Washington song, tied to working class anger and to the filthy core of injustice that fed the Vietnam War. And yet, as John Fogerty himself later explained, this song speaks even more about class inequality than about the war itself. He said it clearly: “The song speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself. It’s the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them.” That is where its core lies. The rich decide, the powerful protect their own children, and the poor are sent to fight.