Line #54 Music/WillyAndThePoorBoys


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f4dda9fe48236b590343dec12a0e5920.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Willy and the Poor Boys are playin'. Bring a nickel, tap your feet."'']]
3
4	->''"Some folks are born, made to wave the flag.\
5	Ooh, they're red, white and blue,\
6	And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief"\
7	Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord\
8	It ain't me, it ain't me,\
9	I ain't no senator's son, son.\
10	It ain't me, it ain't me,\
11	I ain't no fortunate one, no."''
12	-->--"Fortunate Son"
13
14	''Willy and the Poor Boys'' is the fourth studio album by Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival, released on November 2, 1969 through Fantasy Records. It is best known for the hits "Down on the Corner" and "Fortunate Son", the latter of which has been included in the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry in 2013 for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically important."
15
16	Not to be confused with Willie and the Poor Boys, a short-lived supergroup from TheEighties that came out with an [[SelfTitledAlbum album of the same name]]. Led by Bill Wyman and features Charlie Watts, Andy Fairweather-Low, Mickey Gee and Geraint Watkins, among others.
17
18	----
19	!! Tracklist:
20	[[AC:Side One]]
21	# "Down on the Corner" (2:46)
22	# "It Came Out of the Sky" (2:53)
23	# "Cotton Fields" (2:56)
24	# "Poorboy Shuffle" (2:25)
25	# "Feelin' Blue" (5:06)
26
27	[[AC:Side Two]]
28	# "Fortunate Son" (2:19)
29	# "Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)" (2:11)
30	# "The Midnight Special" (4:13)
31	# "Side o' the Road" (3:24)
32	# "Effigy" (6:26)
33
34	[[AC:Bonus Tracks (40th Anniversary Edition]]
35	# "Fortunate Son (Live)" (2:13)
36	# "It Came Out of the Sky (Live)" (3:26)
37	# "Down on the Corner (Jam)" (2:49)
38
39	!!Principal Members:
40	* Doug Clifford: drums, washboard
41	* Stu Cook: bass, washtub bass
42	* John Fogerty: lead vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
43	* Tom Fogerty: guitar
44
45	----
46	!!Let the Midnight Special shine a trope on me:
47	* AlbumTitleDrop: "Down on the Corner"
48	-->''Down on the corner, out in the street\
49	Willy and the Poor Boys are playin'\
50	Bring a nickel, tap your feet''
51	* AlienInvasion and CameFromTheSky: "It Came Out of the Sky".
52	-->''Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline\
53	Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't b'lieve what he seen\
54	Laid on the ground a shakin', fearin' for his life\
55	Then he ran all the way to town screamin' "It came out of the sky."''
56	* ConceptAlbum: A very loose example, but also subversive in a way. "Down on the Corner" is about a band of street musicians, and the cover photo shows Creedence Clearwater Revival as the band, and you can even identify the individual roles by which instruments they're playing (Doug Clifford is Rooster, Stu Cook is Blinky, Tom Fogerty is Poorboy and John Fogerty is Willy). "Poorboy Shuffle" is supposed to represent an actual song by Willy and The Poor Boys (at one point someone says "Hey Rooster!", directly referencing "Down on the Corner"). None of the other songs really play into that concept, but there's a meta-concept going on too: it's all a subtle TakeThat to ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', in which Music/TheBeatles likewise took on the identity of a fictional band, but while they sported colorful uniforms and depicted their "audience" as a bunch of famous celebrities on their cover photo, CCR just wore ragged street clothes and posed in front of a Chinese grocery store in UsefulNotes/{{Oakland}}, with a few children as the audience.
57	* CoverVersion: "The Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song. "Cotton Fields" is a cover of a song by blues singer Music/{{Leadbelly}}, which would be CoveredUp by Music/TheBeachBoys, appearing on their album ''Music/TwentyTwenty'' from the same year.
58	* FaceOnTheCover: The band members performing on the street, in front of a group of children.
59	* FakeBand: "Down On The Corner" tells how the fictional band Willy and the Poor Boys play on street corners for money. This is also alluded on the album cover.
60	* {{Instrumental}}: "Poorboy Shuffle" and "Side o' the Road", save for a bit of StudioChatter in the beginning of the former.
61	* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: "Fortunate Son"
62	-->''Some folks inherit star spangled eyes\
63	Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord\
64	And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"\
65	Ooh, they only answer "More! More! More!", y'all''
66	* LongestSongGoesLast: "Effigy", the album closer, is 6 minutes and 26 seconds long.
67	* OneManSong: "Fortunate Son".
68	* OneWordTitle: "Effigy".
69	* PerpetualPoverty: "Fortunate Son"
70	-->''Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand\
71	Lord, don't they help themselves, y'all\
72	But when the taxman comes to the door\
73	Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yeah''
74	* PepTalkSong: "Effigy"
75	--> ''Last night I saw the fire spreadin' to the palace door''\
76	''Silent majority weren't keepin' quiet anymore''
77	* ProtestSong:
78	** "Fortunate Son", aimed at sons of rich people who can always make sure that they escape the draft, while poor youngsters are sent off to die in war.
79	** "Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)" hits a similar class system target, noting how the lower classes do all the work that allows the upper classes to live comfortably.
80	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: "Fortunate Son" was directly inspired by David Eisenhower, grandson of former president UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower and son-in-law of then president UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, who, of course, escaped the draft thanks to his powerful and rich relatives.
81	* SiameseTwinSongs: Though never released outside of this album, "Poorboy Shuffle" fades out as "Feelin' Blue" fades in, making them practically inseparable.
82	* SoldiersAtTheRear: "Fortunate Son", where the protagonist is sent to the front, while richer youngsters remain safely behind at home.
83	* StandardSnippet: Together with "All Along the Watchtower" by [[Music/JimiHendrix The Jimi Hendrix Experience]] from ''Music/ElectricLadyland'', "PaintItBlack" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}} from the US version of ''Music/AftermathAlbum'', "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by Music/TheAnimals and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, "Fortunate Son" has become ''the'' soundtrack to any images of the Vietnam War.
84	* TakeThat: "Fortunate Son", aimed at hypocrites who remain safely away from the frontline while advocating war at the same time. "It Came Out of the Sky", about an alien invasion, also pokes fun at the American government, Vice President UsefulNotes/SpiroAgnew, the Vatican, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan[[note]] who was then governor of UsefulNotes/{{California}}[[/note]] and journalists Creator/WalterCronkite and Eric Sevareid.
85	-->''Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax\
86	The Vatican said, "Woe, the Lord has come"\
87	Hollywood rushed out an epic film\
88	And Ronnie the Popular said it was a communist plot\
89	Oh, the newspapers came and made Jody a national hero\
90	Walter and Eric said they'd put him on a network T.V. show\
91	The White House said, "Put the thing in the Blue Room"\
92	The Vatican said, "No, it belongs to Rome."''
93	* TrainSong: "Midnight Special", which is about the passenger train Midnight Special.
94	-->''Let the Midnight Special shine her light on me''\
95	''Let the Midnight Special shine her ever-loving light on me''
96	* WarIsHell: "Fortunate Son", indirectly criticizing UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, but also war in general.

Context Music / WillyAndThePoorBoys