3 Eternal Songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival that Will Forever Live on

One of the unlikeliest rock and roll stars, especially when it comes to the sub-genre of swamp rock, Creedence Clearwater Revival co-founder John Fogerty boasted one of the best singing voices of the 1960s and ’70s. Malleable and gravelly, Fogerty stirred and stunned audiences like a magician pulling hit song after hit song from his hat like a rabbit.

For the Southern California-born rock band, life in the late 1960s and the ’70s was good. At one point, they were perhaps even the biggest and most important rock group on Earth, especially after the breakup of The Beatles. As such, Creedence is known for several indelible songs to this day.

Here below, we wanted to dive into three tracks from the band that have since stood the test of time. A trio of tunes that continue to appear on the radio airwaves and in the stereos of many a music fan. Indeed, these are three eternal Creedence Clearwater Revival songs.

[RELATED: John Fogerty: Discovering It All Over Again]

“Fortunate Son” from Willy and the Poor Boys (1969)

Upon its release in 1969, this tune quickly became an anti-Vietnam War song. It opens with an iconic electric guitar riff and then Fogerty comes in with his howl, singing about how he is not one of the few rich, lucky young men who can escape the perils of the times. While the tune doesn’t talk directly about the conflict in Vietnam, it does deal with class issues and creates a galvanizing sense around common people, pointing out the inequities in the way business is handled during wartime. On the track, Fogerty belts,

Some folks are born made to wave the flag

Hoo, they’re red, white and blue

And when the band plays “Hail to the chief”

Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord

It ain’t me, it ain’t me

I ain’t no senator’s son, son

It ain’t me, it ain’t me

I ain’t no furtunate one, no

“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” from Pendulum (1970)

A song about the chickens coming home to roost, this track is about consequences. What goes up must come down. When it gets sunny, that means the rain is surely to come. Some believed the song to be about the end of the idealistic 1960s and the growing imperialism of America in the 1970s. But Fogerty has talked about the track being more specific to his band, which would break up only about a year after this song was released as a single. On the tune, the growling lead singer offers,

Someone told me long ago

There’s a calm before the storm

I know, it’s been coming for some time

When it’s over, so they say

It’ll rain a sunny day

I know, shining down like water

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

Coming down on a sunny day

“Bad Moon Rising” from Green River (1969)

Just a perfect blues song, this track is similar to the one above. It foretells doom, though in this track that doom is a bit further down the horizon. The bad moon isn’t here, but it is on the rise. This is the type of subject matter that is quintessential in American blues rock and for a short period Creedence Clearwater Revival might have been the best voice of this sound in the world. On the jaunty, worrisome offering, Fogerty sings,

I see the bad moon a-risin’

I see trouble on the way

I see earthquakes and lightnin’

I see bad times today

Don’t go around tonight

Well it’s bound to take your life

There’s a bad moon on the rise

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