Fortunate Son
"Fortunate Son" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by the group's frontman John Fogerty. It was released as a single in September 1969, and appeared on the band's fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys, released the following month.
The song became a Vietnam anti-war movement anthem and an expressive symbol of the counterculture's opposition to executive power grabs, including opposition to the draft and solidarity with the soldiers fighting the Vietnam War. The song has been featured extensively in pop culture depictions of the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement.
Background
The song, released during the peak period of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, is critical of the unfairness of the draft:In his autobiography, Fogerty stated that he wrote the song while thinking about David Eisenhower, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's grandson and President Richard Nixon's son-in-law. Eisenhower enlisted in the Navy Reserve in 1970 and served three years active duty, most of it as an officer aboard the USS Albany in the Mediterranean Sea.
Reception
"Fortunate Son" reached No. 14 on the United States charts on November 22, 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits. The tracks combined to climb to No. 9 the next week, on the way to peaking at No. 3 three more weeks later, on December 20, 1969. Billboard said it had "the feel and flavor" of the band's previous hit single, "Green River." Upon the single release, Record World felt that it could be CCR's biggest hit to date. It won the RIAA Gold Disc award in December 1970.Legacy
placed it at number 17 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". Rolling Stone placed it at number 99 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2004 and 2010; it was moved down to number 227 in the 2020 edition. In 2013, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2025, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 13 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time."Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek rated the lyrics of "Fortunate Son" as Fogerty's greatest, saying, "It's not just Fogerty's emotion, but the words that make this song great. 'Star-spangled eyes' is one of the best descriptive phrases in all of rock and roll, a uniquely American twist on rose-colored glasses."
Johnny Hallyday version
In September 1971, a French adaptation was released by French rock singer Johnny Hallyday. "Fils de personne" was released as the second and final single off of Hallyday's 1971 studio album Flagrant Délit, released three months prior. The song peaked at No. 4 in the French charts. The single was backed by "Il faut boire à la source".Philippe Labro's lyrics state the narrator doesn't have a military, billionaire, or civil servant father, and that he owes his success to no one. Journalist Jean-William Thoury wrote that the adaptation does not betray the original song idea "which seems to suit Johnny so well, a real "son of no one".
Charts
Other uses and performances
Fogerty recorded a version of "Fortunate Son" with Foo Fighters for his 2013 album Wrote a Song for Everyone.Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, and Zac Brown attracted criticism when they performed the song together at the November 2014 Concert for Valor in Washington D.C. Fogerty, a military veteran, defended their song choice.
The song was played at a 2020 campaign rally for Donald Trump, which Fogerty found to be "confounding" and later issued a cease and desist order, noting that Trump obtained a draft deferment.
The song was performed by the U.S. Army band Downrange during the United States Army 250th Anniversary Parade on June 14, 2025, drawing criticism and leading to speculation that it was performed in protest at Donald Trump, who arranged for the parade to coincide with his birthday, despite never performing active military service.
"Fortunate Son" was used in a Wrangler jeans commercial in 2002, to Fogerty's chagrin: