Effigy Lyrics

Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Last night
I saw a fire burning on
The palace lawn
O'er the land
The humble subjects watched in mixed
Emotion

[Chorus:]
Who is burnin'?
Who is burnin'?
Effigy.
Who is burnin'?
Who is burnin'?
Effigy.

Last night
I saw the fire spreadin' to
The palace door
Silent majority
Weren't keepin' quiet
Anymore

[Chorus]

Last night
I saw the fire spreadin' to
The country side
In the mornin'
Few were left to watch
The ashes die

[Chorus]

Why?
Why?
Why?
Effigy


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Look up the history of the Bohemian Grove | Reviewer: boheemian grover | 1/29/12

This song is in reference to the burning of effigies at Bohemian Grove, where our leaders gather in secret.
The silent majority refers to the population at large, being ruled by these evil men.

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Uncle Tupelo Version | Reviewer: Chris Cortese | 9/20/11

"Effigy" is one great song. The CCR version is definitive. Another version that is almost equal to the original is the version from Uncle Tupelo. Whatever the politics behind the song, it is a moving piece of songwrititng.

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effigy1 | Reviewer: rotiv | 3/16/11

Effigy is the finest song JC ever wrote, but he refused to let it be shortened for radio and thus didn't receive much fame. This song greatly influenced Neil Young who basically copied the sound in many of his early seventies releases.

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Violent Revolution, not Vietnam or nuclear war. | Reviewer: Jamie Winkelmannð | 3/6/11

"Effigy" is the last song on CCR's album Willy and the Poor Boys (1969) and is my favorite song of theirs. It's intense and overtly political. I love the guitar intro, and Fogarty's guitar solo starting at ~2:15 is simple and raw. He comes back with his guitar in a big way starting at ~4:05. So intense!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUlJKzx8H_Y

This song made a deep impression on me when I first encountered it at the start of my senior year in high school, with its unambiguous call for bloody revolution against the U.S. Government. Fogarty pulls no punches as he calls for the violent overthrow of the Nixon administration.

The "palace" he refers to in the first and second verses is, of course, the White House. By the use of this one word Fogarty says so much, conjuring up, as it does, images of kings and aristocracy, wealth and power concentrated in the hands of the elite few. With this one word Fogarty is saying that the notion of his country being "for, by, and of the

people" is a sham, and that democracy (rule by the people) is a fiction. Fogarty reinforces this idea by referring to the people as "humble subjects", as one would find in a monarchy, not the citizens of a democracy. Fogarty makes an implied comparison between subjects, who are acted upon by their rulers, and citizens, agents who are actively involved in their own governance. His use of the term "silent majority" is both a clear reference and a direct response to a speech Richard Nixon had made earlier in the year. He condemns the United States as a plutocracy, ruled by the wealthy few, and suggests that the people can take back power only by direct and violent revolution against the government. Fogarty says so much in just three short verses!

The first verse describes citizen protests at the White House; the second verse tells of the start of the revolution in Washington, D.C.; and the third references the spread of violent and bloody struggle across the land. The chorus and song title, of course, refer to citizen-protesters burning Nixon in effigy.

This song still produces an intense and visceral reaction in me even today.

I was fortunate to catch John Fogarty live a few years ago from great seats: third row, center aisle, orchestra pit. He was cheated out of the rights to all of the songs in the CCR catalog, and so he couldn't play them, just his solo material and traditional songs. It was great, though, and he switched guitars several times, at one point using one with a turquoise pastel body. His backup singers were female gospel singers, and he did some gospel songs, too.

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I'm surprised | Reviewer: Tore Eriksson | 1/11/11

I'm surprised by the suggestions "Vietnam War" and "Nuclear Holocaust". None of those interpretations compute IMHO. But then again, my mother tongue isn't English. But ever since I was in my early teens (35 yeasrs ago), I've slways viewed this song as a swamp rock paraphase on Strange Fruit.

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Morbid and powerful | Reviewer: Dante Wolfe | 12/29/10

This song has nothing to do directly with Vietnam, this song was written about nuclear war, one of the biggest scares at the time. If you've studied nuclear holocaust as much as me, (and I hope you haven't since it's really morbid), then you'd really be able to feel how powerful this song is. He's talking about nuclear fires, and then rioting and unrest.

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Hauntingly awesome | Reviewer: Go Fogey | 10/21/09

CCR lyrics, in my opinion, are certainly in the normal folk / country story telling method.
When I hear this song, I certainly get a sense of a dark night lit up in flames. Though mostly metaphorical it still conjures up some imagery.
The almost every chord struck on the guitar riff, especially the heavy thunky "WOW" just before he sings "effigy" in the chorus are played so forcefully it would make an electronic tuner break with discordance. you can feel the anger, the passion in that strum.

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CCR's best antiwar tune (Vietnam) | Reviewer: Shafter McKnight | 8/21/08

Creedence Clearwater Revival was not a counter-culture band in the same sense as say Jefferson Airplane,Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash Yet they were one of the few bands at the time to write songs that were a social commentary such as "Fortunate Son". "Run Through the Jungle", "Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)". I doubt the song ever got much airplay, and it was one of those "forgotten" tracks. It was recorded as a part of the song set of "Willie and the Poorboys". Fogerty provides a rather intricate guitar solo with his gritty-sounding Rickenbacker guitar.

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