SAN DIEGO — San Francisco hippie-era hero Country Joe McDonald recorded nearly 50 albums over the course of his career, which began in the 1960s and stretched a few years beyond his 2017 farewell concert in San Francisco.

Even so, the veteran troubadour, who died Saturday at the age of 84, is still best known for “The ‘Fish’ Cheer/I-Feel-like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” a satirical Vietnam war protest song he wrote and first recorded in 1965. He most memorably performed during his 1969 solo acoustic set at the fabled Woodstock festival, where the audience of several hundred thousand sang “The ‘Fish’ Cheer” with him.

But McDonald may have delivered his most memorable version of it — and, certainly, his most ducky — during his 2007 Hippiefest: A Concert for Peace & Love performance at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, the intimate San Diego venue that this year celebrates its 45th anniversary.

A favorite for decades at his solo concerts and in the second the half of the 1960s at shows with his psychedelic rock band, Country Joe and the Fish, “The ‘Fish’ Cheer” featured McDonald engaging in a spirited call-and-response with audiences.

It began with him exhorting his listeners to spell out a very common four-letter word, beginning with: “Give me an ‘F!” and concluding with “Give me a ‘K!’ ” Concertgoers would enthusiastically respond, yelling out each letter.

A consistently engaging performer, McDonald would then ask aloud: “What’s that spell?” His audiences would happily shout out the four-letter word, which rhymes with “luck.” He would then repeat the question several more times, garnering an increasingly gleeful response from concertgoers.

But during his 2007 Hippiefest set at Humphreys, things took a completely unexpected — and altogether charming — turn when McDonald launched into “The Fish Cheer.”

Or, as I wrote in my San Diego Union-Tribune review of the concert:

“As McDonald was introducing his classic anti-Vietnam war satire song, ‘Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag’ (also known as ‘The Fish Cheer’), a Humphrey’s usher walked past the front of the stage to clear the way for a mother duck and her quack-happy brood. Seizing the moment, McDonald said: “Tonight I’m going to do ‘The Duck Cheer.’ I’d like to dedicate ‘The Duck Cheer’ to the current administration. Give me a ‘D’! Give me a ‘U’! Give me a ‘C’! Give me a ‘K’! What’s that spell?” “Duck!” the audience roared back, happy to substitute a “d.”

When I interviewed McDonald two years later, he confirmed that this had been the only time in his career that he performed “The Duck Cheer.”

The fact that he had served in the U.S. Navy prior to devoting himself to music gave added resonance to “The ‘Fish’ Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag.”

“I would say that people who haven’t been in the military can’t possibly understand what it means to be in the military, but they insist on acting like they do,” said McDonald — whose proudly Communist parents named him after Josef Stalin — said in a 2005 Union-Tribune interview.

The majority of the songs that McDonald wrote were not satirical. His 1975 lament, “Save the Whales,” is a standout. So is 1971’s “Hold On It’s Coming,” the title track of his fourth solo album, 1989’s “Agent Orang” and 2014’s wry, Bob Dylan-inspired “Entertainment Is My Business.”

MCDonald’s performance at Woodstock — and in the subsequent Oscar-winning “Woodstock” film documentary — was foundational for him. But he had mixed feelings about the festival and its legacy, as he made clear as the master of ceremonies on the 2007 Hippiefest tour. (He was also featured on the 2008 edition of the tour.)

“Welcome to Hippie Fest,” he said. “My name is Country Joe McDonald, and I’m your hippie host.”

A moment later, he added: “Hippies are pretty pathetic. Most of my friends are hippies.”

Later in the show, McDonald asked the 1,400-strong, multigenerational audience: “How many real hippies are here? Sixteen? Wow. I don’t know where the (rhymes with ‘duck’) the rest of you were in the ’60s, (but) thank you for buying tickets; we have to make a living up here.”

McDonald returned two years later to perform at the Del Mar Fair’s Grandstand stage as part of the Heroes of Woodstock tour.

In a Union-Tribune preview interview, he dismissed the tour’s name as “obviously a marketing gimmick.”

But McDonald noted: “A whole generation grew up on the Woodstock album.” Moreover, he added, the storied 1969 festival “has now assumed almost a cultural persona of its own. It’s been great for me, because it allowed me to have a career. People may remember me as being ‘revolutionary’ or foul-mouthed, but — in entertainment — if you’re not recognized for something, you’re forgotten.”

Just how “revolutionary” McDonald was is subject to discussion. But his 1970 testimony at the Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial demonstrates that he was quick on his feet when it came to sparring with the prosecutor and speaking on behalf of two of his friends, defendants Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin.

Asked by defense attorney William Kunstler what his occupation was, McDonald replied: “I am a minister in the New Universal Life Church. I am a rock and roll star, I am a producer of phonograph records. Father, husband, leader of a rock and roll band. Singer, composer, poet, owner of a publishing company, and a few other things.”

In response to a subsequent question, McDonald launched into the opening lines of his “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” singing: “And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for? / Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn / The next stop is Vietnam / And it’s…”

He was promptly reprimanded by Judge Julius Hoffman (no relation to Abbie), who implored him: “No, no, no, Mr. Witness. No singing.”

Undaunted, McDonald sang the next three words: “five, six, seven.” That prompted the judge to call out to a U.S. marshal who put his hand on McDonald’s chin to prevent him from continuing to sing.

“No singing is permitted in the courtroom,” Judge Hoffman said. “You are here to answer questions. You may continue telling about this conversation.”

Defense attorney Kunstler quickly pivoted, asking McDonald if he could recite the rest of the song’s lyrics.

“Yes,” McDonald relied. “The chorus of the song is:

“And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for? / Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn / The next stop is Vietnam

“And it’s five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates. There ain’t no time to wonder why — whoopie — we’re all gonna die.

“Come on, all of you big strong men / Uncle Sam needs your help again / He’s got himself in a terrible jam / Way down yonder in Vietnam.

“So put down your books and pick up a gun / Come on, we’re all going to have a lot of fun / Come on, Generals, let’s move fast / Your big chance has come at last / Now you can go out and get those reds / Because the only good commie is one that’s dead / And you know that peace can only be won / When you’ve blown them all to kingdom come.

“Come on, Wall Street, don’t be slow / Why, man, this is war au go go / There’s plenty good money to be made / By supplying the army with the tools of the trade / But just hope and pray, if they drop the bomb / They drop it on the Viet Cong.

“Come on, mothers throughout the land / pack your boys off to Vietnam / Come on, fathers, don’t hesitate / Send your sons off before it’s too late / You can be the first one on your block / To have your boy come home in a box.”

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