The story connects back to Mark Twain it brings the myth into the sixties. Fogerty's lyric sketches out a vivid picture of the protagonist finding a comfortable niche in a community of outsiders. 'Proud Mary' is, of course, a steamboat traveling up and down the river. The song is a seamless mix of black and white roots music.

Indeed, the river in 'Proud Mary' offers not only escape but also rebirth to the singer. Down by the river and on the boat, the singer finds protection from ' the man' and salvation from his working-class pains in the nurturing spirit and generosity of simple people who 'are happy to give' even 'if you have no money.' The river in Fogerty and traditionally in literature and song is a place holding biblical and epical implications. Only when the boat pulls out does he see the 'good side of the city'-which, for him, is one in the distance, far removed from his life. He decides to follow his impulse and imagination and hitches a ride on a riverboat queen, bidding farewell to the city. 'Proud Mary's' singer, a low-wage earner, leaves what he considers a 'good job,' which he might define as steady work, even though for long hours under a dictatorial boss.

The line 'Left a good job in the city' was written following Fogerty's discharge from the National Guard, and the line 'rollin' on the river' was from a movie by Will Rogers. In the liner notes for the 2008 expanded reissue of Bayou Country, Joel Selvin explained that the songs for the album started when Fogerty was in the National Guard, that the riffs for 'Proud Mary', ' Born on the Bayou', and ' Keep on Chooglin'' were conceived by Fogerty at a concert in the Avalon Ballroom, and 'Proud Mary' was arranged from parts of different songs, one of which was about a washerwoman named Mary.

In a 1969 interview, Fogerty said that he wrote it in the two days after he was discharged from the National Guard. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy Award. Ī cover version by Ike and Tina Turner, released two years later in 1971, did nearly as well, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1969, the first of five singles to peak at No. The song became a major hit in the United States, peaking at No. It was released by Fantasy Records as a single from the band's second studio album, Bayou Country, which was issued by the same record company and is generally considered to have been released in early January 1969, although one source states that it came out just before Christmas 1968. ' Proud Mary' is a song written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology

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