To Susan On The West Coast Waiting by Donovan

Album: Greatest Hits And More (1969)

Charted: 35

License This Song

Though Donovan tipped his hat towards the protest movement in 1965, political comments weren't conspicuous in his subsequent work. This is the exception, a gentle comment on the turmoil of the Vietnam War.

The song is written as a letter from a soldier named Andy who is fighting in the war. He misses Susan terribly and resents that he was taken away to fight:

You know I'd be there working at my craft
Had it not been for the draft
In America, this was released as a single with "Atlantis" on the B-side. "Susan" peaked at #35 in March 1969, but the B-side fared better, climbing to #7 in May.
On his 1967 song "Epistle to Dippy," Donovan also presents the lyric in the form of a letter; that one is to a real friend who was in the army.

Lise from Barraute, CanadaListen to Universal soldier...one of the great anti-war songs of all time.
David from Youngstown, OhThe lyrics on this site aren't 100 percent accurate. Missing is a line that says, "From Andy supposedly hating," instead of "From Andy in Vietnam fighting." In the song, Andy is a reluctant soldier.
Fremont from Concord, NhI've got the original 45 rpm of this song. Though it is a good song, I still think the A-side (Atlantis) is a much better song.

see more comments