To Susan On The West Coast Waiting

Album: Greatest Hits And More (1969)
Charted: 35
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • 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.

Comments: 3

  • 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

Editor's Picks

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.