Hi,
I doubt it ... it was a song and poem that was done live first and it was a reaction to the madness and insanity of the time with the IRA in England and VietNam with America ... and a few other skirmishes elsewhere.
In my book it has the same power and strength as Credence's powerful song (the one about the son) and Country Joe's famous dittie on the Woodstock film ... it was an artistic representation that spoke the truth of the time ... and it is something that stands out because it was meaningful and important ... not just some kind of bubblegum factory band that doesn't care ... and it got to number 5 on top of the pops!
Yes, it is possible it might not be ... but not likely ... even Byron used to say that he wrote half his poetry in the bathtub! ... but somehow I don't think that he meant any less or wrote the worse for it. But, if you check Greg Lake later and his own work, he is about being meaningful and pointed ... and this song fits him to a t and he nailed it ... did he ever! And we all remember it because of it.
Edited by moshkito - November 30 2009 at 20:54