DEATH OF A REBEL
(Bruce Pegg)

I was walking in the Village in a cruel April rain
Saw a drunk sprawled on the sidewalk, I said
"Don't I know your name?"
I picked him up and brushed him down, found the nearest bar,
And I drank a toast to you Phil Ochs or the ghost of who you were.

So let me tell you about the future, 'bout the world you never knew,
'Cause you know when Elvis died, Phil, he looked a lot like you;
Now Dylan's just a shadow of the Zimmer-man you knew,
And Lennon's voice was silenced before he'd finished with the truth.

But nothing's really changed, Phil, ain't nothing that is new,
The kids have got their MTV but they've got no use for you;
The camera's eye is focused between Madonna's thighs,
I guess they still ain't listening, Phil, just hearing with their eyes.

And no one thinks to raise a voice, we think we've got it made,
But the king is in his counting house and still his bills ain't paid,
And all around these city streets the bricks and bullets fly,
The world your songs could change, Phil, won't walk away and die

So I raise my glass to you, Phil, you don't have to march no more,
While the FBI was standing by you walked right out the door
Wearing that faded gold suit, they didn't notice that you'd gone,
I guess any star could wear it, but who's left to sing your song?

Notes: Song appeared on Brief Encounter (Peggasaurus PG001) 1993. Took over two yars to track Bruce down, finally spotted him on UTube. When I queried a discrepancy between the lyric sheet and the mp3 of the song, this was his reply:-"As for the lyrics, I'm not over fussed. I recorded it over 15 years ago, and the words have morphed a little since then (now, when I sing it live, I sing "The camera's eye is focused/Between Brit'ney's thighs," if that's any help!). If you need to, I would default what you are hearing on the CD--after all, that's what is set in stone!
So, the lyrics posted are those on the CD.
RP Oct08.