Songs for/about Phil Ochs

Subject: 52 Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 30 Jun 07 - 02:13 PM

I have, for some time been collecting recordings of songs for/about Phil Ochs. I have been able to ascertain the existence of 31 songs by 30 different artists. Of the 31, I have been able to acquire 24, and have located two others which I am trying to obtain. However, I have googled the other 5 with no luck whatsoever. I am hoping that some of you might have some information to help.

The ones that have presented a complete 'brick wall' are:

For Phil and Others by The Blanks (on 'If This Had been an Actual Emergency')
Tribute to Phil Ochs by Jack Honig (on 'Mirror Image')
Song for Phil by Richard Nardin (on 'Pencil Lines')
Remember Phil Ochs by The Voice of Reason (on 'Voice of Reason')
Death of a Rebel by Bruce Pegg   (on 'Brief Encounter')

Any ideas?

---

This is an edited PermaThread® for songs for and about Phil Ochs. This thread will be edited by Rog Peek. Feel free to post to this thread, but remember that all messages posted here are subject to editing or deletion.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Jun 07 - 03:26 PM

Rog, if you have 31 songs so far, you must be the world's expert on songs about Phil Ochs. I'm impressed - and intrigued. Can you post the list you have so far? If you'd like to post lyrics, this thread would be a good place for them.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 30 Jun 07 - 06:16 PM

Do you have "Broadside Balladeer" by Vic Sadot (on Broadsides and Retrospectives)?

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 30 Jun 07 - 07:57 PM

And Harvey Andrews' 'Song for Phil Ochs'?

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Mike B.
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 12:31 AM

There's the Billy Bragg song "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs" (patterned after Earl Robinson's "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill"), not to mention the one Tom Paxton wrote shortly after learning of Ochs' death.

An interesting thing to find out would be which folk artist is mentioned or alluded to in the most songs written by others. Perhaps it's Woody Guthrie - "Song To Woody" (Bob Dylan), "Bound For Glory" (Phil Ochs), "Boy From Oklahoma" (Willis Alan Ramsey) and "Christmas In Washington" (Steve Earle) come to mind, but I'm sure there are many others.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 09:30 AM

Yes, I have all of those mentioned, and more:

Sorry, mis-counted, there are 32 in all, not 31:

Updated 11th August 2017, count now stands at 67

---

Alfonso, Ralph	Stars That Are Silver
Anderson, Eric	Thirsty Boots
Andrews, Harvey	Song For Phil Ochs
Baran, Gary L.	I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Baker, Al	All The News That's Fit To Sing
Blake, Norman	76 Blues +2
Blanks	For Phil (Ochs) and Others
Bolm, Jeremy	P Ochs (Death of a Rebel)
Blue, David	Cupid's Arrow
Bragg, Billy	I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Cass, Jen	Standing In Your Memory (for Phil Ochs)
Chapin, Harry	The Parade's Still Passing By
Chumbawamba	Love Me
Clarke, Jim	One Night Late
Crawford, Jamie	Song For Phil
Drake Barry	Fallen Star
Donovan, Kyle /Baldo, David	The Refrain of John Butler Train
Feldman Bob A	The People's Folksinger (For Phil Ochs)
Fish, Leslie	Chickasaw Mountain
Flannery, Tom	If Phil Ochs Was Still Alive
Glover, Jim	Psychic Cowboy
Griffin, Brian	Marching In Your Footsteps
Griffith, Nanci	Radio Fragile
Gunnery, Mark	I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Guthrie, Arlo	Patriot's Dream
Harding, John Wesley	Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me
Hoffman, Abbie	Brother Phil
Hoffmann, Joe	Hell No But The Money's Good
Honig, Jack	Tribute to Phil Ochs
Hoyt, Robert	Bottom Of The Land, Phil
Joplin, Josh	Phil Ochs
Kahn, Brenda	Goldfish Don't Talk Back
Kanter, Gary	Farewell Troubadour (Phil Ochs)
Kanter, Gary	It's a Helluva Party
Kaplan, Paul	Phil
Kerr, Kevin	Song for Phil (Ochs)
Kind Of Like Spitting	Sheriff Ochs
Kismet Hardy	John Butler Train-for Phil Ochs
Kleiner, David	Phil Ochs As I Knew Him
Korona, Ray	Message in a Bottle
Latin Quarter (Steve Skaith & Mike Jones)	Phil Ochs
Mayer, Alexander	So Long-For Phil Ochs
McMenamin, Anne	What Price The Glory Of One Man (for Phil Ochs)
Miller, Mike	I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Minnae	I Was At Johnny's Last Night And He Played Phil Ochs
Nardin, Richard	Song for Phil
Oldham, Will	Gezundheit
Orchestraville	Phil Ochs' Flag
Ovans, Tom	James Dean Coming Over The Hill
Paxton, Tom	Phil
Paxton, Tom	Hang Down Your Head Phil Ochs
Pegg, Bruce	Death of a Rebel
Piephoff, Bruce	Phil's Song
Russell, Tom	Van Ronk
Sadot Vic	The Broadside Balladeer
Schinkel, Gerd	Epitaph für Phil Ochs
Schooner Fare (Steve Romanoff)	Don't Stop To Rest
Snider, Todd	Thin Wild Mercury
Talbot, Jonathan	I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
Train, John Butler (Phil Ochs)	The Ballad of John Train
They Might Be Giants	The Day
Voice of Reason	Remember Phil Ochs
Walker, Sammy	Legends
Walker, Sammy	Not Just Another Fad
Wallace, Len	Poet's Cry (song for Phil Ochs)
Williams Dar	All My Heroes Are Dead
Wixson Matt	John Train

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 09:40 AM

Of the 29, I have been able to locate recordings of all but the five listed at the start of the thread. Of these, I have secured recordings of all except Leslie Fish, Brenda Khan and Gerd Schinkel, am working on these at present.

Joe, I've learned in life that there's no such thing as an 'expert', but yes, I've gathered quite a lot if info on Phil Ochs, both written and audio, but there's still a lot out there. Yes I will post the lyrics, but not all at once.

Yes MikeB, great idea, but I'll have to leave that one to you, I've more than enough on my plate already.

Subject: Lyr Add: THIRSTY BOOTS (Eric Andersen)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 09:49 AM

THIRSTY BOOTS
(Eric Andersen)

You've long been on the open road, you’ve been sleeping in the rain.
From dirty words and muddy cells your clothes are smeared and stained,
But the dirty words and muddy cells will soon be hid in shame,
So only stop to rest yourself till you are off again.

CHORUS: So take off your thirsty boots and stay for a while.
Your feet are hot and weary from a dusty mile,
And maybe I can make you laugh. maybe I can try.
I'm just looking for the evening, the morning in your eye.

So tell me of the ones you saw as far as you could see
Across the plain from field to town a-marching to be free,
And of the rusted prison gates that tumbled by degree.
Like laughing children, one by one, they look like you and me.

CHORUS
I know you are no stranger down the crooked rainbow trails,
From dancing cliff-edged shattered sills of slandered, shackled jails,
For the voices drift up from below as the walls they're being scaled.
Yes, all of this, and more, my friend, your song shall not be failed.
CHORUS

Yes, you've long been on the open road. you’ve been sleeping in the rain,
From dirty words and muddy cells your clothes are smeared and stained
But the dirty words, the muddy cells, they’ll soon be judged insane,
So only stop to rest yourself 'til you are off again.
CHORUS

Notes:
Originally written about a civil rights worker this song was dedicated to Phil Ochs after his death. It first appeared on the album "'Bout Changes an' Things" (Vanguard LP VRS 79206) released in 1966.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: KeithofChester
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 10:17 AM

I have read stories that Phil Ochs thought Bob Dylan's Positively Fourth Street was aimed at him personally, but that Bob later assured him it wasn't.

Subject: Lyr Add: SONG FOR PHIL OCHS (Harvey Andrews)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 10:34 AM

SONG FOR PHIL OCHS
(Harvey Andrews)

You were my finest friend
I spent so many hours with you
I listened to each line
The way I knew you'd want me to

You never told a lie
But honest men don't prosper now
Your truth will never die
Although you've made the final bow

Chorus
The stranger in the dark
The face inside the looking glass

And now you've slipped away
There's no-one left to watch us pass

If only I had known
How sad it was to be denied
How bad it was to feel
The loneliness you locked inside

When all the words were gone
And there were no more songs to rhyme
The empty pages turned
To mark the passing of your time

Chorus

I'll keep you every day
As close as loving ever can
I'll sing them all the pain
And hope that they can see the man

The torch bright in your hand
The lost ones standing all around
The ragged flag of peace
You carried on the battle ground.

Chorus

So now your race is run
When all the blossom told of spring
The story now is done
The saddest song I'll ever sing.

Notes
This song appeared on the album 'Someday' (Transatlantic TRA329) released in 1976.
RP jul07

---

Italics indicate verified corrections to Rog's original post.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 12:14 PM

Positively 4th Street was written soon after Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan had fallen out, the circumstances of which are recorded as follows:

The singer songwriters that hung about Greenwich village at that time were in the habit of trying out new songs on each other, (as you would) and Dylan seemed to value Phil's judgement when it came to his own songs. In fact the first time Dylan played 'Mr. Tambourine Man, it was on an occasion when he Phil and David Blue were having an exchange of songs session. Phil had nothing but praise for this new Dylan composition.

However, the following year on a similar occasion Phil had been critical of a new song Dylan had written with, for Phil, unforeseen consequences. Later that evening as some of them were headed uptown in a limousine, Dylan told the driver to pull over and ordered Phil from the car. As Phil stepped out of the car, Dylan is alleged to have shouted to him "You're not a folksinger, you're a journalist!"

This concluded good relations between Dylan and Ochs.

The irony was that earlier in the year when Dylan had been castigated by the audience at the Newport Folk Festival for going electric, Phil had been the first one to come to his defence.

Anyway, Dylan wrote Positively 4th Street shortly after.

I have a recording made on wbai NYC 1965 of Phil singing a four line parody of Positively 4th Street in which he mimics Dylan's singing. It goes like this:

You've gotta lotta gall
To say you are my pal
I used to be
Among the crowd you're in with.

So there you have it.

What was the song that Phil criticised? Well according to Michael Schumacher in 'The Life Of Phil Ochs' it was 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window', but Marc Elliot in 'Death of a Rebel' says that in an interview in 1972 Phil had insisted the song was 'Sooner or Later'. In any event Phil's prophecy that it would never be a 'number 1' came to pass.

Subject: Lyr Add: CUPID'S ARROW (David Blue)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 02:38 PM

CUPID'S ARROW
(David Blue)

The moon was full of promises, the night air misty and cool
Suspended in this moment were the rules
I was looking at a mirror pool deep in the eyes of a friend
We both had been walking one too many dead ends

You made me laugh and you made me cry
And you moved me and I didn't know why
You moved me and I didn't know why
Cupid's arrow shot from the sky

We sat and talked under the stars and the mountain winds blew cold
We went together and we went too far, we grew prematurely old
Did you know my hands were shaking as I took my leave
We never would be strangers if he was ever in need
It was obvious God loved you, it's obvious so do I
The simple thing we shared together helped both of us survive

You made me laugh and you made me cry
And you moved me and I didn't know why
You moved me and I didn't know why
Cupid's arrow was aimed too high

Notes
Couldn't find the lyrics anywhere, so transcribed from recording on David Blue's CD of which this is the title track. David Blue sang this at Phil Ochs' Memorial tribute at Felt Forum NYC on 28th May 1976. It was first recorded on the album 'Cupid's Arrow' (Asylum 53056) released in 1976.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Leadbelly
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 04:20 PM

Rog, thanks for this thread because I think it's time to remember Phil and the real reason why he committed suicide about 30 years ago. Sounds very similar from today:
"Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D, NY), an outspoken antiwar activist herself who had appeared at the final "War is Over" rally just a year before, entered this statement into the Congressional Record on April 29, 1976:

    "Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, a young folksinger whose music personified the protest mood of the 1960s took his own life. Phil Ochs—whose original compositions were compelling moral statements against war in Southeast Asia—apparently felt that he had run out of words. While his tragic action was undoubtedly motivated by terrible personal despair, his death is a political as well as an artistic tragedy. I believe it is indicative of the despair many of the activists of the 1960s are experiencing as they perceive a government which continues the distortion of national priorities that is exemplified in the military budget we have before us. Phil Ochs' poetic pronouncements were part of a larger effort to galvanize his generation into taking action to prevent war, racism, and poverty. He left us a legacy of important songs that continue to be relevant in 1976--even though "the war is over." Just one year ago—during this week of the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War—Phil recruited entertainers to appear at the "War is Over" celebration in Central Park, at which I spoke. It seems particularly appropriate that this week we should commemorate the contributions of this extraordinary young man."

Although the actual US-wars are not over there's nothing to add. Think about...

Subject: Lyr Add: I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
From: Rog Peek
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 04:57 PM

I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
(Billy Bragg/Earl Robinson)

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you and me
Says I to Phil "You're ten years dead."
"I never died." says he,
"I never died." says he.

"The music business killed you Phil,
They ignored the things you said.
And cast you out when fashions changed."
Says Phil "But I ain't dead."
Says Phil "But I ain't dead."

"The FBI harassed you Phil,
They smeared you with their lies."
Says he "But they could never kill
What they could not compromise,
I never compromised."

"Though fashions changed, and critics sneered
The songs that I have sung
Are just as true tonight as then
The struggle carries on,
The struggle carries on."

When the song of freedom rings out loud
From valleys and from hills
Where people stand up for their rights
Phil Ochs is with us still
Phil Ochs inspires us still.

Notes
This song, which is sung to the tune 'I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night' was recorded live on the album 'The Internationale' (Elektra/Utility 960960-2) released in 1990.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PARADE'S STILL PASSING BY (H Chapin)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 05:56 PM

THE PARADE'S STILL PASSING BY
(Harry Chapin)

I got the news today
That you refused to play
Cause you never made number one
But it's not just the words
It's the deeds that are heard
When all is said and done
You know the kings take their crowns
They melt them all down
Trying to get the gold out
You went to hell and
Even when you weren't selling
You never ever sold out.


You weren't no leader
You were more like a bleeder
Who was trying to cry for us all
You weren't no sage
But your sense of outrage
Sounded like a trumpet call
Fifteen years ago
In the old folky show
You were just one voice in the crowd
But now with so few singing
Your voice would have been ringing
Out 'bout twice as loud.


Chorus
There but for fortune
Say a small circle of friends
Some may see the changes
So few see the end
The pleasures of the harbor
Have come to you at last
You may not be marching anymore
But the parade's still going past


We're not taking the blame
That we killed you
You know you did that to yourself
But it's kind of a shame
That you played that game
You were better than anyone else
One shot o' your bottle
Got you full throttle
It's the friend that was always there
But your greatest gift
And the curse you lived with
Was that you could always care.

Chorus

Notes
This song appeared on the album 'On The Road to Kingdom Come' (Elektra 7E-1082) released in 1976.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: FALLEN STAR (Barry Drake)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 02:35 PM

Aren't there some nice people around?

Barry Drake began as a singer/songwriter in the 60s, taking to the lecture circuit in the early eighties lecturing on rock and roll. I emailed him via his web site, not knowing if he was the same Barry Drake, asking about the song 'Fallen Star' and got this back by return:

Hi Roger,
....Yes that's me and "Fallen Star" is my song.
....The song has an interesting story.
(The story is in Notes at the end of the lyrics)
....I'll gladly send you an MP3 of the song when I get the time. Keep in touch.
BARRY
PS: I've been in touch with Jim Glover a lot in the past few months and we spend a lot of time talking about Phil. Also my friends Kim & Reggie Harris do a lot of the Phil Ochs tribute nights, put on by Phil's sister, Sonny.
Barry Drake

Barry emailed me an MP3 of the song the next day!
Here's the song:

FALLEN STAR
(Barry Drake)

I was taking my pleasure in a bar I call home
When an old friend appeared at the door
He was filled with bad whisky so he didn't see me
As he stumbled the sawdust filled floor.
He was famous for filling our halls with his songs
'Til the words and the music ran dry
Soon the backstage buffoons and the parasite friends
Chased a new shooting star through the sky.
Falling star you know who you are
You toyed with the notion of failure
Like kids play with bugs in a jar
You wouldn't believe it could happen to you
This time you've fallen too far

Once the news of his comeback was filling the trades
So the critics came loading their guns
Oh I watched how they cursed him, guzzling their drinks
He was finished before he'd begun.
Falling star you know who you are
You were buying a round for our table
When they brought out the feathers and tar
You laughed when I said it could happen to you
You've already fallen too far
Falling asleep at the table
Mumbling your prayers to the floor
Paying the bill we bid you farewell
Quietly slipped out the door

Oh the night quickly passed in an alcohol haze
That fire don't ever burn long
But the lesson I learned in the bar room that night
Still burns in the words of this song
Falling star you know who you are
You toyed with the notion of failure
Like kids play with bugs in a jar
You wouldn't believe it could happen to you
This time you've fallen too far
This time you've fallen too far

Notes
Here is Barry's story of how the song came to be written: "I was hanging out with Phil in The Kettle Of Fish bar on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village in January just before his death. I had heard that Phil was in bad shape but I couldn't believe how bad until I saw him that night. We sat around drinking wine (I suspected that Phil was on something much stronger). He kept ranting on about different subjects until he finally passed out face down on the table at about 2 a.m. in the morning. We paid our tab and left, figuring I'd see him again when he was in better shape and we could talk more.
....I was a big Phil Ochs fan and it bothered me to see him that way. I went back to my house up near Woodstock, NY and over the next three days, wrote "Fallen Star". I probably never intended to sing it but I had to write it anyway. So, it's may be the ONLY song written about Phil's life, not his death.
....Three months later, I was on tour in Chicago when I heard that he died by his own hand. Of course I was saddened and I decided not to sing the song much in public. I didn't want to capitalize on a tragedy, especially since I admired him so much. I eventually decided to record it and release it on my own label."
The song appeared on the album 'Roadsongs' (Catskill Mountain Records) released in 1977.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: PSYCHIC COWBOY (Jim Glover)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 03:49 PM

Jim and Phil can be seen here performing on 'The Midnight Special' here
In a recent email, Jim told me that they were supposed to be singing 'Outside of a Small Circle of Friends', but that had contained the line 'Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer!' so they had to sing 'The Power and the Glory' instead.


PSYCHIC COWBOY
(Jim Glover)

Chorus:
Where are we going? What will we see?
What can we do to change our destiny
Tell us the answer you seldom have been wrong
And sing us another psychic cowboy song

He came out of Ohio, with music on his lips
Grand Ol Opry ain't never heard nothin' like it
He sang about tomorrow like he'd been there yesterday
He was a singing, song writin',fortune telling astro ace.

Chorus

He told about his travels over in Dar-Es-Salaam
Where three men strangled and robbed him in the early dawn
Their hands could reach his pockets, but they could not rob his mind,
One more strange time he has left behind

Chorus

Energy is everywhere, it's us and it's everything
Like magnetic healing, solar storaging
We can use what we've got and live in harmony
Working together with a strength that will keep us free.

Chorus
Sing us another psychic cowboy song

Notes
Jim Glover was an important influence for Phil in the early days, both politically and musically. They shared a room at Ohio State during which time Jim introduced Phil to left wing politics and to the songs of Pete Seeger, The Weavers and Woody Guthrie et al. He also taught Phil to play guitar and eventually they performed as a duo with Jim on banjo, calling themselves the Sundowners. Although they went their separate ways as performers, they stayed in contact over the years, remaining good friends. Jim did backing vocals on Phil's last album 'Greatest Hits' and I have a recording in 1974 of Phil playing with Jim at the Quiet Knight in Chicago just before they appeared together on 'The Midnight Special'.
Jim wrote Psychic Cowboy for Phil and performed it at the Phil Ochs' Memorial tribute at Felt Forum NYC on 28th May 1976. It wasn't released on record until 1980, when it was included on the album 'No Need to Explain' (Fang Records NR 11694).
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: RADIO FRAGILE (Nanci Griffith)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 03 Jul 07 - 04:18 PM

RADIO FRAGILE
(Nanci Griffith)

We all said you'd never make it
Cuz you had that fragile heart
And you were odd within the ways of the social
You threw a caution to us all
And now when the late night drinkers
Gather for their falls
Someone says they've seen you out there
Laughing at us all

You mourned the cause of discontent
With those who couldn't lose the dark
From the broad of daylight to half spent stars
Just waiting dusk to fall
Tell me, what the hell were you saying?
Was there a point at to it all?
Oh, did they really see you out there
Laughing at us all

Chorus
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
Oh, were you really out there
Laughing at us all?

The midnight boy from Minnesota
Shut you down and stole the show
They say that you were bitter in your anguish
Cuz it's you they ought to hold
You wore your causes on your sleeve
Like a beacon wears the dark
It's only right you should be out there
Laughing at us all

Now you are only dust for art
You're a shadow to recall
For all of those late night drinkers
In their ragged lonely bars
And we all said you'd never make it
Cuz you had that fragile heart
Now, all our hearts you held are wasted you're out there
laughing at us all

Chorus (Twice)

Notes:
The midnight boy from Minnesota is Bob Dylan. This song can be found on the CD 'Storms' (Mca Nashville B00000206C) released in 1989.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL OCHS (Josh Joplin)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 03:22 PM

PHIL OCHS
(Josh Joplin)

I've seen the death of rock and roll.
and I am living proof
that no one here can dig a hole
and not find the truth
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone

And though the poster child tries
he won't survive the scorn
he is killed with compromise
in the tube where he was born
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone

50 fans can't be wrong
50 fans can't be wrong
50 fans can't be wrong
or can they, can they, can they, hey hey hey hey can they, can they?

our surveys say,
this is what they want today.
our surveys say
all they want is sugar ray
Phil you can't be killed
Phil you can't be killed
Phil you can't be killed

50 fans can't be wrong
50 fans can't be wrong
50 fans can't be wrong
or can they, can they, can they, hey hey hey hey, can they?

we are what we've always been
ready, here we go
wait for the signal to begin
and you're on the radio
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone
Phil you are not gone

50 fans can't be wrong.
50 fans can't be wrong
50 fans can't be wrong
or - can they? (spoken)

Notes:
'In the tube where I was born' was the first line of Phil Ochs song 'Half a Century High' featured on the album 'Tape From California'.
'50 Phil Ochs fans can't be wrong' was an ironic slogan on the back of the album - 'Phil Ochs Greatest Hits' (which of course was an album of original tracks.)
Phil it seems thought everyone shared his sense of humour. He had insisted on the album title in the face of opposition from A&M records, who said it would be misleading. He had brought in Jim Glover with whom he had teamed up to form the Sundowners for his first performances back in 1961, to provide backing vocals on this his final studio album. The final irony, and one which could not have been foreseen at the time, was that the last track on this his last album was 'No More Songs'.
Phil Ochs by Josh Joplin can be found on the CD 'Useful Music' (Artemis Records B000056T6C) released in 1999.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: GESUNDHEIT (Will Oldham)
From: GUEST,IS
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 03:36 PM

Will Oldham has a song called 'Gesundheit' which is kind of re-write of Billy Bragg's song:

GESUNDHEIT
(Will Oldham)

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you or me
Said, "Howdy Phil. You're fifteen years a-gone"
He said that he had never died
He said that he had never died

Down to my house, I saw him wandering
I said to him, "You've never entered my dreams"
He said, "Why should I ?"
He asked me, "Why should I ?"

"I thought that I had some sort of bond with you"
"You've none of the kind"
"But Phil, why do I feel this way ?"
"You've got an unhealthy mind"
He said that I've got an unhealthy mind

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 07:32 PM

Yes GUEST,IS I have got a recording of this song, and I have just noticed that it is not on my list (I expect Joe will sort it out for us, and probably bless me into the bargain - sorry Joe).

The whole song Gezundhiet actually has 6 verses, the first three having reference to Phil Ochs. On the recording Will Oldham sings the first three verses while a woman's voice recites the remaining verses with organ music playing in the background.

I have listened to the recording over and over, and I am convinced that the third line is:

Said I t'Phil "You're fifteen years gone."

I know this is contrary to the references on the internet, but only the official sheet music or Will Oldham himself will convince me otherwise.

Certainly on the recording there is no 'a' in front of gone.

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL OCHS, BOB DYLAN, STEVE GOODMAN ...
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 07:55 PM

PHIL OCHS, BOB DYLAN, STEVE GOODMAN, DAVID BLUE AND ME.
(John Wesley Harding)

Well at night, he sits alone and he's looking at the stars
Listens to them playing guitars
Him and Phil go back a long long way
They talked about marching and dying all in one day
They played songs together, they sit up past the dawn
I wonder how long this dream will go on.

You know that Bob was there last week as well
Well he's a quiet guy but he's got stories to tell
Our hero sits and listens without asking why
And teaches Bob A minor with a glint in his eye
Bob used it on Hollis Brown, but that was sometime ago
When is this dream gonna stop? Heaven knows

Then our hero picks up his guitar
To play them the only tune he knows
He played it to me once
He said "Wes, it's short, but this is how it goes."
And then he sings
Sings "This is the only thing that really matters
Keeps me going, retains my sanity
The nights I spend alone when there's just
Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me"

You know David died and Stephen died
But only to the papers that live outside
Last Thursday they were in the room where he sits
The three of them making jokes about the meagre obituaries
Steve and David smiled and they left quite soon
He wonders about that dream as he looks at the stars and the moon

Sometimes he has a party for him and the crew
They turn up on time just 'cos they always do
Phil plays I Ain't Marching, it's his favourite song
And Bob plays the harmonica but he plays it all wrong
And Steve harmonises just like he did with John Prine
David just sits and looks blue all the time

And then the time comes round again
When they all sit and listen to their hero playing
He says "You've heard it all before"
But they like it so they shout "encore!"
And then he sings, it's a dream come true and he sings
"This is the only thing that really matters
Keeps me going, retains my sanity
The nights I spend alone when there's just
Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me
And me
Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me."

Notes:
The earliest recorded version of this song (1986) was released on 'Dynablob' (Mod Lang WOW1) in 1996. The version transcribed here is of a live recording in London in November 1988 and can be found on 'It Happened One Night' (Edsel/Demon L-Fiend CD137) released in 1988, and (Rhino R270764) released in 1991.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL (Paul Kaplan)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 04:44 PM

PHIL
(Paul Kaplan)

Phil, what went wrong, why are you quiet now
Phil, where's your song, I really need it now.
You kept me warm throughout the storm but now I feel a chill
Phil I miss you.

Phil, you were not mad, just fool enough to care
The love you always had you always had to share
You never knew the good you did and now you never will
Phil, I miss you.

Phil, here's farewell how I wish you could have stayed
To help me understand, to make me unafraid
I dreamed I saw a golden bird outside my window sill
Phil, I miss you.

Notes:
Paul Kaplan as well as being a singer songwriter, has produced a number of albums for 'Folkways' featuring Phil Ochs, including 'Songs for Broadside' and 'Broadside Tapes Vol 1'.
The song was first published in Broadside magazine 148 (January-February 1984) and recorded for 'King of Hearts' (Hummingbird HR07735) released in 1985.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: SHERIFF OCHS (Kind of Like Spitting)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 05:07 PM

SHERIFF OCHS
(Ben Barnett)

I just finished a book with its covers torn and its pages worn.
The story starts on the day you were born in the city.
Where movie houses stood
Raised on Elvis and Hollywood.
The bad guys bad and the good guys good
And the weight of the world is always on the sheriff's shoulders

There was life in the little house
Above the hospital for the dying,
So I will keep singing,
I will keep fishing for some words in this water all around me

The houses of home shook and as the shelter broke you got a good long look
At a country and class run by buzzards and crooks
Mississippi! Mississippi!
Through CIA and Klan
Through McCarthy's damn blacklist, Nixon, and 'nam
They tear-gassed the students but you had a plan
And the weight of the world is on the sheriff's shoulders

There was life in the little house,
Above the hospital for the dying.
So I will keep singing,
I will keep fishing for some words in this water all around me

There was life in the city that night.        
You found your voice and you voiced your sight.
You held your ground to help us see
There's more to life than lovers and chores
There's more to life that an office at the top floor,
Somehow, someway, we all find peace,
We all find….

Notes:
Song appeared on the Kind of Like Spitting album 'In The Red' (Hush Records B000BN199A) released in 2005.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL OCHS (Mike Jones/Steve Skaith)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 05:54 PM

PHIL OCHS
(Steve Skaith/Mike Jones)

Here comes Phil Ochs shovel on his shoulder
Trailing a hoe along the Ho Chi Minh trail
But the trail is on Bleeker Street
And Phil's on his uppers
It's the mid-nineteen seventies
And it ain't looking so good
For this man with a mission
And a man with a passion
When you run out of fashion
And it don't come crawling back

Here comes Phil Ochs,
Got a chip on his shoulder
And they can't cut his jacket to cover it up
When one war is over but ten are beginning
And the movement's gone missing
Because they all just moved away
Oh they moved into property,
They moved off into futures
Yeah, they moved into ads, and that's as sad as it can get

Chorus:
Run, run, run from Phil,
Phil's on a three day drunk
He's up on his high horse
Staggering and sauced
Run, run, run from Phil,
Phil's on a three day drunk
But he wasn't alone
when he stumbled off course

Here comes Phil Ochs, devil on his shoulder
Carrying his guitar and the weight of the world
But if there's space for the millionaire,
god there must be space for the troubadour
And while there's a space, there's always a chance out there
That a melody lingers, and we keep getting singers
Who've got more on their minds than the latest Dow Jones share...

Notes:
Recorded by Latin Quarter (which includes members Steve Skaith and Mike Jones) on the CD 'Long Pig' (Cloud Nine Records CLD91082) released in 1993.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,baz parkes
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 06:08 PM

I might have imagined this but...

Chords of Fame

JamesTaylor

baz

who keeps trying to join...

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 06:35 PM

Baz

James Taylor may very well have done a cover of Phil Och's song Chords of Fame, I don't know. However, this thread is of songs which were written for or about Phil by other song writers. Thanks anyway.

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL (Tom Paxton)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 06:01 AM

PHIL
(Tom Paxton)

I opened the paper, there was your picture,
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand.
I couldn't believe it, the paper was shakin',
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand.

I know I'm gonna spend the rest of my lifetime wondering why,
You found yourself so badly hurt you had to die.

I opened the paper, there was your picture,
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand.
The phone started ringing, had I heard about it?
I shook every time I heard it ring.
What was my reaction? I put the phone down.
That was the only news that was fit to sing.

They ask about Dylan, about MacDougal Street and Third.
Question piled on question and each question more absurd.

I opened the paper, there was your picture,
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand.

*Oh, I remember "There But For Fortune".
There but for fortune you and I would go.
Fortune turned its back on you,
Or so it must have seemed to you,
Christ alone knows what was the final blow.

The last time I saw you, the last time I saw you,
Bleeker Street outside the Other End.
I told you I'd see you. I got distracted.
I never saw your face again.

I heard that you were feeling stronger every day.
I heard that you were well, with good things on their way.

Then I opened the paper, there was your picture,
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand

Repeat from * to end
Gone, gone, gone by your own hand

Notes:
First appeared on the album 'Heroes' (Vanguard VSD 79411) released in 1978. Also on 'Best Of The Vanguard Years' CD (Vanguard B00004TFBU)2000, and on Tom Paxton In Concert (video)
The song was also included in a special Phil Ochs issue of 'Broadside' 147 (December 1983) 16-17.
RP jul07.

Subject: Lyr Add: BROADSIDE BALLADEER (Vic Sadot)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 12:07 PM

BROADSIDE BALLADEER
(Vic Sadot)

I remember the year that Broadside Balladeer
Took his own life away; so they say
Now I still long to hear him singin' true and clear
How I miss that Broadside Balladeer

Chorus:
So I'm gonna say it now!
I can't say it when I'm gone
Let us not speak falsely now
For we must be movin' on
Is there anybody home?
Is there anybody here?

To be true to a Broadside Balladeer
In the dark of the night, he would stay awake and write
At the rallies he would raise us with a song
He would roam through the land, and like Woody he would stand
Cause he wanted people's struggles to be strong

Chorus:

To be true to a Broadside Balladeer
Just a boy in Ohio…grew up so he had to go
Steppin' outside of a small circle of friends
Surely as the Changes came, he would shame the Chords of Fame
When he called on us to try and make amends

Chorus:

To be true to a Broadside Balladeer
Seems like just the other day; He went down to see Chile
Victor Jara and he sang side by side
ITT, the CIA, and the Junta had their way
But the dream they tried to kill still hasn't died

Chorus:

Notes:
This song was originally included on 'Spring Garden' (Independent Cassette) released in 1983, more recently on CD 'Broadsides and Retrospectives' (Crazy Planet Records) released in 2005.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: EPITAPH FÜR PHIL OCHS (Gerd Schinkel)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 01:06 PM

Gerd Schinkel, is a German singer/songwriter whose web site is here http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.gerdschinkel.de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/searc

Here is his tribute to Phil, with English translation.

EPITAPH FÜR PHIL OCHS
(Gerd Schinkel)

Ein Freund gab mir die Nachricht, die aus den Wolken fiel.
Er sprach von deiner Reise in endloses Exil.
Du hast die Grenze dicht gemacht, den Riegel vorgesperrt,
den Steg hinter dir durchgesägt. Hast du dich so gewehrt?

Wie konnte das geschehen? Wer schuldet Rechenschaft?
Schweres war für dich Ansporn. Was ging über deine Kraft?
Wer hat die Stimme dir geraubt? Den Atem dir gekürzt?
Wer hat den Brunnen leergeschöpft? Den Felsen umgestürzt?

Sag, was machst du nun, nach dem Tod?
Viel lässt du hinter dir.
Wir müssen damit leben, und wir
brauchten dich doch hier.

Ich weiß nicht - kannte ich dich gut? Du hast mich nie geseh'n.
Erfahren hab ich viel von dir, sah dich oft vor mir steh'n.
Wenn ich eins deiner Lieder sang, dann stellte ich mir vor,
was würd'st du sagen, wärst du hier, und ich sänge sie dir vor.

Warum hast du den Mut verlor'n? Ich hab mich oft gefragt.
Die Zukunft liegt in unsrer Hand. Du hast es selbst gesagt.
So viel ist faul auf dieser Welt, was um uns her passiert.
Doch gibt es nur Veränderung, wenn keiner resigniert.

Sag, was machst du nun, nach dem Tod?
iel lässt du hinter dir.
Wir müssen damit leben, und wir
brauchten dich doch hier.

English translation:
EPITAPH FOR PHIL OCHS

The news a friend had told me just fell out of the grey
He spoke about your journey. You had no way to stay
You closed the barrier, blocked the door to find a final end
And sawed the plank you've crossed, to leave a life you could not stand

How could that happen? Who's to blame? And don't try to excuse.
No challenge there you would not face. You were not bound to lose.
Who stole your voice out of your throat? Who took your breath away.
Who drained the well once full of life. Who made the sky turn grey?

What are you doing now that you've gone?
You've left so much behind.
We have to face it while we live
With no-one like you to find.

I don't know if I knew you well. Your path I never crossed.
I've read about you, dreamed to meet you, never thought you might get lost.
And when I sang a song you wrote, I would have loved to know
If you liked what you heard and if you liked my show.

Why did your courage fade away and could no longer stay
The future's always in your hands. That's what you said the other day
There's so much rotten in this world. Look for a better one to find
And changes will come, we will see, when at least no-one resigned.

What are you doing now that you've gone?
You've left so much behind.
We have to face it while we live
With no-one like you to find.

Notes:
Gerd Schinkel has translated into German and recorded 50 Phil Ochs songs. 'Epitaph Fur Phil Ochs' is included on the CD 'Hand auf's Herz:- Leider von Phil Ochs' 1 (Independent) released 1995.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Mike Miller
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 04:36 PM

I must add that I wrote a Phil Ochs song, long before he died. It was to the tune of "I Dreamed I saw Joe Hill" and went,

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you or me,
"But, Phil", I said, "they called you red."
"I'm tickled pink", says he.

When Tom heard it, he said that he had written one, too. It was to the tune of the Kingston Trio's version of "Tom Dooley"

Hang down your head, Phil Ochs.
You ain't no friend of mine.
You blew your radical image
When you got a good review in Time.

I admit that I was not on the friendliest terms with Phil but I was in awe of his talent and his sincerity and I was badly shaken by his passing.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:32 PM

Thank you Mike Miller, both made me chuckle.
That Earl Robinson tune seems to be very popular, that's Billy Bragg, Will Oldham and yourself that have used it for a Phil Ochs song.
Rog

Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKASAW MOUNTAIN (Leslie Fish)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 01:09 PM

CHICKASAW MOUNTAIN
(Leslie Fish)

High up on the mountain of Chickasaw, they say,
There's one patch of darkness that never yields to day;
Deep are those shadows, old as the mountain,
Something is waiting in there; call on her if you dare!
Seek no level of God or devil; she's something older by far,
Call her "Lady Of the Morning Star".

She offers two bargains. The price is steep and dark;
The one takes your life, and the other leaves a mark.
If there's a third one, I've never heard one,
Choose for yourself, what's the fee? Nothing she gives is free!
Name your goal, she won't ask your soul, she might even give you her own
And maybe you'd be better off alone!

My old fellow rebel: I know what deal he made;
The Power rang through every song he wrote and played;
Made him the best of his generation,
Sang to the end of the War--and not a moment more.
Then it left him. The Power bereft him, left him but one fate to see
Hanging on his sister's apple tree.

Forgive my old buddy, who soon forgot my name;
I chose not to follow his seven years of fame.
He took the high road, I take the low road,
Sing second place, but sing long, and have always one more song!
Take your stars and give me my scars, I'd rather live long and be free
So take his cup the hell away from me!

Whoever has wisdom can guess what lies unsaid
The cost of the Gift to the living and the dead;
Still, if you feel you'll gain by the deal,
You'll play with the old Morning Star--no need to travel far.
Don't just count on Chickasaw Mountain if there's a Deal meant for you
Any wild place on Earth will do.

Notes:
Featured on the album of the same name 'Chickasaw Mountain' (Off Centaur Publications OCP-56) released in 1986. Also appears again on 'Avalon Is Risen' (Prometheus Music B008DFFTRS.) released June 2012.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: THIN WILD MERCURY (Todd Snider)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 04:38 PM

THIN WILD MERCURY
(Todd Snider)

Poor Phil Ochs, sad and low
Hands in his pockets, wonderin' where to go
Watching those tail lights leave him behind
Thrown from the limousine for speaking his mind
Like a red-eyed photo into a garbage can
At the corner of a hero and also ran
A fragile heart skipped a fragile beat
It's warm in the limousine, cold on the street

Chorus
Thin wild mercury
And gold lame
Things will go your way
Or they won't
Thin wild mercury
And gold lame
You know what they say
Or you don't

It was all over some new Dylan song
That Phil had the nerve to say sounded wrong
Dylan stopped the car, words shook like a fist
"Phil, you ain't a writer, you're a journalist"
Death of a rebel, twist of fate
If he ever thought better, he thought too late
Poor Phil Ochs, he slipped through the cracks
Judas went electric and he never looked back on....

Chorus

Repeat Chorus
Or you don't 2x
No, you don't

Notes:
This song, which is based on Phil's bust up with Dylan, appears on the CD 'The Devil You Know' (New Door Records B000G2YCUQ) released in 2006.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 10 Jul 07 - 05:44 PM

Mike Miller

Your song has an entry in David Cohen's 'Phil Ochs - Bio Bibliography'

A208 Kenin, Eliot. "Phil Ochs" Sing Out 25 no. 1 (May/June 1976) 72.
Letter which includes the earliest known version of "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", written by Mike Miller of Philadelphia, circa 1965.
Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Mike Miller
Date: 10 Jul 07 - 09:06 PM

Well, bless my soul. Elliot Kenin wrote something for Sing Out? He never told me. Who is David Cohen? I, always, thought that Sonny would write a book about Phil.

                  Mike

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 03:31 AM

David Cohen is a photographer and archivist who lives in Pokhara Nepal. He is the author of Synthesis Quest and has produced two Bio-bibliographies, one of George Crumb, and one of Phil Ochs. This is all I can find out on him.
The book, as well as containing a biography, of Phil, is a complete annotated bibliography , including writings by and about Phil, reviews, interviews, discography, tapes, film and video, songs, covers, tributes and concert listings.
It was a requested gift for my 60th birthday.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Warwick Slade
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 10:34 AM

I may have missed it but I did not see 'When I'm Gone' recorded by Dick Gaughan on CD 'Call it Freedom' in 1988. Dist. by Celtic Music

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 11:06 AM

You are absolutely right Warwick' but that was a 'cover', this thread is songs not written by Phil Ochs, but written for him about him, or dedicated to him by the writer.
Perhaps you'd like to start a thread, but I must warn you there are at least 259covers by 148 artists.
Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Warwick Slade
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 11:21 AM

Sorry Rog I missed the point. It's something to do with age.
However 259 covers can't be bad

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 11:41 AM

Yes, and that was up to 1998, there are probably quite a few more by now. For example Kind of Like Spitting released a cd of covers in 2005.
Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 12:07 PM

I'm having great fun pursueing this thread, I've discovered a couple of one verse songs from Mike Miller I didn't know existed and I'm on the track (if you'll excuse the pun) of yet another song which was set to the tune of 'I Dreamed I Saw Phil ochs Last Night'. Of the now 34 songs, I have the lyrics for 28, and recordings of 24. However, I still have no information on the 5 I listed at the start of the thread, which is a bit disappointing.

For Phil and Others by The Blanks (on 'If This Had been an Actual Emergency')
Tribute to Phil Ochs by Jack Honig (on 'Mirror Image')
Song for Phil by Richard Nardin (on 'Pencil Lines')
Remember Phil Ochs by The Voice of Reason (on 'Voice of Reason')
Death of a Rebel by Bruce Pegg   (on 'Brief Encounter')

I have emailed two different groups called The Blanks, and if you'll excuse another pun, I'm afraid I've drawn a BLANK. Both said that they admired Phil's work, neither had written the song, and both wished me luck in my quest.
Rog

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T STOP TO REST (Steve Romanoff)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 12 Jul 07 - 06:11 PM

DON'T STOP TO REST
(Steve Romanoff)

Relax, relax in photographs of places where you've been
When nothing new can worry you you've earned a rest my friend
The riot tears and rebel years have vanished with the din
Of young bureaucrats and slapping backs and prizes they can win
You've seen them all at city hall, you've seen 'em in the street
You've seen them masquerading where the better people meet
Convinced at last those days are past when they should give a damn
About the anguish in the world, about the future in their hands

Chorus
You've heard the promise of the evil men
Don't stop to rest or we'll come back again
If you remember then you ought to know
Don't stop to rest 'cause we've got far, far to go.

Come all you young eyed citizens a story I will tell
Of how a great society was going all to hell
But children who resembled you were brought up on the war
Had had their fill of overkill and said they'd fight no more
It cost them miles of marching and it cost them years of pain
Before their fathers realized their kids were not insane
But now we're all executives too busy to recall
The days of righting what was wrong the words of writing on the wall

Chorus

Now don't misunderstand me 'cause I mean just what I say
Old pledges made in passion still should mean something today
You've done your bit don't go and sit behind your groaning board
And let the scrivener set down: you've given all you could afford

Chorus

Notes:
Appears on the Schooner Fare Cd 'Closer to the Wind' (Outer Green OGR8882) released 1981.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 13 Jul 07 - 04:34 PM

WarwickSlade

Thought you might like to know the number of covers stood at 358 up to November 2005.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 13 Jul 07 - 05:11 PM

Rog - have you been in touch with Sonny Ochs?   I know she would be interested, and she might have other leads.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 14 Jul 07 - 12:23 PM

Good idea Ron, but I'll finish what I've got first.

Subject: Lyr Add: PATRIOT'S DREAM (Arlo Guthrie)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 14 Jul 07 - 02:37 PM

PATRIOT'S DREAM
(Arlo Guthrie)

Living now here but for fortune
Placed by fate's mysterious schemes
Who'd believe that we're the ones asked
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Arise sweet destiny, time runs short
All of your patience has heard their retort
Hear us now for alone we can't seem
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Can you hear the words being whispered
All along the American stream
Tyrants freed the just are imprisoned
Try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Ah but perhaps too much is being asked of too few
You and your children with nothing to do
Hear us now for alone we can't seem
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Notes:
Included on the CD 'Amigo' (Rising Sun B0000030NA 1994) album originally released in 1976.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: GOLDFISH DON'T TALK BACK (Brenda Khan)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 15 Jul 07 - 11:06 AM

GOLDFISH DON'T TALK BACK
(Brenda Khan)

I used to get scared when the planes went by
I thought a Russian bomb would drop out of the sky
Thought I'd fight and die and go to heaven but I've
Learned some things since then

Like no one really knows what's 2+2
You can't always trust The Man in Blue
You may think the world gone mad
But baby they think it's you

Every candy store on the block sells crack
Every supreme court ruling is 3 steps back
There's acid rain in the drinking water,
But the goldfish they don't talk back

This song is for Phil Ochs
Who hung himself with a length of rope
He took his job seriously,
He weren't no 9 to 5 folk singer.
like the ones on MTV
That's what Kirk Kelly said to me
On the corner of Clinton and Houston Street where

Every candy store on the block sells crack
Every supreme court ruling is 3 steps back
There's acid rain in the drinking water,
But the goldfish they don't talk back

I went down to the laundry mat
There's a woman with a face like a Siamese cat
Trying to wash her only clothes, the clothes on her back
She's in a St. Vincent's wheelchair,
But it look like St. Vincent's doesn't care
She's a 60lb skeleton in underwear

Mr. President
The nation doesn't look secure
Are you sure what you spent
All our money for?

There's a great big hole
Where the sky used to be
And there's an asshole
On my TV who says
"Act now you get nine issues free
Plus an issue of women with an eating disease"

Every candy store on the block sells crack
Every Supreme court ruling it's 3 steps back
There's acid rain in the drinking water,
But the goldfish they don't talk back

....let's not be goldfish now.

Notes:
This was the title track of Brenda Kahn's first album, released in 1990. It is now available on CD (Soy Rock Argentina B000005YIG) 1995. (The lyrics on the liner notes of the copy of the CD I have spells Phil's surname 'Oaks')
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL MY HEROES ARE DEAD (Dar Williams)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 15 Jul 07 - 11:49 AM

ALL MY HEROES ARE DEAD
(Dar Williams)

You gotta admit Life magazine made 1968 look great,
My father said it sucked, everybody died.
All the troops you couldn't save, no one knew how to be brave,
He said sometimes you were afraid to turn your radio on.
It was enough to make you quit that peacenik scene.
Well I heard about leaders, yeah I hear they're no longer around
Cause peace was abandoned, and bravery hanged in his town.
And they passed down a sentence
For building on the beauty of some dream.

All my heroes are dead, I got them in my head, saying
Never again, never a war, no more fighting.
So I'll stay true to them, and they'll come home again,
I'll carry the light, follow the dream, I'll remember.

The '68 convention was a singing the times they are a-changing,
Well I guess they a-changed back.
Oh I miss those peaceful folk, love and humor when they spoke, hey
Phil Ochs you still sound great, should've stuck around to hear it.

They say that compact disc makes songs come true.
But Phil I never expected that I'd miss you like a friend,
Cause I never expected that we would be marching again.
And the soldiers of peace would tumble from this life as in a war.

All my heroes are dead, and all the books I read,
Said "This is greed, this is wrong, fight your war at home".
So I'll stay true to them, and they'll come home again,
I'll carry the light, follow the dream, I'll remember.

So back to the present passion, romance, love, or simply put a lack thereof.
Shall we go on?
I don't take it personally, it's our post-modern history,
You know since Nixon was impeached it's just been hard to commit,
So we cast our allegiance left and right.
But I always believed that our souls would come through.
So I never expected that you'd take her home with you.
And I never detected, how hardened and not sorry you could be.
Don't you know?

All our heroes are dead, we got ourselves instead.
And oh my friend, all your lies, they won't do you.
You gotta stay true to them, and they'll come home again,
I miss them too, I miss them too, you know I miss them
More than I love you.

Notes:
This song featured on the album of the same name, released as an independent cassette in 1991.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Mike B.
Date: 15 Jul 07 - 10:57 PM

You know since Nixon was impeached it's just been hard to commit,
So we cast our allegiance left and right.

Not to nitpick on Dar Williams' lyrics, but he was never actually impeached - resigned the presidency before that could happen.