Songs for/about Phil Ochs

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Rog Peek
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 04:13 AM

Poetic licence?

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 02:33 AM

I have added another to the list. It's another version of 'I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs Last Night', this one by Jonathan Talbot. There is no recording, but the lyrics were published in "Sing Out" magazine Vol 40 No. 3 P. 116 (Dec '95 - Jan '96). Have the lyrics, will add later. That makes four songs which use Alfred Hayes' format and Earl Robinson's tune.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 02:45 AM

I have also added Mike Miller's and Tom Paxton's No. 2. So we now stand at 35 in total.

Subject: Lyr Add: I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 03:28 PM

I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
(Jonathan Talbot/Earl Robinson)

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you and me
Says I "But Phil you're decades dead"
"I never died" says he
"I never died" says he

"Phil, we need new songs"says I
"There's suffering in the land.
Good folks are hurting really bad"
Says Phil "I understand"
Says Phil "I understand"

" It's Robertson and Gingrich" Phil,
"And Liddy on the air,
They're preaching hate and cruelty"
Says Phil "Don't you despair"
Says Phil "Don't you despair"

"But Phil," says I "their words of hate
Are moving some to kill
With high speed guns and home made bombs"
"I know, I know" says Phil
"It makes me sad" says Phil

"The sadness broke my heart" says Phil
"My writing days are through,
Pick up your pen" he says to me
"'Cause now it's up to you
Now it's up to you"

"Write your songs" Phil says to me,
and sing them far and wide,
And every time you write and sing
I'll be there by your side"
He's right there by my side.

(Repeat first verse)

Notes:
The lyrics of this song were published in Sing Out magazine vol4 no.3 p. 116 (Nov/Dec'95/Jan'96).
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 03:42 PM

I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
(Mike Miller/Earl Robinson)

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.

Notes:
A letter from Eliot Kenin in Sing Out 25 no. 1 (May/June 1976) 72, includes this, the earliest known version of "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", written by Mike Miller of Philadelphia, circa 1965.
RP jul07

Subject: Lyr Add: HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD PHIL OCHS (Tom Paxton
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 04:08 PM

HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD PHIL OCHS
(Tom Paxton/Trad.)

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.

Notes:
Mike Miller said he sang his version of "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night" for Tom Paxton, and that 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". When I asked Tom about this, he said he had no recollection of the incident, but I'm guessing that Mike was probably more likely to have remembered it.

Subject: Lyr Add: GEZUNDHEIT (Will Oldham/Earl Robinson)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 11:36 AM

GEZUNDHEIT
(Will Oldham/Earl Robinson)

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you or me
Said I t' Phil "You're fifteen years 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.

Notes:
The whole song Gesundheit 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. The tune of the first verse is clearly that of Earl Robinson, however for the second and third verses the tune is different.
The song appears on 'Guarapero - Lost Blues 2' (Drag City B00004DS00) released 2000.
RP jul07

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 04:32 PM

I've not deserted this thread, I'm off to Ireland for a couple of weeks, I'll pick it up again when I get back.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Aug 07 - 05:02 PM

I've had some success with the missing songs.

It seems Richard Nardin plays with a group 'Barrowburn'http://www.barrowburn.net/ I emailed him and this was the reply:

Hi Roger,
    Yes I wrote "Song for Phil" a short time after his death in 1976.   It was recorded on an LP of my original songs that I released in 1983.    I don't have
a digital version of it but I was meaning to convert the LP to CD.    I get requests for recordings of some of the songs from time to time.      So I guess I will
have to get it done.    I will send you an mp3 of the song when its ready.

Thanks for your interest,
Richard Nardin

So I'll look forward to that.


Also managed to track down Jack Honig, he has a number of poems on the internet, one of which is the lyrics to 'Tribute to Phil Ochs'.
http://www.poemhunter.com/i/ebooks/pdf/jack_honig_2006_6.pdf

I need to try to contact him now for a recording

Subject: Lyr Add: TRIBUTE TO PHIL OCHS (Jack Honig)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Aug 07 - 05:12 PM

TRIBUTE TO PHIL OCHS
(Jack Honig)

When LBJ called for us to fight
When the Left were left and the Left were right
He sang of the country's wrongs
Until there were No More Songs

He wrote ballads by the score
But he Ain't Marchin' Anymore
Changes fanned embers into a flame
As he strummed The Chords of Fame

And if I live to be four score
He'll be marching evermore
Forever singing to the folks
Here's a tribute to Phil Ochs

A prophet, town crier and a rover
Informed us that The War Is Over
He left with his one-way Ticket Home
I can't believe that he is gone

No he never became a great legend
Outside a Small Circle of Friends
But to those who heard him well
He personified the Liberty Bell

Let freedom ring throughout the land
For all who sat while he took a stand
While some died on land and some at sea
I recall Remember Me

Oh, oh, how I miss him so
Where's the boy from Ohio
Chanting with vigour and with ardour
Of The Pleasures of the Harbor

Every composition made us want more
Waging peace and decrying war
Each note and chord held us dangling
His departure left all of us hanging

And though he met a fateful end
I still think of him as a friend
And in my heart I'll ever care
For he who taught us all to share

Oh his memory will live on
Long after he himself has gone
His music can still generate a tear
The troubadour we all hold dear

He recounted to us America's proud story
Stirred us all with the Power and the Glory
The Trial was a moving testament
In his Rehearsals for Retirement

In the Days of Decision he told of Another Age
His clarity of vision bespoke the public's rage
His Tape from California left us yearning
For The Song of his Returning

And if I live to be four score
He'll be marching evermore
Forever singing to the folks
Here's a tribute to Phil Ochs

Repeat last verse

Notes:
The song appears on 'Mirror Image' (Independent Cassette) released in 1991.
RP aug07

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL OCHS' FLAG (Orchestraville)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 06:23 PM

PHIL OCHS' FLAG
(Christopher Forbes)

You turned the lantern off because
your words of upstart would not stop
Without the fire nobody could see
That you were rolling up your left sleeve

So, you put your photograph into a
Bindle stick with a New York map
They took it when you were young
And there was nothing to it

And your fighting flag was a chin that wagged and another song
Don't you live to bury the very thing that you're counting on

Stars twinkle in your eye when they
Project your name on a marquee sky
They heard your heart beating
But open ears are fleeting yes

And your fighting drums were the clapping guns of another song
Don't you live to bury the very thing that you're counting on

So, why would we get along and let you sing
The last of your protest songs?
When all the candles and the lights go out
It gives you something you can talk about
You found peace without a doubt.

Notes:
This song appears on the Ochesraville album 'Poison Berries' (Anyway Records) released in 2005.
RP aug07

Subject: Lyr Add: NOT JUST ANOTHER FAD (Sam Walker)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 02:16 PM

NOT JUST ANOTHER FAD
(Sammy Walker)

If Hank had been a farmer would he still be here today
Ploughing fields of cotton, bringing in Alabama hay
Would he have grown into a grandpa with kids upon his knee
And tuned in the Grand Ole Opry along with you and me

Chorus
But you loved the way he sang the songs
And the special gift he had
Though he was here and gone in a flash of light,
He was not just another fad

If Elvis had been a preacher, preaching the gospel word
Would he have made us to believers, would we still have seen and heard
Would he have set out on a mission, a soul saving search
Would he have shook our hands on Sunday at a little white country church

Chorus

If Phil had been a teacher, teaching in the schools
Most likely political science, and bending all the rules
Would he have stayed up grading papers late into the night
With special care for a ghetto kid, to help him see the light

Chorus

If Tim had been a carpenter, working with his hands
Making things that will last with time, in the time for which it stands
Would he have set himself a standard to work for and achieve
Would he have still given us a reason, a reason to believe

Chorus

So we can criticise the way they lived and the way they died
But the songs they sang were all for us, in us they did confide
Behind the star upon the door, was a worn and broken crutch
Somehow I guess they gave us, gave us just a little too much.

But we loved the way they sang the songs
And the special gift they had
Though they were here and gone like a flash of light,
They were not just another fad
They were here and gone like a flash of light,
They were not just another fad.

Notes:
This song appears on 'Old Time Southern Dream' (Brambus) released in 1994, it has one verse(in italics) which refers to Phil. Re-released on CD 2003.
RP sept07

Subject: RE: WANTED: Contact for Jack Honig - Poet
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Sep 07 - 02:27 PM

Possible sightings Galgary or Toronto.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,kellyk
Date: 20 Sep 07 - 10:26 AM

Hi Rog. I'm a devoted phil ochs fan and would love to hear from you. not sure how to pm on mudcat yet, so feel free to email me at [e-mail]

Subject: Lyr Add: POET'S CRY (Len Wallace)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 26 Mar 08 - 06:52 PM

POET'S CRY (Song for Phil Ochs)
(Len Wallace)

See him stand, guitar in hand,
He sings the wonders of the land
And beckons to the beauty
Of a dream yet to be born.
See the shining flame
In a voice that cleaves the darkest hour
And cries for the burning cities
And the ship lost in the storm.

Chorus:
Did we listen to the words that he had to say?
And did we understand him when he turned away?
And the questions, the questions that he asked never fade away.

The poet seeks the truth
And anger spins his motion.
He laughs at the great ones
Spitting out the lies.
And through abandoned streets
The singer walks the lonely beat
Raising up his voice
and lays his heart out on the line.

Chorus

In the corridor of power and might
His voice cries in the darknest night
For the ones who lack the power
Forced to war and die.
And in the shame of order
He's locked from out the chamber
But he hammers on the door
And asks the reason why.

Chorus

The flowing of the time
Moves like a raging river
That sweeps away the memories
Of the ones who've come and gone.
But the poet walks the other shore
And there he sings for evermore.
He stands at the rivers edge
And we listen to his song.

This song appears on 'Culture Shocked' CD (2007)
RP Mar08

Subject: Lyr Add: SONG FOR PHIL (Richard Nardin)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 07:15 PM

SONG FOR PHIL
(Richard Nardin)

I was all alone when I first heard the news,
You surely took me by surprise.
Though I never walked a mile in your shoes,
Did a lot of looking through your eyes.

Chorus
And oh it's been a long long time,
Since you sang our trouble out in rhyme,
But I for one, won't soon forget,
The day those troubles became mine.

I tuned my guitar to an angry chord,
A heart song born to our time.
While a generation was gambled in vain,
And the dream turned bitter in the night.

Chorus

And so it's come to this, there'll be no more songs.
Down in the early morning light.
Their faces have long since left you alone,
The tears long have dried from their eyes.

Chorus

No I for one , won't soon forget,
The day those troubles became mine.

This song appeared on 'The Pencil Line' (Adirondack Records AR1009) released in 1983.
RP jul08

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 07:48 PM

Number of songs now stands at 37.

Have lyrics for 33 and recordings of 27.

No luck with title, lyrics or recording of Abbie Hoffman's song.

Still trying to make contact with Jack Honig.

Still nothing atall on:
Remember Phil Ochs by Voice of Reason
Death of a Rebel by Bruce Pegg
For Phil (and others) by Blanks

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 13 Jul 08 - 02:52 PM

Just had an email from Richard Nardin (SONG FOR PHIL) with a correction to the lyrics in the third line of the chorus, and the title of the album which I had as 'Pencil Lines'. I have corrected these errors. If you have a copy of David Cohen's Bio-bibliography, you might like to pencil in (no pun intended) the correction to the album title on page 296).
Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 03:07 PM

In my quest for info' on Voice of Reason, Blanks and Bruce Pegg, from time to time, I repeat searches on the net, including putting the names in on Utube. Earlier today it paid off, a clip of a Bruce Pegg had been posted on the 30th August this year. His email address contained the word peggasaurus, the same name as the record label on which 'Death of a Rebel' was recorded, so I was pretty sure it was him.

Following an exchange of emails, Bruce is sending me a copy of the CD 'Brief Encounter' on which 'Death of a Rebel' is recorded, I'll post the lyrics as soon as they arrive.

Back to searching..............

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 12 Sep 08 - 07:48 PM

Great to hear when repetitive searching pays off.

Subject: Lyr Add: STANDING IN YOUR MEMORY (Jen Cass)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 05:36 PM

STANDING IN YOUR MEMORY (for Phil Ochs)
(Jen Cass)

I made an accidental pilgrimage
To city streets you left behind
Found myself standing in your memory
Almost forty years before this time

When you walked proudly
Through the city that you loved,
Those buildings high above, they
Used to guide you on your way
And maybe I'm a stranger in a legendary town
But I walk hallowed ground,
And I still feel you here today.

I took the subway down to Bleecker Street
Stood outside The Bitter End
You got your start inside these red brick walls
But you won't be coming back again

Too many martyrs and
Far too many dead,
Isn't that what you said
Somehow you let it be again
You became another tragedy, a casualty of war
What were we fighting for, if you
Ain't Marchin' Anymore?

In your rehearsals for retirement
You said you died in '68
Content Chicago stole your soul away
To take your life they'd have to wait

The years of silence when
The madness raged
And you couldn't fill a page
But thought you had nothing left to say,
And no one took an interest in a rebels dying words
But you were always heard,
And we're still listening today.

We hear your voice in every alleyway
Spilling out of passing cars
The new disciples of the Broadside years
The Chords of Fame in every bar

Time will always bring
The tallest to their knees,
But you live on in name
And every troubadour who dares to rage,
A mighty protest with the beauty that remains
In ugly times of change,
Tells the truth from every stage.

Notes: This song is on the album 'Accidental Pilgrimage' (Jen Cass B0014EOQU6) released in 2006.
RP Sept08

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DAY (They Might Be Giants)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 02:17 PM

THE DAY
(John Flansburgh/John Linnell)

The day Marvin Gaye and Phil Ochs got married
The trees all waved their giant arms
And happiness bled from every street corner
And biplanes bombed with fluffy pillows

The day Marvin Gaye and Phil Ochs got married
The trees all waved their giant arms
And happiness bled from every street corner
And biplanes bombed with fluffy pillows

Notes: Not one of my favourites, and I certainly don't purport to understand it. Featured on the They might Be Giants album by the same name, released on Bar/None records (AHAON 002) in 1986. Was rereleased on Restless Records in 1993.
RP Sept08

Subject: Lyr Add: LEGENDS (Sammy Walker)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 02:37 PM

LEGENDS
(Sammy Walker)

The first time that I called you in that old New York hotel
It was Halloween all over with that trick you played so well
I woke you up from dreaming singing songs of yesterday
We took a drive to Newport to hear St. Peter play

Chorus
Dust on you mouth, legends on your mind
Hanging out with Bogart in some bygone place and time
Sing me your sweet 'Changes' when I'm feeling down and blue
And I'll treasure precious hours that I stole away with you

Oh the muggy nights in Soho, I had so much to learn
You gave me wings to fly away and asked for no return
Lon Chaney's ghost beside us wore the face of Mickey Finn
And I never once suspected that you and he were friends

Chorus

The last time that I saw you, you weren't really even there
I cried when I heard you come across out on the air
You bid your last farewell just like your first hello
And I'll always think about you when I pass through Ohio

Chorus

Notes: When Sammy had been noticed by Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen, Phil, or 'John Train' as he had begun to call himself, set about promoting Sammy and helped produce his first album 'Song for Patty'. Phil sang vocals on Sammy's cover of Bound for Glory, and that was the last time he would be heard on record. Legends appeared on Blue Ridge Mt. Skyline (Warner Bros BS3080) released in 1977.
RP Sept08

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: DEATH OF A REBEL (Bruce Pegg)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 01 Oct 08 - 02:21 PM

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.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PEOPLE'S FOLKSINGER (Bob A Feldman)
From: GUEST,bob f
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 10:30 PM

Another eulogistic folk song for/about Phil Ochs, "The People's Folksinger," was written shortly after his death in 1976. Following are the lyrics:

THE PEOPLE'S FOLKSINGER
(Bob A Feldman)

Up there on the stage, they're singing your songs
Yet something seems strange and something seems wrong
At events like this
You were always there
For you were The People's Folksinger.

You quit writing news and grasped the guitar
You composed many tunes and sang in the bars
You exposed the truth
Just like Woody's heir
For you were The People's Folksinger.

Through long years of war, your poems said it all
Despite gaining fame, you still served the Cause
The tyrants that rule
Your voice brought them fear
For you were The People's Folksinger.

They sent their police to keep you in line
Their radio sounds excluded your mind
You felt more sad
And created no more
But you were The People's Folksinger.

I wish you still lived in these changing times
I wish you were here to sing of new crimes
Your memory
New songs inspires
For you were The People's Folksinger.

Notes: From Bob:-"Glad you found The People's Folksinger lyrics of interest. I wrote this eulogistic folk song for Phil when I was living out in Berkeley, California, shortly after Phil's death in April 1976." RP Oct08

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 02:50 PM

Does anyone have any info' on this song posted by bobf. Who wrote it? Was it recorded? Tune? etc?
I PMed bobf, but he's not picked it up yet.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: bobad
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 03:01 PM

Rog, I don't think you can PM bob f as he is posting as a guest. If you clicked on the PM beside his name it comes up with another member who has BOB as part of his name.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 03:08 PM

Thanks bobad, silly me. Apologies to youngestBOBfan, silly me.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 03:26 PM

Rog, evidently Bob f is Bob Feldman, link below:


http://bfeldman68.blogspot.com/2007/06/peoples-folksinger-for-phil-ochs.html

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 04:04 PM

I also found this bio info on his MySpace, quite possible HE wrote "The People's Folksinger"

Bob A. Feldman started writing and singing protest folk songs in the Guthrie-Ochs tradition during the politically and culturally turbulent 1960s. Some of his protest folk songs were written in the dormitories of Columbia University or inside some Upper West Side apartment buildings. After being suspended from Columbia University for political reasons following the April-May 1968 Columbia University Anti-War Student Revolt, Feldman continued to write protest folk songs during the following four decades on a non-commercial basis. He also has written a lot of love songs and occasionally sings at folk music club song swap sessions. If you're an anti-war music fan, like topical folk songs, and believe that folk music should be used mainly as a tool for radical democratic social change (and not used just to entertain people or just for commercial purposes), then you'll probably be interested in listening to Bob A. Feldman sing some of the 200 protest folk songs and folk love songs he's written since the 1960s.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 09 Nov 08 - 04:00 PM

I emailed Bob and he confirmed that he did write the song. I have credited it with his name on the posting.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 09 Nov 08 - 08:07 PM

Hopefully, he will be able to provide a recording.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 10 Nov 08 - 01:33 PM

email from Bob:

Hi Rog,

Glad you found The People's Folksinger lyrics of interest. I wrote this eulogistic folk song for Phil when I was living out in Berkeley, California, shortly after Phil's death in April 1976.

The People's Folksinger folk song was recorded at home on a cheap cassette tape recorder in the late 1970s; and it was just posted on the mp3.com site at the following link, if you want to listen to how this folk song from the 1970s sounds when it's sung:

http://www.mp3.com/artist/bobafeldman/summary/

all the best,
bob

Subject: Lyr Add: IF PHIL OCHS WAS STILL ALIVE (T Flannery)
From: oldhippie
Date: 22 Nov 08 - 06:06 PM

Just found this one:

IF PHIL OCHS WAS STILL ALIVE
(Tom Flannery)

Sometimes I'm still hesitant
to say what I want to say
afraid of what people might think
if I really joined the fray
but then I'll hang my head some
and onward will I strive
afraid what Phil Ochs would do
if he was still alive

The friends he had are just like mine
a selective sort of crew
they'll stop by when they need a hand
and then look at you askew
when you talk about the killing
being done in our own name
they'll make a rush towards the door
not wanting to take the blame

They say Phil Ochs killed himself
but that was never true
he was killed by those around him
on his search for lost virtue
like a tree they chopped from the bottom up
chipped away his psyche
until there wasn't enough to stand no more
and he no longer cared to be

Well these are crazy times we're living in
and I sure could use some help
everybody's gagged with the flag
I end up talking to myself
some nights I go out walking
or for a long lonely drive
and I think how things might be different
if Phil Ochs was still alive

Notes: The song is not available on any recording, however Tom had made a demo in 2003 and kindly sent me an mp3. This is what Tom said about Phil:

“Seems every songwriter starts with Dylan...and then follows that path to where it leads. Eventually, it led to Ochs....whom I've always admired for his willingness to, as Frederick Douglass called it, "agitate agitate agitate".

When I heard Here's to the State of Mississippi, I thought, here's a guy with balls. He was singing about what everybody else was thinking, but afraid to say out loud. And he was saying it in such a way (not cloaked in Dylanesque metaphors) that there could be no doubt what you were hearing.

They don't make 'em like Ochs anymore. Closest we have nowadays in James McMurtry out of Texas.”

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 07:14 PM

I emailed Tom Flannery and he very kindly sent me a reply with mp3 attached :-

Roger,

I had to dig it up. I knew I cut a solo demo of it back in 2003. I always meant to go back and add a break to it but never did. Maybe I should....

I've attached the song here....

Cheers...

tf

You can visit Tom's web site here Tom Flannery

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL'S SONG (Bruce Piephoff)
From: oldhippie
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 05:30 PM

PHIL'S SONG
(Bruce Piephoff)

You were a gentle dreamer born in Texas
Growing up on the movies you saw
Soon you moved to New York City
There was John Wayne to take the place of paw

You used to stare out the window wondering
Just where those roads were going to
Combed your hair back and wore James Dean's red jacket
Dreamed of boxing like Brando used to do

Love your mother, go to church, kick some ass
It's white milk turning into red wine
Johnny Cash and Elvis would still be there
John Train gone too far down the mile

Come the sixties you were marching freedom
Left your lady for the lyrics of a song
And you captured the spirit of the decade
Cried like a baby when the Kennedys were gone

I listened to you sing about Kentucky
And the coal miners and the badness of the war
You were there in Chicago
Then you weren't marchin' anymore

Lost your voice, you were mugged down in Africa
Richard Nixon was elected, the light failed
Then came the bottle and the bouts with depression
Ending up in Far Rockaway where you set sail

You couldn't write no more 'cause you were depressed
You weren't depressed because you couldn't write
You hung yourself because you were ashamed
Of the hurt Train brought your friends in manic blight

An American decade had gone crazy
Your ups and downs had mirrored what you saw
Some had clapped their hands for the folksong
'Til the folksong wasn't happening anymore

You spiraled from the top down to the bottom
Rehersals for retirement at thirty four
John Train dared to take over
When your friends couldn't listen to any more

What happened to the pleasures of the harbor
What happened to the ties that never bind
Phil, I guess perhaps it don't really matter
Outside a small circle of friends

Notes: This is part of an email I received from Bruce:-
"Thanks for including my song, "Phil's Song" from my 2000 CD release, FRINGELAND, on Flyin' Cloud Records.
I wrote the song about Phil because of my love of his music. I began playing and writing in the late 60s when Phil was still around and felt the tragic loss when he died young. I wrote the song back in the mid seventies but finally recorded in 2000. I was greatly influenced by great songwriters like Phil and Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Tom Waits, etc."

Fringeland is still available, vist Bruce's site Bruce Piephoff

Subject: Lyr Add: WHAT PRICE THE GLORY OF ONE MAN
From: Rog Peek
Date: 28 Nov 08 - 01:36 PM

WHAT PRICE THE GLORY OF ONE MAN (for Phil Ochs)
(Anne McMenamin)

We were never old friends - I didn't even know you.
I did meet you once but I didn't understand.
But whenever I hear your music I love you.
I want to reach back in time and just hold your hand.
For the power of your passion and the glory of your reason,
They ring through your songs like a clear tenor bell,
Why wasn't your caring reflected back to you,
To warm and enfold you, and nourish your soul?

When despair drives a man to take his own life,
We all stand defeated by unrightable wrong.
But the loss is more keen and the failure more damning,
When the heart was so brave and the voice was so strong.
For you cut through the bull-shit, you scorned the pretensions,
You sang as you saw, and your vision was true.
In a sea of romantics and band-waggon jumpers,
The liberal soft-option was no option for you.

I can't hear, "When I'm gone", but tears overtake me,
Did you know what was coming? Was the dark always there?
And I wish there'd been someone to sit down beside you –
Sit close beside you, as close as the air.
For you laughed at the lies, sang over the guns,
Stood up for the right, gave all you could give,
You should have stood tall, and we should have told you,
That you could be proud – proud enough to live.

But the past can't be changed - there's no point in wishing,
"Why nots" and "Why wasn'ts" cannot right the wrong.
And now that you're gone, we'll sing your songs for you,
And we can assure you, there will be more songs.
For the poor are still poor, the guns are still blazing,
And still there is beauty that words can't recall.
You left us your songs, at what price the glory?
But the glory of the future shall rest on us all.


Notes: Anne wrote this song in 2006 and this is what she said in an email to me: "One of the things I have found from communicating with people about Phil Ochs is that he evinces a strong emotional response - people feel very intensely about him. I think this is why so many people have been moved to write songs."

You can listen to Anne singing the song acapella here. Anne McMenamin
RP Nov2008

Subject: Lyr Add: VAN RONK (Tom Russell)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 04 Dec 08 - 12:38 PM

VAN RONK
(Tom Russell)

He had a little apartment on Sheridan Square in New York,
Had it almost forty years. They say Dylan slept on the couch once,
And Phil Ochs, during his final psychotic days,
When Phil called himself John Train and sat up all day on the sofa
Cutting up National Geographics, making whacked out collages,
And threatening peoples lives with scissors.
Then Phil Ochs hung himself in Far Rockaway.
But Dave Van Ronk tried to watch over all of them
Every kid who walked in wide-eyed with a guitar and song fragment
They called Dave The Pope of Greenwich Village
And I sat on his couch a few times and
It was better than any hundred-dollar shrink or hooker.
His second wife Andrea is a beautiful little woman who plays classical harp
And Dave would direct her to play records as we sat there and drank
Then he'd tell us to shut up and listen
And if we didn't listen Van Ronk would command her to play a song
Again and again, until we got it, like "Play that goddamned thing again Andrea,
Play it, now listen to this goddamned thing you people,
Listen to this goddamned song you people.
And he'd close his eyes, boy would we listen,
We'd try to clear out our drunken heads and listen deep.
And then that big magic glass pitcher of white wine would appear
With an ice cube shaft down the middle,
Magically refilled in the kitchen, gallons of it.
And Van Ronk would cough and close his eyes
And suck on a forbidden cigarette until he was finally asleep,
Passed out, snoring and muttering on the couch
And you could hear his smoke destroyed lungs struggling to clear the air
And we all staggered down those stairs
That little rent controlled apartment with all its books and Micronesian art
And guitars and harps and cigarette smoke, wine bottles and folk ghosts
And wonderful, wonderful stories, and the magic glass pitcher of white wine.
We all loved Dave van Ronk,
He was The Pope of Greenwich village goddamn it.
And when he died they had all the appropriate tributes,
I heard they even named a street after him in New York City.
But who the hell can conjure up those nights we spent,
Feeling honoured and blessed by The Pope
Melting into a couch, hearing him rant and rave and tell old stories.
That's the way it was, sinking further and further into that couch.
Giving us benediction with a cigarette stub, ashes flying everywhere,
As some new guitar or poet kid walked through.
We were wondering if Dylan dropped any songs between the cushions
That were still down there. All we found was old pennies.
So go down to the village, do yourself a favour one of these days,
And put your ear to the ground over there near Sheridan Square.
Listen to him, goddamn it, listen, he's still there, listen to Dave Van Ronk.
"Play that goddamned song again Andrea, play it, play it,
Play that goddamned Dave Van Ronk song one more time."
I can hear him coughing, singing, barking, lecturing, and laughing
Ranting and raving in heaven or hell or purgatory, oblivion, nirvana
Wherever they send the real good ones after they pass on through,
And their earthly gig is over……. (clears his throat twice) Mmmmm
(Dave Van Ronk sings): -
"I got a letter from my home, most of my friends dead and gone,
They can't worry, they can't wonder about times to come.
My old mother said to me 'So young and foolish child you can't see
Now I ain't got no mother, my sister and my brother turned their back on me…..
(fade out)

Notes: This was a difficult one, really didn't know whether to include it. The 'song', at least the version I have heard, is spoken, with a musical accompaniment, and although there are a few lines about Phil Ochs, it is, as the title suggests about Dave Van Ronk. I discussed it with oldhippie, and I agree with him when he pointed out, "the few lines are well done, and should be included on merit".
In order that the part about Phil can be appreciated in the context of the whole song, I have included the whole song, but italicised those lines about Phil.
The song is included on "Veteran's Day-The Tom Russell Anthology" (Shout Factory B001G7EGRE)released in 2008.
RP Dec08

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 28 Dec 08 - 08:10 PM

Hello All

Hope you had a great Christmas and here's wishing you all Good Health and Happiness in the New Year.

Just thought I'd give an update on the search:

I still have no information at all on:
1. For Phil and Others - by Blanks (If This Had Been An Actual Emergency, Falsified Records OX752, 1990)
2. Remember Phil Ochs – by Voice of Reason (Voice of Reason, Tomorrow Records TLP-21088, 1987)

Have no recording of Tribute To Phil Ochs by Jack Honig (Mirror Image, Independent Cassette, 1991)
Have been unable to contact artist.

Have been unable to locate recording of (Song for) Brother Phil –by Abbie Hoffman, have some of lyrics transcribed from interview he gave on 'Chords of Fame' biopic.

There are no recordings of the following:
1.I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night by Mike Miller
2.I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night by Johnathan Talbot
3.Hang Down Your Head Phil Ochs by Tom Paxton

I believe there is a song out there written by Rob Pfeffer called 'John Train', but had no luck yet. Not been confirmed, so not included in the list.

Of the 45 songs confirmed I have lyrics for 42 and recordings of 38.

Rog

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,auerworld
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 09:06 AM

What an amazing thread! What an amazing project!

Thank you for sending this out. It's nice to see how many artists remember "those who came before"- and especially Phil.

Subject: Lyr Add: SONG FOR PHIL (OCHS) (Kevin Kerr)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 15 Jan 09 - 04:44 AM

SONG FOR PHIL (OCHS)
(Kevin Kerr)

Phil my friend, you say you've travelled long
Fought all kinds of wars, played the game too strong
But when you're born to wander, there's nothing left to do
Just know the fact there's lightening in your shoes
You can't stop when you want to, gotta sleep under the rain
Can't stay with a woman, they never help the pain.

Reading the New York Times and writing all night long
It's a shame that no-one understood your songs
And the words had a meaning, but they cut you one by one
They called you a rebel who wrote a patriotic song
But when you're born to wander, there's nothing left to do
Just know the fact there's lightening in your shoes
You can't stop when you want to, gotta sleep under the rain
Can't stay with a woman, they never help the pain.
No they never stopped the rain.

Notes: Kevin Kerr is a singer/songwriter from Rochester N.Y. The song was released as the 'B' side of a 45 rpm single (Gaslight Productions 1017) 1980. The 'A' side was "Music Man", and musicians on the record included Joe Piszczek - acoustic guitar, Rise Reimondo and Andrea Tarr - harmonies. This and other songs by Kevin can be downloaded here .

RP jan09

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BALLAD OF JOHN TRAIN (Phil Ochs)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 18 Jan 09 - 12:22 PM

THE BALLAD OF JOHN TRAIN
(John Train/Phil Ochs)

Phil Ochs checked into the Chelsea Hotel,
There was blood on his clothes and they were dirty.
I could see by his face he was not feeling well,
He'd been to one too many parties.
He walked in the lobby a picture of doom,
It was plain to see he'd been a-drinkin'
I had to follow him up to his room,
To find out what he was thinking
"Train, Train, Train"
From the outlaw in his brain
But he's still the same refrain

He walked in his room and he fell on the floor
Hanging in his hangover
Now the act from the stage he plays on the street
Handing out piles of money
His audience now is the bums that he meets
Is he a phony or funny?

Notes: I don't know why I didn't think of this one before. - It is well documented that Phil suffered from manic depression, and in 1975 when he had descended into a state of drunken, hostile depression, he attempted to escape reality by taking on a different persona.   This persona was named John Butler Train, and as Phil explained later "On the first day of summer 1975, Phil Ochs was murdered in the Chelsea Hotel by John Train who is speaking now………." During this period, Larry Sloman, a friend, encouraged Phil to work through this episode by writing songs. One of the songs he wrote as John Train was this one and it was recorded by Larry Sloman.
RP jan09

Subject: Add Lyr: ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SING (Al Baker
From: Rog Peek
Date: 14 Mar 09 - 05:31 PM

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SING
(Al Baker)

Well I woke up one night screaming
At the wall I thought was moving
But the rope around your neck
Kept getting tighter
The harder I was pulling

You said "Hey, I'm just a shadow"
And I said I agreed
But I thought you had a guitar
And a microphone
But all the strings were missing

You said talking was too easy
And then sent me back to sleep
Then you took the rope from round your neck
And tied it to my feet
Left me stolen cryptic lyrics for a song
When I found out you were gone


I went out the next day breathing
But undoubtedly alive
And I saw your stories flowing
Through the ambulances
And the morning papers

I had to stop dead when I realised
I could never say goodbye
And even Dylan got to sing to Woody Guthrie
On his bed as he lay dyin'

But what's become of Bobby now
Will not become of me
I swear to you my music will respect your memory
Woody's, Johnny's, Strummer's and Joe Hill
Most of all to Phil

Chorus:
Every time you sing to me
There's a ringing in my ears
All the news that's fit to sing
Is fit to cause a tear
And I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you or me
Said I to Phil "You're thirty years dead"
"I never died." said he
"I never died." said he

Oh the dreams I've had of sitting with you
Anywhere with seats
Talking long into the night
Over bottled beer and marijuana cigarettes

'Cause I'm sure you could have told me more
Than I will ever know
About people, love and freedom
And how the grass sways in Virginia when the wind blows

And then you would have played me
'I ain't marchin' anymore'
Because you'd know it means as much today
As it ever did before
There but for fortune
There for the grace of fate we'd be

Chorus

I sit here sometimes thinking about
Why you had to die
Was it money or your mind
Or were you hounded to the graveyard by the FBI?

I guess you'd say it doesn't matter
Like you sang in 'When I'm Gone'
It takes more than that to shatter
All the wisdom in the words of
One who died so young

You told us "step outside the guidelines
Make your own reality"
And a protest must be beautiful in ugly times like these.
You never once conceded
You sang everything that needed to be said

Chorus

Notes: Al wrote this about the song in Mar 2009: "I wrote my song about Phil a little under three years ago, I think, he remains an enormous influence on me and my songwriting."

RP Mar2009

Subject: Lyr: I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT (Gunnery
From: Rog Peek
Date: 07 Apr 09 - 04:41 PM

I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
(Mark Gunnery)

And some songs are harder than other ones to write
And some songs hang out in my head late at night
And they haunt me, they taunt me, tell me what to do
Yeah they haunt me, they taunt me, tell me what to do

And I can't sleep for shit while they're over my bed
And the words are all leather and the melody lead
And I make a noose out of metallic thread
And hang my guitar from its fucking head

And I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
His feet dangling over the bathroom floor
And I turned my head and I turned off the light
And I marked off another casualty of the cold war.

And if my mind cracks like some folks always said
That it would that it would that it would that it would
And my my eyes turn to glass and my tail turns to wood

Then just sing to me and I will remember
That one time I wasn't blind.
Yeah just sing to me and I will remember
That one time I wasn't blind.


Notes: Mark Gunnery has been described as an anarchist folk singer, part of the collective riotfolk. The title would suggest another version of the Hayes/Robinson song. This is not the case however both lyrics and melody are original, and features on the CD 'Split with Dragonzord (2006).
Mark and Brenna Sahatjain included a collaboration of this song on 'Rise Like Lions' 2006, and Brenna's version (below) with some alteration to the lyric appears on 'To Each Idle Arrow (2006).

RP April09

And some songs are harder than other ones to write
and some songs hang out in my head late at night.
They haunt me they taunt me tell me what to do
and follow me out at night under the moon.

And I can't sleep for shit while their over my bed
the words are all leather and the melody lead
I make a noose out of metallic thread
and hang that guitar by its dissonant head

and I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
his feet were dangling over the bathroom floor
I just turned my head, and turned off the light
and marked another casualty of the cold war.

And if my head cracks like some folks always said that it would
and my heart turns to stone and my tail turns into wood
just sing to me and I will remember that one time I was not blind
just sing to me and I will remember how the colors held up the light.

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 07 Apr 09 - 05:00 PM

Oldhippie has turned up another:

"I Was At Johnny's And He Played Phil Ochs" by Minmae

I tried transcribing the lyric, but couldn't understand some of the words, so had to give up.

it seems that Robert Hoyt wrote and recorded a song called 'Hell No But The Money's Good' on 'Dumpster Driving Across America'. I have been trying to contact him.

I have added Minmae's, Mark Gunnery's and Robert Hoyt's to the list which now stands at 49.

Rog

Subject: Lyr Add: I WAS AT JOHNNY'S AND HE PLAYED PHIL OCHS
From: Rog Peek
Date: 11 Apr 09 - 05:16 AM

I WAS AT JOHNNY'S AND HE PLAYED PHIL OCHS
(Sean Brooks)

I was at Johnny's and he played Phil Ochs
At the Paradox
The waitress asked about their punk politics
Their punk politics
They didn't leave a tip, those gutterpunks
Community service
Doesn't mean killing off the innocent

In Portland it rains
But its a soft rain with a mist like December
And the kids remember
The kids they all grow up and they remember

I was at Johnny's and he played Phil Ochs

Notes: Sean Brooks leads the group Minmae and this song appeared on their album 'Le Grand Essor de la Maison du Monstre' (Greyday Productions) 2006.
Here is an extract from an email I received from Sean:
"Thanks for getting in touch. I'm happy to pass along the lyrics to you. I should tell you though, the song isn't as much about Phil Ochs as much as it is about the friend who turned me onto his music, and also Portland, the place I live. ......"

RP April09

Subject: Lyr Add: I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
From: Rog Peek
Date: 20 Apr 09 - 01:59 PM

I DREAMED I SAW PHIL OCHS LAST NIGHT
(Gary L. Baran/Earl Robinson)

I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night
Alive as you and me
Says I "But Phil your ten years dead."
"It's true I died" says he "it's true I died" says he.

"There's no place in this world for me,
There's no place I belong,
But though I'm gone, you carry on
My legacy of song, my legacy of song."

"Whenever men are off to war,
When bombs begin to fall,
It's there you'll find my voice and song to say
'Don't heed the call', to say 'Don't heed the call'."

"From Frisco Bay to Harvard Yard,
Across the USA,
At colleges in every town,
It's there you'll hear me say, it's there you'll hear me say:

That I ain't marching anymore'
Ain't goin' over there,
It's time to stop the killing now,
The war is over I declare, it's over I declare."

Notes: Came across a reference to this one in David Cohen's book. The song was published in Sing Out! vol. 36 No2 (1991). I am not aware of any recording having been made.

RP April09

Subject: RE: Songs for/about Phil Ochs
From: Rog Peek
Date: 29 Sep 09 - 04:46 PM

Finally got in touch with Jack Honig, after over 2 years of searching.
Copy of 'Mirror Image' on its way shortly. Already have lyrics for 'Tribute to Phil Ochs' but I'll be pleased to add the recording to the rest.

Out of the 23 listed in David Cohen's bio-bibliography I have now managed to get recordings of 21.

Still outstanding are:

BLANKS - 'For Phil (Ochs) and Others' (If This Had Been An Actual Emergency, Falsified Records OX752, 1990)

VOICE OF REASON - 'Remember Phil Ochs' (Voice of Reason, Tomorrow Records TLP-21088, 1987)

Rog

Subject: Lyr Add: PHIL OCHS AS I KNEW HIM (David Kleiner)
From: Rog Peek
Date: 02 Apr 10 - 02:23 PM

PHIL OCHS AS I KNEW HIM
(David Kleiner)

Sometimes on a quiet Sunday Night at the Main Point
Before he was well known
There'd be just a few of us out there for the evening show
And he'd rap to the crowd about this world of ours
From the news that he'd read that day
He'd make us all laugh and see things a different way

Chorus
And he'd come out on stage with that battered old Gibson
Each strum is louder than I ever heard before
Singing his songs of yesterday's ideals
Songs of love, songs of war

The tunes were simple, so were the chords
And his voice would kinda' shake when he'd sing
But you'd hear each word 'cause the lyrics were the thing
I was in High School back in those days
But I'd always find a way
When he came to Philly' I'd here him play

Chorus

Sixty Eight in Chicago I saw him again, he'd reached the height of his fame
We lost touch in Chicago, we all had changed
Last night two friends from my past called me up
To tell me what they hadn't read
Phil Ochs hung himself 'cause the words wouldn't come
My high school hero was dead.

Chorus

Notes: This song appears on "The News That's Fit To Sing" (David Kleiner 884401003087) released 2008. Dedicated to Phil Ochs, the title is similar to Phil's classic 60's album, 'All The News That's Fit To Sing'.

RP April10

Subject: Lyr Add: MARCHING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS (Brian Griffin
From: Rog Peek
Date: 03 Apr 10 - 02:55 PM

MARCHING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS
(Brian Griffin)

I am
Marching in your footsteps
Going down the path you blazed
Heading, towards the end of the journey
Trying not to stray and lose my way

First heard about you from the Clash
They sang a verse from one of your songs
Gave you the credit that you were due
Planted a seed in me that grew

And I am here I'm marching
Marching in your footsteps
Up on the Oval singing your songs
Your words are still full of power
And they ring true and strong

Then I read about you in the Lantern
Tenth anniversary of your death
Article said you couldn't go on
And you couldn't take another breath

Well here I am I'm marching
Marching in your footsteps
Going down the path you blazed
Heading-towards the end of the journey
Trying not to stray and lose my way

I read all the books I could about you
Watched all the videos and listened to your songs
It always breaks my heart when I get to the part
When you felt that you could not go on
Now many years have passed since that day
That you are no longer with us
But your word rings on and it's growing
In all the people that you touched

And we are here we're marching
Marching in your footsteps
Taking your words to the streets
The world is still worth saving
And we're telling everyone that we meet

Marching
Marching in your footsteps
We're on the Oval singing your songs
Your words are still full of power
And they're ringing true and strong
Phil, You are never truly gone

I am marching in your footsteps

Notes: Written by Columbus singer/songwriter Brian Griffin. Recorded live at the OSU South Oval during the Ohio Hempfest 2009. To my knowledge, it has not yet been released on a CD.

RP April10