A couple of notes on the Thresher --

Tom's a native of this part of New Hampshire -- I didn't move here until 1981 -- but we both remember when the Thresher went down.

Tom has noted that even back in the '60s and '70s, no one sang the song around here. And I've never heard it sung by anyone around here in the 25 years I've been part of this folk community. Too many people knew or were family to the men who went down with her.

The USS Thresher was lost in April 10, 1963 while conducting post overhaul deep diving exercises about 220 miles east of Boston, MA. When she went down she carried 6 officers and 96 enlisted men -- and 17 civilian technicians -- these "civilian technicians" all worked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. And most of the families still live in the New Hampshire-Maine Seacoast area.

Quotes from some of the family members and memories of the last words spoken from the Thresher can be found at Thresher Info Here

I sing mostly trad, but used to sing a few Phil Ochs' songs -- particularly "Changes" which seemed to be the perfect accompaniment to my early life. We've also been known to break into a few verses of "Draft Dodger Rag" or "The Power and the Glory" or "Outside a Small Circle of Friends". Too many good songs -- and I love his arrangements of "The Bells" and "They Highwayman".

Linn (going off to find her tapes of the LPs)