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