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Phil Ochs - The Party

DigiTrad:
AUTOMATION SONG
BOUND FOR GLORY
CHANGES
CHORDS OF FAME
DRAFT DODGER RAG
FLOWER LADY
HILLS OF WEST VIRGINIA
I AIN'T MARCHIN' ANYMORE
I'M GOING TO SAY IT NOW
IN THE HEAT OF THE SUMMER
IS THERE ANYBODY HERE?
JIM DEAN OF INDIANA
LINKS ON THE CHAIN
LOVE ME, I'M A LIBERAL
LOVE ME, I'M A LIBERAL
NO MORE SONGS
ONE MORE PARADE
OUTSIDE OF A SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
PHIL
PLEASURES OF THE HARBOR
SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
TALKING BIRMINGHAM JAM
THAT WAS THE PRESIDENT AND THAT WAS THE MAN
THAT WAS THE PRESIDENT, THAT WAS THE MAN 2
THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GONNA BE
THE POWER AND THE GLORY
THE WAR IS OVER
THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE
TOO MANY MARTYRS
WHAT'S THAT I HEAR? (FREEDOM CALLING)
WHEN I'M GONE


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(origins) Origins: Lou Marsh (Phil Ochs) (16)
Songs for/about Phil Ochs (134)
Lyr Add: Here's to the State of Mississippi (Ochs) (14)
Lyr Add: Knock On The Door (8)
Phil Ochs' Power and Glory-new national anthem (26)
Lyr ADD: In the Heat of the Summer (Phil Ochs) (13)
(origins) Origins: When I'm Gone (Phil Ochs) (40)
(origins) Origins: No More Songs (Phil Ochs) - Meaning (6)
Lyr Add: That's What I Want To Hear (Phil Ochs) (1)
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ADD: Songs by Phil Ochs (8)
Phil Ochs Intro to I ain't marching anymore (10)
Chord Req: All Quiet on the Western Front (P Ochs) (5)
Lyr Req: You Can't Get Stoned Enough (Phil Ochs) (13)
Lyr/Chords Req: Songs by Phil Ochs (6)
Lyr Add: Hands (Phil Ochs) (6)
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Medgar Evers' Murder: 50 Years Later - Phil Ochs (7)
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ADD: A Toast To Those Who Are Gone (Phil Ochs) (4)
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Lyr Req: Love Me I'm a Liberal (Phil Ochs) (17)
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There but for fortune/blowin in the wind (23)
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Lyr Add: Here's to the State of Mississippi (Ochs) (14)
Lyr Add: Knock on the Door (Phil Ochs) (1)
Lyr Add: 'Cops of the World' redux (8)
Chords Req: A Year to Go By (Phil Ochs) (15)
Phil Ochs Chords....Also Don McClean (8)
Tune Req: Outside of a Small Circle of Friends (7)
Lyr Add: Flower Lady (Phil Ochs) (6)
Lyr Add: /Correction: 'Changes' (Phil Ochs) (6)
Tune Req: Phil Ochs (7)
Lyr/Chords Req: Draft Dodgers Blues (4) (closed)
Lyr Req: Cops of the World (Phil Ochs) (3)
Chords: Draft Dodger Rag (12)
Chords Req: This Old World Is Changing Hands (Ochs (1)
Link: Phil Ochs Lyric Index (7)
Lyr Req: There But for Fortune (Phil Ochs) (25)
Lyr Req: Scorpion Departs But Never Returns (Ochs) (11)


Mick Pearce (MCP) 02 Jul 12 - 10:59 AM
Arkie 02 Jul 12 - 10:07 AM
Joe Offer 02 Jul 12 - 12:24 AM
Arkie 01 Jul 12 - 01:56 PM
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Subject: RE: Phil Ochs - The Party
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 02 Jul 12 - 10:59 AM

Joe - I think it's just lovers drawn out as lov-e-ers. Barring the odd and and ah, the lyrics above seem to be those on youtube.

Mick


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Subject: RE: Phil Ochs - The Party
From: Arkie
Date: 02 Jul 12 - 10:07 AM

To me, the song seems to be pictures of the social layer of society with uninvolvement being one key, shallowness another, and also takes a nice poke at the observer and reporter.

I found several sets of lyrics on the internet and finally used a set that seemed closest to my memory. Pleasures of the Harbor was a favorite album and among the first that I copied to the computer. Some of Ochs songs do not wear as well now as they once did but still like "Flower Lady" and "Pleasures of the Harbor".


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Subject: RE: Phil Ochs - The Party
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Jul 12 - 12:24 AM

"The Party" is on the 1967 Phil Ochs album, Pleasures of the Harbor. There's a YouTube recording of the song here (click).

I hear an additional word after "she steals a glance at lovers" in the "Wallflower" verse, but I can't make out what it is.

All I get out of the shrugging shoulders/piano tuning is that Ochs is an unnoticed and uninvolved observer. To me, the piece is reminiscent of Spoon River Anthology.

-Joe-


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Subject: ADD: The Party (Phil Ochs)
From: Arkie
Date: 01 Jul 12 - 01:56 PM

Admit to living in the past. Phil Ochs is still more interesting to me than Taylor Swift or Adele for that matter. Curious about lines from the Party. Is there any significance to lines:

And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.

Phil Ochs The Party Lyrics
Songwriters: OCHS, PHIL


THE PARTY
(Phil Ochs)

The fire-breathing Rebels arrive at the party early,
Their khaki coats are hung in the closet near the fur.
Asking handouts from the ladies, while they criticize the lords.
Boasting of the murder of the very hands that pour.
And the victims learn to giggle, for at least they are not bored.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


The Hostess is enormous, she fills the room with perfume,
She meets the guests and smothers them with greetings.
And she asks "how are you" as she offers them a drink,
The Countess of the social grace, who never seems to blink.
And she promises to talk to you, if you promise not to think.
And my shoulders had to shrug, as I crawled beneath the rug
And retuned my piano.


The Beauty of the hour is blazing in the present,
She surrounds herself with those who would surrender.
Floating in her flattery she's a trophy-prize, caressed.
Protected by a pretty face, sometimes cursed, sometimes blessed.
And she's staring down their desires, while they're staring down her dress.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


The egos shine like lightbulbs, so bright you cannot see them,
Blind each other blinder than a sandbox.
All the fury of an argument, holding back their yawns,
A challenge shakes the chandliers, the selfish swords are drawn.
To the loser go the hangups, to the victor go the hangers on.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


They travel to the table, the host is served for supper,
And they pass each other down for salt and pepper.
And the conversation sparkles as their wits are dipped in wine,
Dinosaurs on a diet, on each other they will dine.
Then they pick their teeth and they squelch a belch saying:
"Darling you tasted divine."
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


The Wallflower is waiting, she hides behind composure.
She'd love to dance and prays that no one asks her.
Then she steals a glance at lovers while her fingers tease her hair.
And she marvels at the confidence of those who hide their fears.
Then her eyes are closed as she rides away with a foreign legionaire.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


Romeo is reeling, counting notches on his thighbone,
Searching for one hundred and eleven.
And he's charming as a cherub as he leads you to his web,
Seducing queens and gypsy girls in the boudoir of his head.
Then he wraps himself with a tablecloth and pretends he is a bed.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


The party must be over, even the Losers are leaving.
But just one doubt is nagging at my caustic mind:
So I snuck up close behind me and I gave myself a kiss,
And I led myself to the mirror to expose what I had missed.
There I saw a laughing maniac who was writing songs like this.
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And retune my piano.


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