I first met Phil in 1968. I was 16, working my butt off for Gene McCarthy. There was a rally at Tiger stadium. Phil played. After the music and speeches were over , Phil came and talked to the kids working the rally. I saw him many times. He was at virtually every demonstration I ever went to. After Kent State, I moved to Dublin for 10 years. When I heard Phil had hanged himself, I cried for days. His music helped make me who I am, an activist, working for people’s rights.😊
Yet this land is still troubled by men who have to hate they twist away our freedom and they twist away our faith law is there Weapon treason is there cry we can stop them if we try.
The voice we need today. His songs about war, civil rights, labor, and automation are just as relevant today. What I like about Ochs is he just says what he means. He doesn't cloak is views in metaphors like Dylan does. Both great, but I prefer Ochs because he just says what he means.
@@gillygil8747 Lol. A joke? or was he a singer? Either way, the Left has no humor and can't laugh at themselves. A genius and it had nothing to do with his politics. Just good melodies and lyrics. About 20 songs are worth my attention. ruclips.net/video/m4MAF1o1AMs/видео.html rate 9. Men Behind the Guns . lyrics not written by Ochs. The men below who fight the foe oh the men behind the guns! ruclips.net/video/JUpE3hEXpL4/видео.html Changes . love this morbidity. 10 ruclips.net/video/sxDD9CV-XJ4/видео.html When I'm Gone. Sweet beautiful song rate 9 ruclips.net/video/_0BeEHXjXIM/видео.html there but for fortune .rate 9 ruclips.net/video/lfkhBGWkQrs/видео.html Cross my Heart. Moving, strings and orchestration make the song. rate 9. ruclips.net/video/XZCr3VYZEi8/видео.html Celia. rate 9. A fascist prisoner sings a song to his lady. Corny by gut-wrenching. When will i lie beside my Celia neath the tree oh when will Celia come to me? (Listen to this song and feel the tears almost fall) ruclips.net/video/TMMUcLCjnT8/видео.html Flower Lady rate 10. exponential poignancy. ruclips.net/video/20O8xrv3F7g/видео.html Tape from California. Rating 10 Jazzy cool psychedelic sound. One of his top 5 ruclips.net/video/CB4xpqNSYpk/видео.html The Marines have landed on the shores of Santo Domingo. Genius Lyrics. Few songs approach this kind of picturesque lyrics such as "And the crabs are crazy, they scuttle back and forth/ The sand is burning. And the fish take flight and scatter from the sight their courses turning. Later on: But the soldiers make a bid, giving candy to the kids/Their teeth are gleaming/ The marines have landed on the shores of Santo Domingo" Ringing of Revolution has great lyrics. Think of the monumental Charles Dicken's "great expectations" lyrics were written in 15 mins? ruclips.net/video/Tis4xaoddWA/видео.html Lyrics should be studied in school ruclips.net/video/gnDLe8BCEFw/видео.html Half a century High. eerie playful and soars. 9.5 ruclips.net/video/H-Pd7azytEk/видео.html That was the President. Best tribute song to Kennedy. 8.5 here's a memory to share, here's a memory to fade. ruclips.net/video/K49_39VTshI/видео.html Another Age. Catchy. 8 ruclips.net/video/SsX8m_dLUA4/видео.html Pretty Smart on my Part. catchy. 8 ruclips.net/video/VQBLBvi67fw/видео.html I kill therefore I am. country twang sounds good. 8 catchy too. ruclips.net/video/t3OiLBRh9X8/видео.html Too many Marytrs. Topical folk song but still decent. 7.5
the ABCs of empathy, the heart and soul of the folk movement, the New Testament and the Socialist Movement all in the simplest and most direct expression possible. A classic of classics. And easy to sing.
Yes I agree. This song has the same message like streets of London. Just a timeless beautiful song that has a universal message for the whole humanity gifted from higher beings to us humans as I guess.
Thanks Mr Gibson, the school music teacher for planting this song in my mind in the 1970's it still resonates along with where have all the flowers gone.
@@jerrysmith2354 I think about those today who preach the Meritocracy. But I talk to those on both the right and left, and we know that our life paths are in many ways a product of luck, yet what nearly all long for is simply community.
Yeah, an ok guitarist that can sing and play this fingerpicking at the same time; love his voice. But some ahole in the 60s referred to his playing as with "flippers of a fish" or something like that. Probably because he didn't like the threat of his songs speaking up against the oligarchs that were screwing up our world through power and greed; and still are.
Scores of the folkies had to be decent to accomplished finger pickers, out of necessity and the demands of the style. That served well, the many who soon moved into late sixties rock, from John Sebastian to Roger McGuinn, naturally progressed and built on the solid musicianship, to expand into folk-rock, then beyond. It differed from the R&B and jazz-based early rock and roll, like Bill Haley's Comets, as well as the crude strumming of rockabilly (although the rest of country music had very similar roots connections, to country blues and imported Anglo Saxon ballads).
@@8sun52 That was Robert Christgau, who said that Phil's guitar-playing would not get any worse "if his fingers were webbed" or something close to that. Phil actually quoted thay on a later album cover and Christgau later admitted he'd been out of line. On balance, Phil's guitar playing could be called adequate- it worked for the way he sang, and as was the case with his singing, the quality of his guitar playing varied based on his general mental state at the time. To be fair, Dylan basically sucked as a guitarist in the Sixties and early Seventies.
The most amazing songwriter of his day sadly cut down in his prime. Way ahead of his time. Where would he be today? Up there with Dylan and Cohen. If, if only Phil.
This moves me (again!) to tears, as it did the first time I heard it in a situation much like what is pictured. Only the room was much more jam-packed, smoky, a basement coffeehouse in Yorkville Village, Toronto Canada mid 1960s. Still miss this human being, still feel a need for the comfort and strength I felt in response to his point of view. Still wish he could have lived out his life, found other ways to address the agony of existence that he obviously found unbearable. Thanks for this PHILOCHSVEVO, and Arlo Guthrie for encouraging us to revisit this man and his right on song, today! ❤️
Thank you. He had something to say and said it for all to hear. It's stupid to rate people saying one is better than the other. Unique artistic voices is the most important to be expressed. Big brother really has a hold on this generation. Money is king. Thank you for sharing. Hope he gets a few more new fans.
The idea of living in peace will live on thru infinity, want for peace will never go away, it will live with us until we humans are extinct. Ochs and many many other musicians have turned the idea of peace into great music. 1000 thank yous to all.
He suffered from a ferocious case of bipolar disorder and, as his brother said, couldn't make it out of the valley he was stuck in. A remarkable talent and social justice warrior.
" .. and there but for fortune may go you .. or I .. " 60,000 + homeless in Los Angeles County .. I have been have homeless .. It is important for us .. that they are not ..
this is such an important evolution of the old phrase - it's not by the grace of god that we are born into material wealth to any degree. material wealth which makes falling on hard times and the associated trends of suffering much less likely for us. I think there's a dual meaning with "luck" as well, but most importantly phil was literally saying that money is what holds a lot of us back from lives of crime, drug abuse, homelessness, starvation, and even being victims of war most people in america are a couple of missed paychecks away from ending up in destitution so of course this is an unfortunately timeless piece
One of the best, a TRUE patriot, in other words, an American with a conscience & heart & care for the PEOPLE who MAKE THIS COUNTRY ALWAYS GREAT {Though troubled}!
I was friends with Phil Ochs around 1973-75 so I sometimes update his songs to stay current with what is going on today: " *Knock on the Door* " ruclips.net/video/ItJ3Z4qjBks/видео.html “ *Here’s to the Antichrist Pope Francis* ” ruclips.net/video/DlJ_FNF9Yu4/видео.html I was also friends with Blind Sonny Terry and John Hammond Jr....here's a Dave van Ronck arrangement of a blues song, a little different than the Leadbelly version - …”Good Morning Blues” ruclips.net/video/fkMYfgkVG48/видео.html
What a beautiful voice, I hadn't even heard of him before, thanks to the clash, I've been researching for Phil Ochs, why wasn't this guy up there with Bob Dylan? A real talent!
REAL good question...i think it's because of the turn he took with his 'greatest hits' album...and then there was his depression and suicide...i DO wish this guy got his due, musical historywise, though...
@@TheDeastman13 Well, he does, by those of us who know better. Hopefully as time passes there will be more acknowledgement of his historical greatness.
I was there, too. It was around 1971 or 1972, IIRC. Somehow, the Dillards were the opening act. He had Lincoln Majorca backing him up on a grand piano. It was evident that his career was taking a regrettable turn -- he had written an unequaled stack of songs about the things to which America ought to have paid attention but didn't, and he was obviously frustrated by experiencing the impossibility of turning portent into attention in America. He went on stage in that metallic gold jacket, showing us without words that he had burnt himself out, that dedication can go only so far, that he could see no light ahead on his chosen path.
happy birthday Phil- wherever you may be. I'm sure the world you are in is a far happier place than this world you departed from. we have something in common, eh- my brother's birthday is today also. small world, what! :-)
The venue in this video looks like it might have been the legendary Gaslight Club on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village, where I saw so many burgeoning singer/songwriters perform "back in the day," including two very special Shining Stars - Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan. More than a few of those artists went on to become very successful in their careers, but none more so than Bob Dylan. Everyone in that circle knew he was going to "make it," but nobody could have predicted his meteoric rise to superstardom. In a word, it was astounding, probably even to Bob himself. I believe that when Dylan leaped ahead of his peers so quickly and in such an amazing way it had a marked affect not only on Phil Ochs but also on a lot of other young and talented performers who were on the scene at that magical time. The title of the song which Phil was singing in this video is sadly ironic in light of his untimely death by suicide. Of course nobody can know what was in someone's mind when they take their own life, but I think that Phil, a dedicated share-the-wealth "progressive" (if not an actual Marxist) wouldn't be human if he hadn't been thinking something like, 'Here I am singing these mostly Lefty songs playing an acoustic guitar as one of "Woodie's Children" (Woody Guthrie), and soon after Bob Dylan "went Electric" (at the Newport FOLK Festival, no less) his career began to take off like a rocket. He's going to be rich and famous and I, like some kind of a schmuck, am going to be remembered (if I'm remembered at all) as a distant "also-ran". ' I believe that Phil Ochs felt that he needed to make a bold and swift move in order to play "catch-up" with Bob Dylan, and so he decided to perform a concert at Carnegie Hall. Good idea? Maybe, but it didn't turn out at all the way that he hoped it would. The concert quickly Sold Out. Afterwards, a lot of dejected audience members felt that Phil Ochs himself had Sold Out. To everyone's shock and surprise, he appeared onstage in a gold lamé suit with an electric guitar and a Rock band. His program consisted mostly of a lot of popular R&R standards. No Folk Songs. No politically themed protest songs. From all reports by those who were present, the audience was in a state of shock from the very beginning of the concert, and also appeared to be very disturbed at the bizarre event which they were witnessing. Some said that it was embarrassing to watch Phil Ochs trying to act like an Elvis wanna-be, rather than as the singer whom they knew and loved, known for his very moving ballades and especially for his strongly-worded, original Folk-Songs which protested economic and social injustice. Sadly, the concert which many of his fans had been eagerly anticipating was an unmitigated disaster. Phil had to endure shouts of "Where's Phil Ochs?" and (probably for the first time in his career) a lot of booing. This may have been just too much for him to handle. In fact, it may have been his "last straw." The death of the great Philip Ochs - singer/guitarist, songwriter, social activist, humanitarian and poet, was not only tragic. It was a tremendous loss for his friends and family and for us, his fans and followers. As his peer Don McClean put it in his song remembering the Life and Death of Vincent Van Goth, "This world was never made for one as beautiful as you." R.I.P., old friend.
Re: that avaricious comment by James Mcload. Phil was a good friend who was happy to make an excellent living. I suspect that his royalties & licensing income is far beyond what your greedy little mind can comprehend-but that was his concern
I remember years ago walking into the room where I was to defend my dissertation. Normally members of one's committee wear a jacket and tie. No one on my committee was doing either. They showed their respect for me by not doing so. I felt honored. They respected my distaste for elitism.
Who else feels Phil is very, very handsome in this video? He wears a suit very well. This was video-recorded in 1968. Has anyone here read the biography of him and does it say women were throwing themselves at Phil in 1968? A woman who is not aroused by this video must be LGBTQ - not that there’s anything wrong with that.
@@icaruscrane8846 I marched with Joan for the Vietnamese boat people. I cannot think of a more appropriate person to cover his song. Both are true humanitarians.
I remember back in the late '80s I was going to college and I sat in a city park. I was playing my guitar and suddenly I was surrounded by a bunch of Filipinos on holiday. They were trying to get everybody to give money to me. And then my thesis advisor came by, it was actually both our birthdays. We all had so much fun singing. I don't know if I played any of Phil's songs but I know the theme was there.
maan, in the posthumous biography it's clear the epic fail of the '68 democratic convention killed the guy. r.i.p. buddy. book might still be available from better public libraries, or not: "There But for Fortune: The Life of Phil Ochs", September 6, 1996. author Michael Schumacher
+cupjay A great read. Depression hurts bad. Hope they make a biopic of him one day. His story from the early sixties til the end deserves to be known for anybody who cares about social justice or democracy (ie Sanders fans)
Schlecht - he was bi-polar. Did you ever watch the documentary of his life? "There But For Fortune". So sad. I loved him. I still do. Amazing, beautiful and troubled man. He hanged himself. I remember the day. I am interested in reading the book that cupjay mentioned. I hope I can get it from the library.
@@endthedrugwartoday what did he do that they wanted to get rid of him? And why are you sure that he's been killed? I know nothing of this man just this beautiful song that is one of my favourite songs since I found it in a book 30 years ago and learned to play and sing it. It was just 1 or 2 years ago that I heard it the first time through youtube. The song came to me in a spiritual way by playing the notes from a paper and went straight into my heart then and will be in my heart forever.
I'm going for RFK Jr. He may not be perfect but he's preaching unity, transparency, restoring the middle class, and restoring our moral power around the world instead of our military power.
His songs are still relevant in 2024.
Or more so …… powerful stuff
I first met Phil in 1968. I was 16, working my butt off for Gene McCarthy. There was a rally at Tiger stadium. Phil played. After the music and speeches were over , Phil came and talked to the kids working the rally. I saw him many times. He was at virtually every demonstration I ever went to. After Kent State, I moved to Dublin for 10 years. When I heard Phil had hanged himself, I cried for days. His music helped make me who I am, an activist, working for people’s rights.😊
You weren't the only one crying. I was a freshman in college when the news came through...most of my dorm floor was in tears.
Just the truth. We need this level of compassion more than ever in 2024.
All these Phil Ochs songs are still so very relevant today.
There's still bums sleeping in the rain and drunkards stumbling out the door.
Even more so in 2020, especially with Too Many Martyrs
@@madisyngolab330 lol what martyrs?
@@jamesbeebe2870 It's a song by Phil Ochs, with an alternate title "The Ballad of Medgar Evers"
Yet this land is still troubled by men
who have to hate they twist away our freedom and they twist away our faith law is there Weapon treason is there cry we can stop them if we try.
The voice we need today. His songs about war, civil rights, labor, and automation are just as relevant today. What I like about Ochs is he just says what he means. He doesn't cloak is views in metaphors like Dylan does. Both great, but I prefer Ochs because he just says what he means.
Nah just another voice bringing confusion.
@@mikesedam616 Yes. A rare voice bringing unique and clear clarity.
The way he enunciates each word, his gestures, his melodic voice and his playing of the guitar captivates each and every listener.
Yes. Reminds one of John Goodman.
@@gillygil8747 Lol. A joke? or was he a singer? Either way, the Left has no humor and can't laugh at themselves.
A genius and it had nothing to do with his politics. Just good melodies and lyrics. About 20 songs are worth my attention.
ruclips.net/video/m4MAF1o1AMs/видео.html rate 9. Men Behind the Guns . lyrics not written by Ochs. The men below who fight the foe oh the men behind the guns!
ruclips.net/video/JUpE3hEXpL4/видео.html Changes . love this morbidity. 10
ruclips.net/video/sxDD9CV-XJ4/видео.html When I'm Gone. Sweet beautiful song rate 9
ruclips.net/video/_0BeEHXjXIM/видео.html there but for fortune .rate 9
ruclips.net/video/lfkhBGWkQrs/видео.html Cross my Heart. Moving, strings and orchestration make the song. rate 9.
ruclips.net/video/XZCr3VYZEi8/видео.html Celia. rate 9. A fascist prisoner sings a song to his lady. Corny by gut-wrenching. When will i lie beside my Celia neath the tree oh when will Celia come to me? (Listen to this song and feel the tears almost fall)
ruclips.net/video/TMMUcLCjnT8/видео.html Flower Lady rate 10. exponential poignancy.
ruclips.net/video/20O8xrv3F7g/видео.html Tape from California. Rating 10 Jazzy cool psychedelic sound. One of his top 5
ruclips.net/video/CB4xpqNSYpk/видео.html The Marines have landed on the shores of Santo Domingo. Genius Lyrics. Few songs approach this kind of picturesque lyrics such as "And the crabs are crazy, they scuttle back and forth/ The sand is burning. And the fish take flight and scatter from the sight their courses turning. Later on: But the soldiers make a bid, giving candy to the kids/Their teeth are gleaming/ The marines have landed on the shores of Santo Domingo"
Ringing of Revolution has great lyrics. Think of the monumental Charles Dicken's "great expectations" lyrics were written in 15 mins? ruclips.net/video/Tis4xaoddWA/видео.html Lyrics should be studied in school
ruclips.net/video/gnDLe8BCEFw/видео.html Half a century High. eerie playful and soars. 9.5
ruclips.net/video/H-Pd7azytEk/видео.html That was the President. Best tribute song to Kennedy. 8.5 here's a memory to share, here's a memory to fade.
ruclips.net/video/K49_39VTshI/видео.html Another Age. Catchy. 8
ruclips.net/video/SsX8m_dLUA4/видео.html Pretty Smart on my Part. catchy. 8
ruclips.net/video/VQBLBvi67fw/видео.html I kill therefore I am. country twang sounds good. 8 catchy too.
ruclips.net/video/t3OiLBRh9X8/видео.html Too many Marytrs. Topical folk song but still decent. 7.5
Well said.
In this simple (but epic) song he caught forever the heart and conscience of the folk movement.
The vulnerability in his voice ... just makes this such a powerful song.
the ABCs of empathy, the heart and soul of the folk movement, the New Testament and the Socialist Movement all in the simplest and most direct expression possible. A classic of classics. And easy to sing.
Yes I agree. This song has the same message like streets of London. Just a timeless beautiful song that has a universal message for the whole humanity gifted from higher beings to us humans as I guess.
This man was an absolute treasure who was ahead of his time and we didn't deserve him
And we deserve him even less now (sigh)...
There will never be another Phil. He was a oner.
A masterpiece that will live on forever.
Let's hope
Phil - teaching us today what we didn't learn back then. Alas.
Thanks Mr Gibson, the school music teacher for planting this song in my mind in the 1970's it still resonates along with where have all the flowers gone.
I’d love to hear what Phil would write today....
Probably a lot of the same, due to how relevant his music still is. Maybe things about the dangers of technology
@@jerrysmith2354 I think about those today who preach the Meritocracy. But I talk to those on both the right and left, and we know that our life paths are in many ways a product of luck, yet what nearly all long for is simply community.
Rest in peace Phil Ochs, an American inspiration.
So wise. So inspiring. So insightful. So eternally relevant.
Phil Ochs forever and ever.
I saw Phil perform when I was a student at UC Santa Cruz. Excellent singer. Sad story.
thehistorywatcher I envy you.
Uh, the CIA killed him. That's not sad because it means he pissed them off to that point. That is a life well lived.
thehistorywatcher I first heard his music living in the dorms of UCSC, Crown college. 1994.
are you dense?
@@endthedrugwartoday agree
Whoever disliked this video should get their heads checked!
Back when a man or woman could stand up alone and sing a powerful beautiful ballad.
Man, he was a really good guitar player.
Yeah, an ok guitarist that can sing and play this fingerpicking at the same time; love his voice. But some ahole in the 60s referred to his playing as with "flippers of a fish" or something like that. Probably because he didn't like the threat of his songs speaking up against the oligarchs that were screwing up our world through power and greed; and still are.
Scores of the folkies had to be decent to accomplished finger pickers, out of necessity and the demands of the style. That served well, the many who soon moved into late sixties rock, from John Sebastian to Roger McGuinn, naturally progressed and built on the solid musicianship, to expand into folk-rock, then beyond. It differed from the R&B and jazz-based early rock and roll, like Bill Haley's Comets, as well as the crude strumming of rockabilly (although the rest of country music had very similar roots connections, to country blues and imported Anglo Saxon ballads).
@@8sun52 That was Robert Christgau, who said that Phil's guitar-playing would not get any worse "if his fingers were webbed" or something close to that. Phil actually quoted thay on a later album cover and Christgau later admitted he'd been out of line. On balance, Phil's guitar playing could be called adequate- it worked for the way he sang, and as was the case with his singing, the quality of his guitar playing varied based on his general mental state at the time. To be fair, Dylan basically sucked as a guitarist in the Sixties and early Seventies.
@@KennBurch Yeah, when I read that comment my thought was: "that sounds like Robert Christgau."
@@8sun52
he did pay his respects when phil died though
God bless you Phil. I played your songs on April 9th. A black black day.
The most amazing songwriter of his day sadly cut down in his prime. Way ahead of his time. Where would he be today? Up there with Dylan and Cohen. If, if only Phil.
Way better than the egotistical Dylan and Cohen
Hardly’ ‘cut down’ he hanged himself committed suicide I’m surprised you used those words describe his death!..
@@astragreenhe was killed by bipolar disorder
@@hharvey6492 yup
@@astragreen
well he had bipolar disorder and his voice was damaged by muggers previously which probably didn’t help
a true artist, under-rated
This moves me (again!) to tears, as it did the first time I heard it in a situation much like what is pictured. Only the room was much more jam-packed, smoky, a basement coffeehouse in Yorkville Village, Toronto Canada mid 1960s.
Still miss this human being, still feel a need for the comfort and strength I felt in response to his point of view. Still wish he could have lived out his life, found other ways to address the agony of existence that he obviously found unbearable.
Thanks for this PHILOCHSVEVO, and Arlo Guthrie for encouraging us to revisit this man and his right on song, today! ❤️
his music still has a big impact.
Phil you were gone too soon, but these songs are treasures. Thank you.🙏❤️
Still relevant and missed.
Prophetic and sad. RIP. There but for fortune go you or I.
I get the praise for his lyrics, but I'm touched by how pretty his melodies are.
Thank you. He had something to say and said it for all to hear. It's stupid to rate people saying one is better than the other. Unique artistic voices is the most important to be expressed. Big brother really has a hold on this generation. Money is king. Thank you for sharing. Hope he gets a few more new fans.
1%
Hey, I'm in my 20s and have gotten really into Phil Ochs over the past year or so
@@letmemakeafuckingqueGood
god i miss this guy. my fav singer songwriter. so sad when i hear one of his tunes. this is my fav Phil tune
No one, really, can compare to Phil in this genre
A masterpiece. Sing to my soul Phil.
So strong!! Thank you for sharing. How could this song sound more true and sincere than the composer himself giving his message to young students.
Restorative justice anthem.
The idea of living in peace will live on thru infinity, want for peace will never go away, it will live with us until we humans are extinct.
Ochs and many many other musicians have turned the idea of peace into great music. 1000 thank yous to all.
A great leveller was Phil. ❤ No matter how much you have, you're only ever a single step from catastrophe.
happy birthday king miss u forever
shame that phil's guitar never played along willie or waylon
this is working class america music right here
such a great loss of an incredible person
How could such a genuine person feel so alone to take his own life - and lose that beautiful voice of compassion and humanity?
he was targeted
had a broken heart
He suffered from a ferocious case of bipolar disorder and, as his brother said, couldn't make it out of the valley he was stuck in. A remarkable talent and social justice warrior.
His life was incredibly hard.
he had undiagnosed + untreated bipolar disorder and suffered loads of trauma
"show me the country... Where the bombs had to fall.." 💔
its time for revolution.
Irak, Libia, Afganisthan, you name them. And the USA, always prominently among the bomb droppers. Nothing has changed.
Alejandro Corona no it has not
goosebumps.
Still listen to him singing "The Highwayman" on a live recording. He was a true bard and he shared so much in his short life.
An absolute American Original-and one to be proud of!
Such poetry and voice and still reasonates
yessss even Phil Ochs has a vevo now! a true american hero
I don't think it's a legit VEVO account
Died so sadly, unable to find a place for himself. So important for his contributions and missed more than ever in our crazy times.
One of the greatest of our time.
I was lucky enough as a young girl to see him in Boston
So relevant today! Beautiful poignant true
" .. and there but for fortune may go you .. or I .. "
60,000 + homeless in Los Angeles County ..
I have been have homeless ..
It is important for us .. that they are not ..
this is such an important evolution of the old phrase - it's not by the grace of god that we are born into material wealth to any degree. material wealth which makes falling on hard times and the associated trends of suffering much less likely for us. I think there's a dual meaning with "luck" as well, but most importantly phil was literally saying that money is what holds a lot of us back from lives of crime, drug abuse, homelessness, starvation, and even being victims of war
most people in america are a couple of missed paychecks away from ending up in destitution so of course this is an unfortunately timeless piece
Phil Ochs for President 2020
One of the best, a TRUE patriot, in other words, an American with a conscience & heart & care for the PEOPLE who MAKE THIS COUNTRY ALWAYS GREAT {Though troubled}!
Thanks Bob. If we could all only realize that patriotism is about we, not me.
He was one of a kind.
Happy Birthday Phil! Sing it!!
Does anyone today have the heart and the head to create this kind of protest song?
I was friends with Phil Ochs around 1973-75 so I sometimes update his songs to stay current with what is going on today: " *Knock on the Door* " ruclips.net/video/ItJ3Z4qjBks/видео.html
“ *Here’s to the Antichrist Pope Francis* ”
ruclips.net/video/DlJ_FNF9Yu4/видео.html
I was also friends with Blind Sonny Terry and John Hammond Jr....here's a Dave van Ronck arrangement of a blues song, a little different than the Leadbelly version - …”Good Morning Blues” ruclips.net/video/fkMYfgkVG48/видео.html
@@redavenger5094 that's amazing
WOW, what a song!
What a beautiful voice, I hadn't even heard of him before, thanks to the clash, I've been researching for Phil Ochs, why wasn't this guy up there with Bob Dylan?
A real talent!
REAL good question...i think it's because of the turn he took with his 'greatest hits' album...and then there was his depression and suicide...i DO wish this guy got his due, musical historywise, though...
@@TheDeastman13
Well, he does, by those of us who know better.
Hopefully as time passes there will be more acknowledgement of his historical greatness.
saw him at the Troubadour in Hollywood, was amazed as he did the Elvis impression
I was there, too. It was around 1971 or 1972, IIRC. Somehow, the Dillards were the opening act. He had Lincoln Majorca backing him up on a grand piano. It was evident that his career was taking a regrettable turn -- he had written an unequaled stack of songs about the things to which America ought to have paid attention but didn't, and he was obviously frustrated by experiencing the impossibility of turning portent into attention in America. He went on stage in that metallic gold jacket, showing us without words that he had burnt himself out, that dedication can go only so far, that he could see no light ahead on his chosen path.
happy birthday Phil- wherever you may be. I'm sure the world you are in is a far happier place than this world you departed from.
we have something in common, eh- my brother's birthday is today also. small world, what! :-)
I was 'one handshake' from Phil Ochs (Uncle Dan)
One day we have to explain the meaning of this song to younger generation for all these sufferings would be absurd after the revolution
The venue in this video looks like it might have been the legendary Gaslight Club on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village, where I saw so many burgeoning singer/songwriters perform "back in the day," including two very special Shining Stars - Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan.
More than a few of those artists went on to become very successful in their careers, but none more so than Bob Dylan. Everyone in that circle knew he was going to "make it," but nobody could have predicted his meteoric rise to superstardom. In a word, it was astounding, probably even to Bob himself. I believe that when Dylan leaped ahead of his peers so quickly and in such an amazing way it had a marked affect not only on Phil Ochs but also on a lot of other young and talented performers who were on the scene at that magical time.
The title of the song which Phil was singing in this video is sadly ironic in light of his untimely death by suicide. Of course nobody can know what was in someone's mind when they take their own life, but I think that Phil, a dedicated share-the-wealth "progressive" (if not an actual Marxist) wouldn't be human if he hadn't been thinking something like,
'Here I am singing these mostly Lefty songs playing an acoustic guitar as one of "Woodie's Children" (Woody Guthrie), and soon after Bob Dylan "went Electric" (at the Newport FOLK Festival, no less) his career began to take off like a rocket. He's going to be rich and famous and I, like some kind of a schmuck, am going to be remembered (if I'm remembered at all) as a distant "also-ran". '
I believe that Phil Ochs felt that he needed to make a bold and swift move in order to play "catch-up" with Bob Dylan, and so he decided to perform a concert at Carnegie Hall. Good idea? Maybe, but it didn't turn out at all the way that he hoped it would.
The concert quickly Sold Out. Afterwards, a lot of dejected audience members felt that Phil Ochs himself had Sold Out. To everyone's shock and surprise, he appeared onstage in a gold lamé suit with an electric guitar and a Rock band. His program consisted mostly of a lot of popular R&R standards. No Folk Songs. No politically themed protest songs.
From all reports by those who were present, the audience was in a state of shock from the very beginning of the concert, and also appeared to be very disturbed at the bizarre event which they were witnessing. Some said that it was embarrassing to watch Phil Ochs trying to act like an Elvis wanna-be, rather than as the singer whom they knew and loved, known for his very moving ballades and especially for his strongly-worded, original Folk-Songs which protested economic and social injustice.
Sadly, the concert which many of his fans had been eagerly anticipating was an unmitigated disaster. Phil had to endure shouts of "Where's Phil Ochs?" and (probably for the first time in his career) a lot of booing. This may have been just too much for him to handle. In fact, it may have been his "last straw."
The death of the great Philip Ochs - singer/guitarist, songwriter, social activist, humanitarian and poet, was not only tragic. It was a tremendous loss for his friends and family and for us, his fans and followers. As his peer Don McClean put it in his song remembering the Life and Death of Vincent Van Goth, "This world was never made for one as beautiful as you." R.I.P., old friend.
RIP
It feels like a journey.
Great song. The Lord rules over all...and He will take care of you and guide your path, if you let Him in
Lovely to see you, master.
Re: that avaricious comment by James Mcload. Phil was a good friend who was happy to make an excellent living. I suspect that his royalties & licensing income is far beyond what your greedy little mind can comprehend-but that was his concern
Ochs wore a jacket and tie .. what a conservative establishment look for such a rebel lol ....His words matter...
I remember years ago walking into the room where I was to defend my dissertation. Normally members of one's committee wear a jacket and tie. No one on my committee was doing either. They showed their respect for me by not doing so. I felt honored. They respected my distaste for elitism.
Thank you!
Those girls are looking at him like I did the first time I watched baseball.
Yes LORD JESUS
I came here through Où va la chance, Françoise Hardy....so much charm.
The man
Said the last line of this songto my cat Sundance and later my dog Tex as they were put to sleep
Who else feels Phil is very, very handsome in this video? He wears a suit very well.
This was video-recorded in 1968. Has anyone here read the biography of him and does it say women were throwing themselves at Phil in 1968? A woman who is not aroused by this video must be LGBTQ - not that there’s anything wrong with that.
you can’t just indiscriminately use “LGBTQ” when you mean “not attracted to men”
but yes, Phil was very handsome (signed, an LGBTQ)
For real. Youd think he'd have been at least a bit more popular. Dudes handsome as hell
OMG! How did they ever get Phil to wear a suit!?!
Not as beautiful as Joan's version, but just as powerful and humane.
Yeah, but he wrote it.
I'm also a big fan of Joan.
@@icaruscrane8846 I marched with Joan for the Vietnamese boat people. I cannot think of a more appropriate person to cover his song. Both are true humanitarians.
With respect, I disagree with you both on his vocal range, the clarity and his self accompaniment on the guitar.
Truth Teller"
"There but for the grace of God go I."- John Bradford
🥀
Wow: so young!!! He is showing how shy he was back then... good thing he manned up after a while!!
By "manned up" do you mean tearing up the joint and menacing people with a steel-clawed hammer?
uh. what
The most beautiful people all seem to die so soon..
What year and where is this from? Genius
Looks like The Bitter End.
From ~1968 from the local syndicated show "Live From The Bitter End" taped in New Jersey.
@@Nokorola Might've been produced in NJ, but the Bitter End is in Greenwich Village, so it had to have been *taped* in NYC. Just sayin'. 😀
Very nice! Could you add the date and place it was filmed to the video description above?
How I wish Phil had a song about the Philippines.
look up his song 'Celia'
Thank you. I want to play this song Celia and " There but for Fortune" in an event in the University of the Philippines on a grand piano.
@@LonelyAtTheTop79 It is a beautiful song.
I remember back in the late '80s I was going to college and I sat in a city park. I was playing my guitar and suddenly I was surrounded by a bunch of Filipinos on holiday. They were trying to get everybody to give money to me. And then my thesis advisor came by, it was actually both our birthdays. We all had so much fun singing. I don't know if I played any of Phil's songs but I know the theme was there.
The Bitter End?
+Jason Wang Yes, 1968.
the brick-wall cannot be mistaken ;)
Ecco la bellissima versione originale di c'e' la fortuna,incisa da francoise hardy in italiano ed in francese col titolo ou' c'entra la chance
maan, in the posthumous biography it's clear the epic fail of the '68 democratic convention killed the guy. r.i.p. buddy.
book might still be available from better public libraries, or not:
"There But for Fortune: The Life of Phil Ochs", September 6, 1996.
author Michael Schumacher
+cupjay A great read. Depression hurts bad. Hope they make a biopic of him one day. His story from the early sixties til the end deserves to be known for anybody who cares about social justice or democracy (ie Sanders fans)
Schlecht - he was bi-polar. Did you ever watch the documentary of his life? "There But For Fortune". So sad. I loved him. I still do. Amazing, beautiful and troubled man. He hanged himself. I remember the day. I am interested in reading the book that cupjay mentioned. I hope I can get it from the library.
He was killed by the CIA you idiots. Jesus you people are fucking stupid!
@@endthedrugwartoday what did he do that they wanted to get rid of him? And why are you sure that he's been killed? I know nothing of this man just this beautiful song that is one of my favourite songs since I found it in a book 30 years ago and learned to play and sing it. It was just 1 or 2 years ago that I heard it the first time through youtube. The song came to me in a spiritual way by playing the notes from a paper and went straight into my heart then and will be in my heart forever.
@@peternemeth1777 I doubt the CIA killed him but he was into some bad political stuff beyond the usual of the times.
Phil Ochs is so relevant now. Our options going forward are nil. We need new candidates for 2024. Those now are both frauds - can you guess why?
I'm going for RFK Jr. He may not be perfect but he's preaching unity, transparency, restoring the middle class, and restoring our moral power around the world instead of our military power.
What happened to the revolution?
why is Jackie from that 70s show there ?
Mila Kunis is a Timelord.
because its the 70s?
legal lawful and moral
Was Phil Ochs a Morrissey influence?
Unlikely, he's quite talented while Morrisey is just a professional whiner.
Yep,Morrissey is a fan of Phil.
0:43 haha
Alex Turner's Dad