One of the most beautiful songs ever written. Anyone who can write songs like this deserves to be remembered for ever. Gone far too soon Phil. God bless you.
Somewhere, in a parallel universe, in another dimension, where there's musical justice, Phil Ochs wasn't just Bob Dylan's sidekick in the early 60's, who released a bunch of albums that are long out of print, failed to gain international recognition, got chocked by muggers and lost his ability to sing, disappeared into alcoholism and severe depression, and hanged himself on his birthday, and is remembered only thanks to documentaries about Greenwich Village and the Folk Revival. No, in some other reality he's remembered as one of the absolutely greatest songwriters, guitarist, and singers in the history of popular music...
I have played and sung this for years. Always had a hard time getting through it without choking up. Now, I'm leaving a 42 year relationship and I can't get through it. But I can listen as an old man.
Sometimes I just get into a Phil Ochs sort of mood and I listen to him and cry. It never fails to happen. I am from that generation; he was always my favorite. He will be remembered as one of the greatest!
I was born in the 90's and just recently discovered Phil. As sad as this is to say, his music is still very relevant. I've shed some tears myself listening to him on many occasions now.
I'm an 18-year-old college student and I am currently doing an assignment on folk music. I am personally not educated when it comes to folk music and this is my first time discovering Phil Ochs and his music. Even when listening to the song for the first time it made me tear up from the words and its elegant sound. It makes me think of what lies ahead in my life and about what my family had to go through to get to this point in their lives. I'll definitely be listening to more of his music and introducing it to others.
Lauren Albertsons I’m so glad that you discovered Phil Ochs. Because he was considered unAmerican and radical in his time, he was never recognized in the mainstream for his poetry, both beautiful and caustic, or the intimacy of his songs like “Changes”. I’m 72 and was immersed in the folk music genre in the 60s and I still get teary eyed when I hear this song. He deserved better but at least we have his recordings. I hope you listened to “Power And The Glory”. It’s on RUclips with a very poor quality sound but it includes a final verse that was left out of the studio recording. That verse is as relevant today as it was almost 60 years ago.
I met Phil when I was 16 and working for Gene McCarthy back in 68. He was playing at a rally I was working at. After the speeches and the singing was over, Phil came down to talk to the kids working the rally. He as so encouraging. He played at nearly every demonstration I ever went to, usually for free. I loved him. I moved to Dublin in 72 and when I heard he had hanged him self, I felt hat an essential part of my country had died.
You met him at the right time. I met him years later, at a small political fundraiser for Ramsey Clark in Greenwich Village. Phil was on a downward spiral, and sat at the bar drinking most of the night. Phil was always my hero, influenced me both musically and politically, and people said I sang just like him. This was my chance to tell him how much he meant to me. As I stepped toward him at the bar, he gave me a withering glare that I recognized from my Brooklyn upbringing: "Take one more step, and I'll punch you in the mouth." I backed off, and it was probably a good idea. Today I wish I had kept going. Because three months later, Phil hung himself in his sister's garage in Rockaway, Queens. It was the only time I opened the newspaper and burst into tears.
I'm 75 and saw him in Detroit in a very small club, maybe 150 people. His songs resonated with the Vietnam era and were always poignant, moving, and expressed what we were all feeling in the mid-to late 60's. You are oh so correct that he left us all too soon!
I’ll be 78 this month. I lived through all this folk music in the 1960’s. Was in Greenwich Village the day Dylan’s album The Freewheeling Bob Dylan came out. Watched a clerk put them on display. That year and the next was in college and lucky for me met up with many folk music enthusiasts. I even met Billy Ed Wheeler once in Charleston, WV where I went to college, and even an old folk music woman named Phoebe Parsons who played the fiddlesticks on the fiddle neck while some fellow played the fiddle. We listened to all of them, Odetta, Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Richard Farina, Hoyt Axton, Simon & Garfunkle, Bob Dylan, Buffy St. Marie, Joni Mitchell, others I just can’t remember. BUT, PHIL OCHES was the best for me. He could hit home like the hammer on the nail. And that voice of his was just so different. Then Dylan started playing an electric guitar at I think the Newport Folk Festival. People didn’t like it. But like Oches said, it’s changes, always changes. We sort of lived the song Bob Dylan’s Dream, arguing and having late night sessions about it. I could play some guitar then. Can’t anymore since a cow kicked my left hand and broke a finger that didn’t grow back very well. Anyways those sure were the times and Oches voice brings it all back every time. His ending was a sad one. He fell out with Dylan at one point. I think it was NYC, Dylan kicked him out of his limo. Least that’s the story I heard. Enjoy the music of a time when young people really expressed themselves with their music. It was actually a short time but for sure it was a time! Still love S & G’s song America. Pretty powerful for me. I actually hitchhiked from Charleston, WV to Morgantown, WV, a long piece from the southern part of the state to the northern. Actually boarded a Greyhound there and rode to NYC to the Bus Authority Station. Some how walked to White Plains on and off the NY Thruway I think, and caught a ride into Stratford, CT, my home where I had to tell my folks I flunked out of school. Went to work in a shipyard on the Housatonic River that summer and by September somehow got myself back on some kind of a track to make something of my life. Yeah, Oches…..he was something, but the rest….thats another story too long for this comment.
First song I learned to play on my guitar in my teens. So beautiful and memories just came pouring in❤ So now at almost 70 I'm picking up my guitar once again and playing it to Phil singing. ❤❤❤
The MEANING and WHAT LIFE IS REALLY ABOUT! The GREATEST POET! You will be in My HEART Until I DIE(I am 84 Now, The Third and My Last Cycle of SATURN!)! RIP Phil OCHS THANK YOU GOD for putting Him here in My Lifetime! The LIGHT is with Us All!
I was playing Changes in my guitar shop on an early cold winter morning when a customer came in and asked what is the song. I told her about Phil and the tragedy that just happened with his death. I sang her the song as we both came to tears. After we had a long talk for many hours and sang many of Phil's other songs. This was back in 1976. That was 40 years ago and she is still in my life and a life's Phil lover! RIP Phil
No surprise but the older I get, the more this song resonates with me. When I was young, I was introduced to it via Ian and Sylvia and loved the beauty of their rendition...but hearing Phil sing it....hits home every time. Stone cold perfect from one of the most underrated performers of the 1960s.
It was a time of great changes and Phil was ready for them. The musical revolution encompassed us all, and great songs were written during that era. Sadly, that time is long gone, and its originality is long gone, too. Today, there is nothing out there whether it be in music, movies, or comedy. At least I got to live in that era and will always remember what it was like. Thank you, Phil, for being a part of it.
Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton came to Chapel Hill for a concert in April 1970. There is nothing in the world like socially conscious artists and open minds. We still love you, Phil. And Tom. You were right then. You are right today.
I cannot imagine my friend. I have four, two batches of two, about 50 & about 30. Youngest daughter now a Doctor, son a cowboy in Dakota's & Wyoming. Never see them, but it's Father's Day after all. Memories, Buddy, glad to have them. : )
i really enjoy reading the comments under uploads of phil's songs-- can't say i'm not terribly jealous of everyone who has posted a story or anecdote about seeing him live or even meeting him personally (i'm 20 and got into his music when i was 17, been a huge fan ever since and pretty much everyone who has ever met me knows i'm prone to rambling about phil at a moment's notice), but i love seeing the impact he's had on so many people
This song was written a couple years after I became a folk musician. It was immediately one of my favorites (with Dylan's Don't Think Twice, and Tim Hardin's Reason to Believe. 60 years later, this song has lost nothing- and yet when I play Ochs or Hardin or St. Marie or Paxton, almost no one ever knows who I'm giving reverence to. Modern radio is beneath pathetic.
First heard this song in 1967-68. Phil did an open air concert in the Spring of 1969 on the campus of the college I went to. Of all of his songs, this is the one. As I get older, more tears. It is a beautiful song.
I sit and wonder how such a young man could foresee what I feel now as an old man. Trying even then to pass along some wisdom that has seemingly eluded every generation...🤔
His songs, voice and politics were not only perfect, he was humane as well. So many of his contemporaries' passion only came from anger, but this song and the humanity of "But nobody's buying flowers from the Flower Lady" show an empathy that one can only wish he could have brought to himself.
Wonderful folk singer. Saw him at Mariposa where he switched places with his audience in the poring rain - we all crowded under his small performer's tent while he sat outside in the poring rain with his acousitic guitar - magic!
Screw the ultra universe -- those of us boomers know Phil Ochs he's remembered as one of the absolutely greatest songwriters, guitarist, and singers in the history of popular music...I mean come on who doesn't like change. No one but you have to accept it to like move on. As Joni Mitchell sand in her circle game -- we can't go back we can only go forward -- indeed.
Such a brilliant wordsmith. Amazing how relevant his songs are today. We certainly could use him and his wonderful songs at this time. It is a blessing and a curse to feel so deeply. Such passion and sincerity. Truly tragic to have lost him so young. Absolutely love him and his music.
Saw Phil Ochs at the Philly Folk Festival - we all fell in love with him all over again, that night. His heart on his sleeve, and uncompromising - but funny as hell, too. Will always miss his bright voice and his challenge to society's uncaring element. A great poet and troubador. How did we lose him? Tragic.
+OlymPigs2010 as IGNORANT a COMMENT as ever. Yea schmuck you probably believe Stephen King murdered John too at the behest of Nixon and the FBI even though Tricky Dicky wasn't even Prez. Yea keep on listening to WBAI FM IN NYC AND BELIEVING ALL! THEIR PROPAGANDA
So I am playing an old play list as background music when this song comes on. Had to stop what I was doing to listen again. It has to be one of the most perfect songs ever written. Beautiful tune, haunting lyrics filled with meaning. It sends chills through me. Nobody captures it all like Phil does.
Phil played the Femme Fatale club in Montreal a few times in the mid 60s when I was 17 or 18. A friend's uncle owned the club and comped us since we helped set up chairs for the performances. I'll never forget seeing Phil hanging at the bar while we set up and smiling at us. A few minutes later he came by with bottles of beer for us. I loved him dearly and realised this after I came out as a gay man in my early 20s. He was my first hero and I still listen to him 55 years later.
One of my two very favorite offerings from this artist. I just missed meeting him in the 1970's, and will forever regret that nobody could help him with how much pain he was in.
I was fortunate enough to see Phil at the Wolman Skating Rink in NYC and have participated in the NYC WAR is OVer rally in which i met him briefly and was proudly arrested at.. Later I created a seafood store, named Pleasures of the Harbour of which but only one customer recognized as derivative of Phil. As I have brother suffering from bi-polar I understand his pain and admire his work. May he have peace and hope that others find his work as it transcendental. May God bless him.
I think that this is one of the finest songs of the 60’s, equal to anything that Dylan wrote. I particularly like how Phil repeats the first verse as the last verse of the song. It’s slightly slower and he changes the way he sings “as the air”. I even appreciate the way his voice slightly cracks as he begins the last verse. It’s so damn real and poignant. A masterpiece.
No one can sing this incredible song better than this most talented genius. My generation venerates him. We miss him. Wish he were here singing and writing brilliant music
Dirk Richardson played this song the other night on KPFA in Berkeley on what would have been Phil Ochs' 79th birthday. What a beautiful song. Phil left us far too soon. I hope he's found the peace and happiness wherever he is now that he couldn't find in this world.
My youngest child said she wanted this song played at her funeral. I hated I had to make that happen. Our children are suppose to out live us. She should have had to plan my funeral. She took a part of me with her.
It's just so unfair that our children die before we do. That's not the way it's supposed to happen, and it's worse than heartbreaking. Unfortunately, I can't change that situation, but I can offer my empathy, my heart.
I played some of my favorite Phil Ochs songs for my daughter a few years ago. She is a singer and I made sure she studied piano...she taught herself guitar. She is now getting ready to record her first EP. Phil Ochs is her favorite singer songwriter, and his music has had a huge impact on her music. (She’s studying Public Policy in London- so music is now a “hobby,” but let’s see!). I’m so proud of her. She will make her mark on the world, in some form or another. Rest with the other angels, Phil.
although i am only 13 , and a lover of heavy metal , i will always love this beautiful song , his voice , his gentle guitar strumming , its magical , reminds me of summer trips to chatham dockyard or dover castle or anywhere close to my humble english county , with my mum and grandad , beauty , just beauty
This is just about the most beautiful song ever along with Gene Clark's From A Spanish Guitar (Gene did an amazing version of this song). Just going through my second divorce at present at the age of 66 - Phil and Gene are my musical heroes !
I was lucky to see him at the Troubadour in West Los Angeles back in 1971. Such a great singer. He sang "Changes" and many of his other songs including "I ain't a'Marching Anymore." I'll always love ya' Phil. RIP--You will always be remembered!!
Is there a West LA? I only knew about East LA where the Greatest Living Rock and Roll Band, Los Lobos is from. Is there a South LA and North LA also? I know there is a DTLA I'm sorry I'm directionally challenged regarding LA. I always think of it as "Plastic LA" from that great Doors tune but I know it can be a Hip City when it wants to.
This is the way I like to remember Phil. We lost. Now we have the permanent War On Drugs, War On Terror, War on Thinking, War on even just being left alone. Phil's in a better place now, I hope.
War on being just left alone??? Explain By the Way the War on Terror is REAL 100 Million FANATICAL ISLAMISTS WANT TO CREATE A WORLD WIDE CALIPHATE TO SUCCEED THE OTOMAN EMPIRE AND IMPOSE SHARIA LAW ALL OVER THE PLANET! Do you really want that? Good. I didn't think so. As Sting once sang "There Is No Political Solution to Our Troubled Evolution" Only JESUS CHRIST CAN SAVE US AND WILL IF WE ONLY ASK!!!!!
+Nate Sullivan what you call Fanatical Christians R merely Devout Christians, Righteous Christians as opposed 2self-righteous Christians. Christianity as represented by Jesus was/is spread by Love&Gentle Persuasion (Don't even mention the crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. They were anomalies&NOT representative of Jesus Christ) Mohammedists on the other hand, spread Mohammedism by FORCE &by War and now by Terrorism! Which is much better?? Correct answer: Jewish Based Christianity!!!! Remember Jesus was/is a JEW. 10 of the original 12 Apostles were born JEWISH! Even Phil Ochs was a Jew Bob Dylan is a Jewish Christian! Unfortunately so many current Jews have been lead astray by the unholy atheistic gentile pagan forces &instead of being a Light 2the Gentiles, they have become beacons of darkness 2the Gentiles best(or is that worst) exemplified by the Andy Cohen(homoSissy)/Howeirdfartmanstern army of devil worshippers who put his DISGUSTING tentacles in EVERY aspect of showbiz!
I'm close to tears. This is so beautiful. I stumbled across "I'm a liberal" and now I'm in awe of this man. 😢 40 years without this amazing piece of lifes puzzle.
That beautiful voice singing about everything that was ever good, ever right, ever fair, ever just, and ever true. There could never be two of you, Phil, my friend. God bless you.
He has quite a few songs like this. There But For Fortune, Song Of My Returning , Jim Dean Of Indiana, No More Songs, William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed, When I'm Gone, Is There Anybody Here, Celia, Pleasures of The Harbour, Gold Ring On Her Hand, Crucifixion, and Flower Lady to name a few.
I so much agree with you. His song The Crucifixion was just a masterpiece that I think very very few people could even take in. Much as Van Gogh's work evolved and spun out as the years passed, I think that song shows so much about the inner workings of Phil's mind. It is an amazing counterbalance to this song here which is so lyrical and evocative. The Crucifixion goes to his depth.
A CLASSIC of the folk era. In a book written by a server working at the famous Riverboat Lounge in Toronto witness Phil writing and singing this song backstage that had come to him. He wanted to do it for the club and club owner. He rubbed elbows with Dylan, Lightfoot, Ian Tyson and Kristopherson at the Riverboat. Man I should have hitched rides across Canada to got Toronto when the club started getting into our newspaper. Thank you so much for posting this song. 😅
He played the song for Gordon Lightfoot, who decided to record it himself. I don't think Gordon did that too often. Ian and Sylvia did as well. It's a remarkable song; just beautiful.
I agree with easy Pete & Peter that Phil Ochs was one one of the greatest folk singers of all time - cut short too soon. May his songs live on in these difficult time!
One of the great singer song writers. Under appreciated, an understated. Love it. As bad as his life turned, there are still many who loved him for what he brought to us.
In a parallel universe (Pioneer Inn, Lahaina, 1978), I fell in love with Phil Ochs & Changes, listening to Jazz pianist David Paquette sing this so softly.
I'm 33 and I discovered his music through a local station some years ago. He is a beloved, unsung and underrated hero 💜🫶💜
One of the most beautiful songs ever written. Anyone who can write songs like this deserves to be remembered for ever. Gone far too soon Phil. God bless you.
It wasn’t written by him tho
Changes was written by Phil Ochs
Phil and I must have shared the bill at The Gaslight Cafe 50 nights in the mid 60s.... I think of him every day.....
I just wanna let all you older people here that I'm a teen and I won't let this music die and that it will live on through my generation
Please, do as you say, Pete.
that's what they all say (jk)
Me too!I'm 16
@@Hannah-ub7nn I'm 80, and I hope you mean it. Sometimes it takes time for an artist to be appreciated. I think Ochs deserves that consideration.
@@icaruscrane8846 exactly...
Somewhere, in a parallel universe, in another dimension, where there's musical justice, Phil Ochs wasn't just Bob Dylan's sidekick in the early 60's, who released a bunch of albums that are long out of print, failed to gain international recognition, got chocked by muggers and lost his ability to sing, disappeared into alcoholism and severe depression, and hanged himself on his birthday, and is remembered only thanks to documentaries about Greenwich Village and the Folk Revival. No, in some other reality he's remembered as one of the absolutely greatest songwriters, guitarist, and singers in the history of popular music...
Oh yeah that's my way of saying I could listen to this all day
+Peter Luke well said, Peter,
listening to this and reading this comment about his life not knowing all of it is heavy on the heart ..life
xx
+Peter Luke a thousand amens to that!
I saw Phil at the Upper Quarry at UCSC many years ago, and thought to myself-who needs Dylan?
For me the top folksinger of the sixties!!My eyes cannot remain dry when I listen to him.May his tormented soul rest in peace.
RIP Phil. One of the greatest song writers and folk singers to grace this planet.
After all these years listening to this has once again brought me to tears. My favorite song
Phil Ochs has been gone 45 years today.
His music is eternal.
I am an old man. I have wept every time I have heard this song since I was 16.
I have played and sung this for years. Always had a hard time getting through it without choking up. Now, I'm leaving a 42 year relationship and I can't get through it. But I can listen as an old man.
+Bob O'Bryan be strong...a huge hug from Europe
Me too. Especially today when I found out that the person who introduced me to this song is dead.
@@reitanovkov4189 ❤
Ray Major -🌺🌺🌺🌺🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Sometimes I just get into a Phil Ochs sort of mood and I listen to him and cry. It never fails to happen. I am from that generation; he was always my favorite. He will be remembered as one of the greatest!
I was born in the 90's and just recently discovered Phil. As sad as this is to say, his music is still very relevant. I've shed some tears myself listening to him on many occasions now.
I still cry too---so sad
I'm an 18-year-old college student and I am currently doing an assignment on folk music. I am personally not educated when it comes to folk music and this is my first time discovering Phil Ochs and his music. Even when listening to the song for the first time it made me tear up from the words and its elegant sound. It makes me think of what lies ahead in my life and about what my family had to go through to get to this point in their lives. I'll definitely be listening to more of his music and introducing it to others.
a few years ago there was an excellent bio video, i think on PBS -- it's quite enlightening.
Enjoy the ride kiddo
Ochs is incredible. It's shame he died young.
22 and just found Ochs last year. Thank God I finally have a sound.
Lauren Albertsons I’m so glad that you discovered Phil Ochs. Because he was considered unAmerican and radical in his time, he was never recognized in the mainstream for his poetry, both beautiful and caustic, or the intimacy of his songs like “Changes”. I’m 72 and was immersed in the folk music genre in the 60s and I still get teary eyed when I hear this song. He deserved better but at least we have his recordings. I hope you listened to “Power And The Glory”. It’s on RUclips with a very poor quality sound but it includes a final verse that was left out of the studio recording. That verse is as relevant today as it was almost 60 years ago.
As great as Phil's political songs are, this evanescent masterpiece captured my heart more than 50 years ago and will never let go.
Me too.
Totally with you......every word...ditto!
This, Crucifixion, and the Highway man. Och’s did everything.
I met Phil when I was 16 and working for Gene McCarthy back in 68. He was playing at a rally I was working at. After the speeches and the singing was over, Phil came down to talk to the kids working the rally. He as so encouraging. He played at nearly every demonstration I ever went to, usually for free. I loved him. I moved to Dublin in 72 and when I heard he had hanged him self, I felt hat an essential part of my country had died.
You met him at the right time. I met him years later, at a small political fundraiser for Ramsey Clark in Greenwich Village. Phil was on a downward spiral, and sat at the bar drinking most of the night. Phil was always my hero, influenced me both musically and politically, and people said I sang just like him. This was my chance to tell him how much he meant to me. As I stepped toward him at the bar, he gave me a withering glare that I recognized from my Brooklyn upbringing: "Take one more step, and I'll punch you in the mouth." I backed off, and it was probably a good idea. Today I wish I had kept going. Because three months later, Phil hung himself in his sister's garage in Rockaway, Queens. It was the only time I opened the newspaper and burst into tears.
That is a tragic story, man. Phil should have stayed away from Africa. What happened to him there must have helped to break his spirit.
loved Phil Ochs!! I am 73 and saw him in concert in the sixties!! This song always brings me to tears!!! Such a lost!! such a talent and so tortured!!
I'm 75 and saw him in Detroit in a very small club, maybe 150 people. His songs resonated with the Vietnam era and were always poignant, moving, and expressed what we were all feeling in the mid-to late 60's. You are oh so correct that he left us all too soon!
I’ll be 78 this month. I lived through all this folk music in the 1960’s. Was in Greenwich Village the day Dylan’s album The Freewheeling Bob Dylan came out. Watched a clerk put them on display. That year and the next was in college and lucky for me met up with many folk music enthusiasts. I even met Billy Ed Wheeler once in Charleston, WV where I went to college, and even an old folk music woman named Phoebe Parsons who played the fiddlesticks on the fiddle neck while some fellow played the fiddle. We listened to all of them, Odetta, Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Richard Farina, Hoyt Axton, Simon & Garfunkle, Bob Dylan, Buffy St. Marie, Joni Mitchell, others I just can’t remember. BUT, PHIL OCHES was the best for me. He could hit home like the hammer on the nail. And that voice of his was just so different. Then Dylan started playing an electric guitar at I think the Newport Folk Festival. People didn’t like it. But like Oches said, it’s changes, always changes. We sort of lived the song Bob Dylan’s Dream, arguing and having late night sessions about it. I could play some guitar then. Can’t anymore since a cow kicked my left hand and broke a finger that didn’t grow back very well. Anyways those sure were the times and Oches voice brings it all back every time. His ending was a sad one. He fell out with Dylan at one point. I think it was NYC, Dylan kicked him out of his limo. Least that’s the story I heard. Enjoy the music of a time when young people really expressed themselves with their music. It was actually a short time but for sure it was a time! Still love S & G’s song America. Pretty powerful for me. I actually hitchhiked from Charleston, WV to Morgantown, WV, a long piece from the southern part of the state to the northern. Actually boarded a Greyhound there and rode to NYC to the Bus Authority Station. Some how walked to White Plains on and off the NY Thruway I think, and caught a ride into Stratford, CT, my home where I had to tell my folks I flunked out of school. Went to work in a shipyard on the Housatonic River that summer and by September somehow got myself back on some kind of a track to make something of my life. Yeah, Oches…..he was something, but the rest….thats another story too long for this comment.
First song I learned to play on my guitar in my teens. So beautiful and memories just came pouring in❤ So now at almost 70 I'm picking up my guitar once again and playing it to Phil singing. ❤❤❤
I'm seventy - one years old and the first few notes still bring a tear to my eyes.
He was a true crusader--listen to some more when you can
This is pure genius. When passion and talent combine to send the ideal message, this is the result. What a gifted songwriter and performer!
The MEANING and WHAT LIFE IS REALLY ABOUT! The GREATEST POET! You will be in My HEART Until I DIE(I am 84 Now, The Third and My Last Cycle of SATURN!)! RIP Phil OCHS THANK YOU GOD for putting Him here in My Lifetime! The LIGHT is with Us All!
I was playing Changes in my guitar shop on an early cold winter morning when a customer came in and asked what is the song. I told her about Phil and the tragedy that just happened with his death. I sang her the song as we both came to tears. After we had a long talk for many hours and sang many of Phil's other songs. This was back in 1976. That was 40 years ago and she is still in my life and a life's Phil lover! RIP Phil
skpgrn That’s a beautiful story
skpgnr I don´t know how to play this song in the guitar, which chords are??
@@scottlanda8678 LOL
the chords ; E,A,D,Em,F#m,Bm. experiment, you,ll get it, good luck
sorry no Echords, replace it with G
As I get older I cry more✌️
His songs were some of the first things I learned to play as a teenager learning to play guitar. They echo in my heart to this day.
No surprise but the older I get, the more this song resonates with me. When I was young, I was introduced to it via Ian and Sylvia and loved the beauty of their rendition...but hearing Phil sing it....hits home every time. Stone cold perfect from one of the most underrated performers of the 1960s.
Phil is soft as a feather, lyrical as a rosebud, deep as the sea, real as the sun, humane as a dog.
Phil shall always remain insurmountable.
Absolutely one of THE most exquisite, perfect songs in the history of humanity, period. 👍👏
It was a time of great changes and Phil was ready for them. The musical revolution encompassed us all, and great songs were written during that era. Sadly, that time is long gone, and its originality is long gone, too. Today, there is nothing out there whether it be in music, movies, or comedy. At least I got to live in that era and will always remember what it was like. Thank you, Phil, for being a part of it.
Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton came to Chapel Hill for a concert in April 1970. There is nothing in the world like socially conscious artists and open minds. We still love you, Phil. And Tom. You were right then. You are right today.
😍
absolutely unforgettable. a masterpiece.
I really love the music tinted with time. They are magic. Miss the days when music is still music, but not noises.
How can a song as great as this be forgotten?
So many of Phils songs are forgotten by most "I kill therefor I am" is another amazing one
Many great points
I haven’t forgotten!
@@johng4250 And I never will.
Not forgotten. This masterpiece is alive in me now.
I cannot imagine my friend. I have four, two batches of two, about 50 & about 30. Youngest daughter now a Doctor, son a cowboy in Dakota's & Wyoming. Never see them, but it's Father's Day after all. Memories, Buddy, glad to have them. : )
i really enjoy reading the comments under uploads of phil's songs-- can't say i'm not terribly jealous of everyone who has posted a story or anecdote about seeing him live or even meeting him personally (i'm 20 and got into his music when i was 17, been a huge fan ever since and pretty much everyone who has ever met me knows i'm prone to rambling about phil at a moment's notice), but i love seeing the impact he's had on so many people
Glad that you are enjoying his music and messages.
Keep sharing his songs with your peers, since his words are so relevant today.
2024 and I’m still listening to Phil Ochs ❤️
Phil's journey is over, we still need his words.
His journey may be over ...But the road has just begun 😢
This song was written a couple years after I became a folk musician. It was immediately one of my favorites (with Dylan's Don't Think Twice, and Tim Hardin's Reason to Believe. 60 years later, this song has lost nothing- and yet when I play Ochs or Hardin or St. Marie or Paxton, almost no one ever knows who I'm giving reverence to. Modern radio is beneath pathetic.
Go for WUMB out of Boston. They are pretty much in tune.
Phil Ochs lived as well as he could, given his challenges. He was a strong, wise man and a good man. We owe him our thanks.
First heard this song in 1967-68. Phil did an open air concert in the Spring of 1969 on the campus of the college I went to. Of all of his songs, this is the one. As I get older, more tears. It is a beautiful song.
I sit and wonder how such a young man could foresee what I feel now as an old man. Trying even then to pass along some wisdom that has seemingly eluded every generation...🤔
Absolutely, his voice brings me to tears in “Changes”
His songs, voice and politics were not only perfect, he was humane as well. So many of his contemporaries' passion only came from anger, but this song and the humanity of "But nobody's buying flowers from the Flower Lady" show an empathy that one can only wish he could have brought to himself.
Phil had the sensibilities which bipolar people are blessed, or cursed, with, depending upon your POV.
I still listen to this in 2024
It's hard to hold backs the tears. We've lost so much,but he still sings in our hearts.
Wonderful folk singer. Saw him at Mariposa where he switched places with his audience in the poring rain - we all crowded under his small performer's tent while he sat outside in the poring rain with his acousitic guitar - magic!
never heard that story not surprised
Great story. Wonder if this is where the image in 'no more songs' comes from, of 'a ghost without a name stands ragged in the rain'
Phil's life is interesting, and rewards study
what year was that Mr Ash? i was introduced to Phil Ochs by a teacher in high school
@@iritrg same here.
Screw the ultra universe -- those of us boomers know Phil Ochs he's remembered as one of the absolutely greatest songwriters, guitarist, and singers in the history of popular music...I mean come on who doesn't like change. No one but you have to accept it to like move on. As Joni Mitchell sand in her circle game -- we can't go back we can only go forward -- indeed.
Such a brilliant wordsmith. Amazing how relevant his songs are today. We certainly could use him and his wonderful songs at this time. It is a blessing and a curse to feel so deeply. Such passion and sincerity. Truly tragic to have lost him so young. Absolutely love him and his music.
Saw Phil Ochs at the Philly Folk Festival - we all fell in love with him all over again, that night. His heart on his sleeve, and uncompromising - but funny as hell, too. Will always miss his bright voice and his challenge to society's uncaring element. A great poet and troubador. How did we lose him? Tragic.
Carol, thank you for sharing your memories of Phil with us.
Carol, I had a chance to see him, and passed on it. Still regret it.
Carol Worthington-Levy Still one off my favorites
+Carol Worthington-Levy ....How did we lose him? The CIA murdered him!
+OlymPigs2010 as IGNORANT a COMMENT as ever. Yea schmuck you probably believe Stephen King murdered John too at the behest of Nixon and the FBI even though Tricky Dicky wasn't even Prez.
Yea keep on listening to WBAI FM IN NYC AND BELIEVING ALL! THEIR PROPAGANDA
So I am playing an old play list as background music when this song comes on. Had to stop what I was doing to listen again. It has to be one of the most perfect songs ever written. Beautiful tune, haunting lyrics filled with meaning. It sends chills through me. Nobody captures it all like Phil does.
such a beautiful piece of poetry. Has stayed with me many years.
Phil played the Femme Fatale club in Montreal a few times in the mid 60s when I was 17 or 18. A friend's uncle owned the club and comped us since we helped set up chairs for the performances. I'll never forget seeing Phil hanging at the bar while we set up and smiling at us. A few minutes later he came by with bottles of beer for us. I loved him dearly and realised this after I came out as a gay man in my early 20s. He was my first hero and I still listen to him 55 years later.
Youre a lucky guy
So much said of his playing, singing, impact, conviction etc. but come on, what a BEAUTIFUL man, right?
You don't have to be gay to love Phil.
Phil Ochs. I loved him then. I love him now.
This is one of the most beautiful songs sung exquisitely. I shed tears
Me too
One of my two very favorite offerings from this artist. I just missed meeting him in the 1970's, and will forever regret that nobody could help him with how much pain he was in.
Phil Ochs left us too soon, what a loss.
I was fortunate enough to see Phil at the Wolman Skating Rink in NYC and have participated in the NYC WAR is OVer rally in which i met him briefly and was proudly arrested at.. Later I created a seafood store, named Pleasures of the Harbour of which but only one customer recognized as derivative of Phil. As I have brother suffering from bi-polar I understand his pain and admire his work. May he have peace and hope that others find his work as it transcendental. May God bless him.
I think that this is one of the finest songs of the 60’s, equal to anything that Dylan wrote. I particularly like how Phil repeats the first verse as the last verse of the song. It’s slightly slower and he changes the way he sings “as the air”. I even appreciate the way his voice slightly cracks as he begins the last verse. It’s so damn real and poignant. A masterpiece.
This is so achingly beautiful it renders me speechless. This man could not write a bad song.
Not even the Ballad Of Alfred Packer..?? lol.. actually, I love that song
No one can sing this incredible song better than this most talented genius. My generation venerates him. We miss him. Wish he were here singing and writing brilliant music
Hvala ti Brano ,za ljubav. ❤
A lot of people still love you, Phil. You are not forgotten. Your songs and messages are still relevant.
One of the best folk songs ever..
Lyrics are pure poetry
Melody is beautiful
He was a fantastic songwriter with a great soulful voice.
Dirk Richardson played this song the other night on KPFA in Berkeley on what would have been Phil Ochs' 79th birthday.
What a beautiful song. Phil left us far too soon.
I hope he's found the peace and happiness wherever he is now that he couldn't find in this world.
My youngest child said she wanted this song played at her funeral. I hated I had to make that happen. Our children are suppose to out live us. She should have had to plan my funeral. She took a part of me with her.
I hope someone has the smarts to play Phil singing “When I’m Gone” at my funeral.
im sorry you had to do that. she picked a great song.
It's just so unfair that our children die before we do. That's not the way it's supposed to happen, and it's worse than heartbreaking. Unfortunately, I can't change that situation, but I can offer my empathy, my heart.
Very sorry for your loss..your beautiful Daughters love and memory live in your ❤️
So sorry for your loss, you write so well of her. The song must be heartbreaking to listen to and yet still remains such a strong connection to her.
What a great poet Phil was. So sad we had to lose him so soon. God bless him.
Lightening crashes
I played some of my favorite Phil Ochs songs for my daughter a few years ago. She is a singer and I made sure she studied piano...she taught herself guitar. She is now getting ready to record her first EP. Phil Ochs is her favorite singer songwriter, and his music has had a huge impact on her music. (She’s studying Public Policy in London- so music is now a “hobby,” but let’s see!). I’m so proud of her. She will make her mark on the world, in some form or another. Rest with the other angels, Phil.
Sue DeSimone - Perhaps She should put some of Phil Oche songs on Her Album to Honor Him!
although i am only 13 , and a lover of heavy metal , i will always love this beautiful song , his voice , his gentle guitar strumming , its magical , reminds me of summer trips to chatham dockyard or dover castle or anywhere close to my humble english county , with my mum and grandad , beauty , just beauty
I still miss him. We need him now to write the songs we need to hear.
Ruth, I miss him too! Yes, we need his genius now! Love and Peace, Skip
Ruth Bowman - Especially with Trumpet as POTUS!
So glad to have lived through those times with poignant memories. Funny how a voice can transport one to 55 years ago.
The first two lines of this song drew me in and i had to stop and listen to the end ,it made me cry.
This is just about the most beautiful song ever along with Gene Clark's From A Spanish Guitar (Gene did an amazing version of this song). Just going through my second divorce at present at the age of 66 - Phil and Gene are my musical heroes !
Me as well plus Gram Parsons and Evan Dando. Gene's versions of Changes plus Hot Burrito #1 are indeed amazing.
I was lucky to see him at the Troubadour in West Los Angeles back in 1971. Such a great singer. He sang "Changes" and many of his other songs including "I ain't a'Marching Anymore." I'll always love ya' Phil. RIP--You will always be remembered!!
Is there a West LA? I only knew about East LA where the Greatest Living Rock and Roll Band, Los Lobos is from.
Is there a South LA and North LA also?
I know there is a DTLA
I'm sorry I'm directionally challenged regarding LA. I always think of it as "Plastic LA" from that great Doors tune but I know it can be a Hip City when it wants to.
This is life in a song
My Dad was a bricklayer in New Jersey. I learned about Phil Ochs, Ray Charles, and Merle Haggard from him.
This is the way I like to remember Phil. We lost. Now we have the permanent War On Drugs, War On Terror, War on Thinking, War on even just being left alone. Phil's in a better place now, I hope.
War on being just left alone??? Explain
By the Way the War on Terror is REAL
100 Million FANATICAL ISLAMISTS WANT TO CREATE A WORLD WIDE CALIPHATE TO SUCCEED THE OTOMAN EMPIRE AND IMPOSE SHARIA LAW ALL OVER THE PLANET!
Do you really want that? Good. I didn't think so.
As Sting once sang "There Is No Political Solution to Our Troubled Evolution"
Only JESUS CHRIST CAN SAVE US AND WILL IF WE ONLY ASK!!!!!
+Nate Sullivan what you call Fanatical Christians R merely Devout Christians, Righteous Christians as opposed 2self-righteous Christians.
Christianity as represented by Jesus was/is spread by Love&Gentle Persuasion
(Don't even mention the crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. They were anomalies&NOT representative of Jesus Christ)
Mohammedists on the other hand, spread Mohammedism by FORCE &by War and now by Terrorism!
Which is much better??
Correct answer: Jewish Based Christianity!!!!
Remember Jesus was/is a JEW.
10 of the original 12 Apostles were born JEWISH!
Even Phil Ochs was a Jew
Bob Dylan is a Jewish Christian!
Unfortunately so many current Jews have been lead astray by the unholy atheistic gentile pagan forces &instead of being a Light 2the Gentiles, they have become beacons of darkness 2the Gentiles best(or is that worst) exemplified by the Andy Cohen(homoSissy)/Howeirdfartmanstern army of devil worshippers who put his DISGUSTING tentacles in EVERY aspect of showbiz!
We always lose, but that's okay. I know who I am, and I have the strength of my convictions, and that's enough for me.
@@JBCo2012 biggest load of bullshit I ever read!!!
There is something in what you say. People keep taling about war
Phil Ochs for ever … 2024 …
I'm close to tears. This is so beautiful. I stumbled across "I'm a liberal" and now I'm in awe of this man. 😢 40 years without this amazing piece of lifes puzzle.
Sent here by Neil Young.....beautiful .
And yet the world is still vile. Much to nobody's surprise
Me too... What an amazing and beautiful song.
Will be in my heart forever.. ❤️
That beautiful voice singing about everything that was ever good, ever right, ever fair, ever just, and ever true. There could never be two of you, Phil, my friend. God bless you.
The best memories I have of a great friend and brother in the "Nam are of M. Moone singing this song-God bless you Moone, whereever you are.
I grew up with the music of Phil Ochs...loved his songs and they helped to shape my life...will always be remembered with great love...
He influenced my life. In memory to him.
This man was worth discovering! thank you Phil......what a folk-singing hero!
Wow. First time hearing this. Gorgeous!
Thank you, Mick. When I think about Phil Ochs, it's always with joy in the songs he wrote and performed...and sadness for those that will never be.
Never been a fan but listening to this, I could be. Very moving.
He has quite a few songs like this. There But For Fortune, Song Of My Returning , Jim Dean Of Indiana, No More Songs, William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed, When I'm Gone, Is There Anybody Here, Celia, Pleasures of The Harbour, Gold Ring On Her Hand, Crucifixion, and Flower Lady to name a few.
One of the best songs ever. Just wonderful.
Wonderful man great voice fab writer of songs such a sad demise.
"it's hard to read through the rising smoke of the books that you love to burn" one of my favorite Phil lines.
That’s in “im gonna say it now”
If you cry with him, you're blessed.
"I'll leave you on the rolling river shores of changes....share in a memory of grey". RIP Phil.
I remember him so well. Sweet lad with a sweet voice. Meaningful songs.
The man was brilliant. I am only sorry he never knew how incredible he was. Rest in peace, dear man.
I so much agree with you. His song The Crucifixion was just a masterpiece that I think very very few people could even take in. Much as Van Gogh's work evolved and spun out as the years passed, I think that song shows so much about the inner workings of Phil's mind. It is an amazing counterbalance to this song here which is so lyrical and evocative. The Crucifixion goes to his depth.
Saw Phil at the Main Point outside Philadelphia in the 60's great voice for freedom
A CLASSIC of the folk era. In a book written by a server working at the famous Riverboat Lounge in Toronto witness Phil writing and singing this song backstage that had come to him. He wanted to do it for the club and club owner. He rubbed elbows with Dylan, Lightfoot, Ian Tyson and Kristopherson at the Riverboat. Man I should have hitched rides across Canada to got Toronto when the club started getting into our newspaper. Thank you so much for posting this song. 😅
He played the song for Gordon Lightfoot, who decided to record it himself. I don't think Gordon did that too often. Ian and Sylvia did as well. It's a remarkable song; just beautiful.
Words spoken have never hit like this, and the melody is perfect
I agree with easy Pete & Peter that Phil Ochs was one one of the greatest folk singers of all time - cut short too soon. May his songs live on in these difficult time!
One of the great singer song writers. Under appreciated, an understated. Love it. As bad as his life turned, there are still many who loved him for what he brought to us.
try not to cry - cry a lot... what a masterpiece
Dadada Dadadam cant.........
I was editor of my high school yearbook and this song was the introduction with appropriate photos. ❤️❤️❤️
I should add that I graduated in 1970…
In a parallel universe (Pioneer Inn, Lahaina, 1978), I fell in love with Phil Ochs & Changes, listening to Jazz pianist David Paquette sing this so softly.
A unique luminous brilliant man. His goodness shines through the years - first heard him over 30 years ago - loved him then & still do now.