Phil Ochs - Crucifixion (Live Stockholm 1969)

[erroll147]

He was brilliant

[BarbaryAllen]

don't you have the whole video?????

[mavilunA]

did he know that he wrote his own story.... and who saves the hero? when people makes somebody their own heroes until it suits them the otherwise.



[dermotus]

Fabulous voice ... is there anyone like him now?

[BarbaryAllen]

@dermotus not its not... but i will make the same question until it will.

[jamiegtr2007]

never knew this was on youtube!! been a Phil fan since my dylan days (aged about 14 till now). Thanks for putting up; gonna go right now and do a video respaonse --)

[TheGB1950]

Why hasn't anyone made a video of the album version which has music-ly much more to it.;not just full lyrics but musical backup that makes it much more dramatic, if possible, if memory serves me well I heard it on my old Pleasures of the Harbor album ?

[grandmachristine42]

I wish somebody would put his "Knock on the Door" up.

[TheGB1950]

@grandmachristine42 I've questioned the belt over the door hanging It might work for a very short person. Also have you seen the movie with actor Jereme Davis re-enactment of this form of hanging, it illustrates the problems with it.(I believe he mentions to a bunch of his friends that Phil Och's hung himself this way)I might be wrong on the latter( I cant recall the title of the film) I mentioned all this because I feel deeply about his death and question the cause of it.

[grandmachristine42]

@TheGB1950 I don't understand what you're saying. I don't remember much about his death -- there was so much trauma and death in those years. I vaguely thought it was a fire, but now I remember the fire was earlier, wasn't it?and was mentioned as one of the hardships thrown at him that got him so down. Suicide seemed not-him to me but the last m,usic WAS very down. You're saying they don't post KOTD because . . .ooooh.Dingbat me, didn't realize. KOTD==great song though. Thanks.

[TheGB1950]

@grandmachristine42 Hi again Sorry,I sent you a message I,m not sure you received it , I only meant in my comment that I'm not sure If someone could hang them self 's in a doorway with a belt, I've heard such reports, it doesn't matter It ,too much has been written on the subject of Phi l Och's death anyway.(door-belt-hang) It was re-enacted in a movie .An angry collage student tries to hang him self in this manner student played by Jereme Davis.spelling?anyone know the movie name ?

[jamiegtr2007]

@TheGB1950 Hi, Christine. Phil was half strangled in a mugging (think Morocco, or Algiers)need read book again, so long since read it. Book by Marc Elliot "Phil Ochs; Death Of A Rebel" tells it all. "hanging" in the barn", +th mugging (he could not sing as well after the near strangulation by the muggers, and this depressed him as well; obviously). greta docmetary made on Phil about 20 years ago, Pete seeger et al in it.

[TheGB1950]

@grandmachristine42 sorry I lost your orig message ,The movie was Spanking the Monkey With Jeremy Davies (from LOST) the movie's from 94 he does mention to a girl That Phil Ochs hung him self with his belt and later he atempts it,it's strange how a movie from 94 would make a ref. to an obscure subject. now i heard it was in his sisters barn.

[jimhankey]

That scene in "Spanking The Monkey" was not about a suicide attempt inspired by the tragedy of Phil Ochs's death. The scene was about the young man's attempt to use auto-erotic-asphyxiation during masturbation. It was a new fad in '94. The point was to deprive the brain of O2 during orgasm to heighten sensation. Done properly, one resumed breathing after the orgasm subsided. The scene was in the bathroom b/c only there could the kid get away from his mom (with whom he ultimately has sex).

[TheGB1950]

@jimhankey I thought that might have been what was going on in the flick, but he does mentioned Phil Ochs and his friends ask him "Who's Phil Ochs?"and Jerry Davis as the kid doesn't reply. then later he fakes his own suicide. I thought they were all related.

[jamiegtr2007]

@TheGB1950 Phil hung himself in his sisters barn; see the book on Phil "Death Of A Rebel". Phils ashes were scattered over Edinburgh Castle battlements, here in my native Scotland (Phil's mother was Scottish. please see my video response - - ) James

[TheGB1950]

@jamiegtr2007 thanks for the video & reff. to the book, I only had mentioned that it was strange to me that Phil Ochs death (hung with his own belt) was mentioned and re-enacted in the movie "Spanking the Monkey " from 94 with Jeremy Davies. It's strange I don't think Phil had much of a following here after his death, it's like an on going tale about his death and the J.F.K.story,they seem more important than his music does. It,s like the line in this song about " the worship of the dead."

[GuardofOlympus]

Happy birthday!

[ZZJoCa]

This song made almost as much of an impact on my physique as my first acid trip did. I'd love to hear this whole performance. Btw, the girls looked enthralled in Phil.

[1canyonguy]

@tanzmm Thats awesome -I know what you mean as Woody Guthrie was my uncle

Words cannot express my feelings about your uncle

[margarita6022]

I also miss Phil very much. This is his song about the assasination of Kennedy.

[tml4873]

Great, but where's the rest of the song?

[TheGB1950]

@tml4873

I wonder If it was cut for TV viewing or cut by Person who sent orig video, maybe rest of footage had problems?

[3737duncan]

@tanzmm Are you David's son?

[Angushelen]

was definitely a far better song writer than the dweeb BD

[spacepatrolman]

@Angushelen Dylan could have used phil on the rolling thunder tour but he didnt then phil told dylan his album blood on the tracks wasnt good enough for release [phil was a good critic he wrote record reviews as well as poetry and music] .

[imjdg1961]

Phil Ochs was C

 I A

[lillyandruben]

My god this guy is amazing we need more songwriters like him, his songs are still relevant today

[KennBurch]

What made the song even more poignant was that he wrote it in response to JFK's assassination, then sang it to Robert Kennedy in RFK's Senate office(Bobby totally got it, and got it instantly)then Bobby and Dr. King were killed as well, making the song cyclical(as the repetition of the first verse as the last verse suggested it would be.

[jamiegtr2007]

@KennBurch Phil sand it on a plane that was carrying Bobby Kennedy, a chance meeting. I have no records of him singing in office, but you may be right. But he certainly sang it on the plane --) james

[jimhankey]

I think the biography says that Phil was visiting Ted Kennedy in Teddy's Senate office (not Robert) and simply began singing the song without introduction. Teddy began weeping half way through, when it dawned on him that the song was about JFK. (That reference to the Zapruder film -- "and do you have a picture of the pain?" has to be about the most specific and yet poetically apt cultural reference ever included in a song. This surely is the one to keep if I could only keep one Ochs song.

[VJ254]

I know of no one who can hold my attention with just a voice and a guitar like Phil Ochs can. So haunting, so captivating.

[sc1460]

phil's voice feels so alone, i find it beautiful, and in this stark, brutal song, it is just so plaintive and powerful at the same time; why only 2 minutes!!

[elusiverobertdenby]

"Beneath the greatest love there's a hurricane of hate" -- so sadly true.

[lakapedica]

what a song..why didn't K.D. Lang play his life story

[RockabillyLSD]

Check out those hot Swedish chicks checkin' Phil out as he plays through his dirge.

[mussman717word]

Brilliant lyrics. Brilliant song to go with it. Brilliant man who wrote it. What more can be said?

[Dexhu]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Phil Ochs!

19 December 1940 (would be 69 Years Old)

[bananacreamanarchy]

JFK invaded cuba and bombed vietnam. He wasn't worthy of such a beautifully haunting tribute.

[hollywoodartchick]

I am afraid this is true. Even our so-called "Liberal" presidents have been part of the machine and led us further away from equality and tolerance. I hope this changes in the future.

[mussman717word]

@bananacreamanarchy

I'm not a JFK believer, but for him to die in Phil Ochs' time would be like Barrack Obama to die in this age. It's not so much the person as the even which he represents. A black man in the White House. JFK was the only Catholic in the White House and the only man who really tried to bring people together, not that he was a great person, but at that time, when Elvis was censored from the waist down, it was a big deal to elect someone like JFK. It's the concept behind it

[imjdg1961]

@mussman717word

Congratulations for writing the dumbest thing I have ever read on the internet!

[Babyhowdy233]

THANK YOU for sharing these!!!

Any performance videos of Phil are PURE GOLD, no doubt about it!

This was his sister's favourite of all Phil's songs.

[56Edify]

I saw him perform many times when I was a teen living in NYC area. I lost interest when he got so radicalized he was becoming as entertaining in person as Lenny Bruce toward the end of his career.

[nancyzeetoo]

Phil with his back up band - The Mannequins.

[btex99]

also that chick is still hot... i hope phil hit that

[lennycohenfan]

With the speed of insanity,

then he died...

We miss you, Phil.

[fuckedsociety]

phil ochs is amazing

[steve62482]

@fuckedsociety ... i've never heard it this simple, i've only heard the cacophony on pleasures of the harbour, which is admittadely utterly amazing, one of the most left field pieces of avant gaard pop which still sounds ahead of its time,,,

[benjb22]

Oh, I get it. Dig a pit, build an undergound room, secretly implant innocent unknowing People with bio chips (crown of thorns) and microwave them (secret radiation captivity) and then brainwash them into acceptance (stockholm syndrome) and call it "religion". How quaint and perverted. If they resist torture and force exile. The secret activities are disgusting.

[btex99]

huh? i always thought it was about jfk

[56BUICKRiviera]

Swedish girls! Huqvarna!

[Yahhewaga]

He performed this song in L.A. on the Mort Sahl show, if you could find a video of that performance you would have the Hope Diamond. Phil didn't say much, but Mort, I think, made a reference to the Kennedy assassination and told him he'd better copyright it quickly.The memory of that performance has altered my life.He will someday be missed outside of more than a small circle of friends. The best ever!

[drawuin]

you may not like or agree, but Phil Ochs was inspired exclusivly by the social movement of Jesus of Nazereth

[nancyzeetoo]

Exclusively? Nope, I don't agree with that at all. Phil was influenced by many people and events - he didn't do "exclusive".

[drawuin]

I'll concede to that. But I did read an article a long ime ago where he said he was inspired by JC's "social" outlook and not solely the "relious" aspect. "exclusive" is out and I apologize for my zeal..

[nancyzeetoo]

Oh, I agree he influenced by Christ in some ways and he was fascinated by Christianity in general, despite the fact that he grew up in a Jewish family. And during his last manic period in NYC, he was often seen carrying around a crucifix. But Phil was very much a sociologist at the core, and I suspect the worshippers themselves may have intrigued him more than the worshipped.

[drawuin]

you say "Phil was very much a sociologist at the core" and is closer to the idea I was trying to relay in my original post. Thanks for the correction bercause I wasn't trying to mislead anyone or anything.. and I'm certain I was only pointing out the obvious at any rate :)

[fliznid]

Phil had plenty to say about the Church too, listen to "Cannons of Christianity". He could take what was good from something & still see anything he viewed as wrong or hypocritical, and speak out on it. He criticized aspects of US policy or society but still loved his country & considered himself a patriot; and he could take positive messages from religion and still criticize what he considered dangerous or damaging within it.

Phil was a genious & a precious soul; he's loved & missed!!

[adhdkid91]

Is there any way youd know its about jfk if you didnt know already? im just curious. becuase i didn't know and when i first listend to it i thought it could eb about anyone.

[elusiverobertdenby]

I think it goes beyond JFK, although it fits the late president well. It's really about any world-changer fighting against the status quo. As William Ruhlmann in the Allmusic guide puts it, "the goals cannot be compromised, and they will not be fulfilled."

[dode1953]

Yes it was and Phil had the opportunity to tell RFK exactly that in person as they were passengers on an airplane. Bobby was overwhelmed. Jim and Jean did lots of covers of Phil's music and mostly did them well. They are worth a listen. I just loved this guy!

[spacepatrolman]

@dode1953 join the jim and jean club in myspace

[barflew]

This song was written about the J.F.K. assassination. R.F.K. read it and cried. He thought it was a great tribute.

[spacepatrolman]

@barflew phil performed it for him and he cried

[dode1953]

Thank you! On the eve of the anniversary of his unfortunate suicide, the song has even more poignance. One of the best troubadours ever; gone too soon!

[hipposapiens]

My all-time favourite YouTube piece.

[gwmod]

we miss phil

[Normanskie]

Phil Ochs was one of my favourite artist as a teenager, and it is nice to hear that good music lives on. Manchester UK.

[Ghouma]

Love this song, cheers!

[amanda1965]

Beautiful

[booksol]

Infinitely more powerful than a Tommahawk or Cruise Missile. RIP Phil

[petey1892]

"Dance, dance, dance. Teach us to be true.

Come dance, dance, dance. Cause we love you."

Phil Ochs is not dead.

[spacepatrolman]

@petey1892 dance dance dance now the beats really hot phil liked the beach boys

[Glencie]

Please, please, PLEASE UPLOAD THE ENTIRE SONG!! This was one of the best songs of the 60's, but the studio version is over-orchestrated and the released live versions are just okay. This one sounds great and it might just be the "definative" version.

[GentlemanTony]

I'm still annoyed that Phil did not release an acoustic version of this song on Pleasures of the Harbor ala "When in Rome."

[mounir911]

i can guarantee you that no one only watched this once

[FrankAndNadine]

I was blessed to experience a tribute to Phil Ochs at Falcon Ridge in 06. This song was covered beautifully and hauntingly by David Massingill. It's available on "What's That I Hear" - a tribute CD worth checking out.

[GentlemanTony]

Still one of the greatest set of lyrics ever written.

[bobcat393]

An artist smothered by censorship.how does one rationalize ostracising songs such as this, or "changes".Should have been a major star.Great to see him on this video.

[Yrksman]

Best protest singer ever, very sadly missed. Where did you go Phil Ochs? A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.

[Diceydee]

"Where have you gone, Phil Ochs, a nation turns it's lonely eyes to you." I carved those exact same words in an old wooden library desk sometime circa 1983.

[nandagrey]

Until I discovered youtube I'd never seen any footage at all of Phil Ochs, this is brilliant thanks for posting, Miranda

[MrsSuratt]

This is by far by favorite version of this amazing song. I had no idea there was a video. Thanks for posting.

[nyjerome4]

the shame is that this genius never achieved the recognition he deserves

[gjsjrr]

A great lyric. I miss Phil.

[susantyrellfan]

I saw him in 1974 at the Quiet Knight in Chicago. Some friends of mine, who didn't go, but had wanted to...called the club to day hi to him. He was on when they called, but he called them back!

[treblephone]

Bravo.

[hassanradwan]

Fantastic!!!! What a great song this is - the words are astounding!!!!

[Gumbo77]

dito!

[alex19856]

thanks for posting

[juliejazz]

Wow.

"They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame

Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game?

But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall

How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small.

Tell me every detail, I've got to know it all,

And do you have a picture of the pain?"