Gussy it up all you like, this song is still about sailors getting some from the local working girls. But hey, whoring it up on shore leave has never been portrayed so beautifully!
This song creates its own world. Live in it for awhile and enjoy. I love Phil's protest music, but he had matured as a writer when this came out. I don't know if anyone really cared.
@johnhorneguitar I watched it also. I think when he started to have a problem with his voice it affected him a lot. Too bad he didn't get medicine of help, when he said he was going to kill himself.
Jaredf921- Right; who cares who's "better"? I pity anyone who can't appreciate Dylan's rasp or Phil's choir-boy tenor. I always thought Phil was an amazing singer, with good pitch and suberb feel. This song is the perfect example of his talent. This is no "4-chord folk song".
Phil's mind was both deep and steep ... besides being misunderstood by many, his senses probably were too keen and his mindset and frustration sent him overboard as he took his own life... Bob Dylan didn't have anything on Phil as far as talent was concerned.. but what a difference in success, timing and outcome.. such a pity.
@SteverinoCanEat- A song like this could get you 'kilt in the USA, & with J. Edgar Hoover in charge they could even make it look like you did it yourself.
Many a good person, who expressed an anti-war point of view, went 2 Heaven, way 2 soon, especially if you drew a crowd! re(J/Lennon)
I was not into this stuff until it (Nam)was well over. 1ST heard of Phil on a CBC radio show called "Morningside", with Don Harron @ the time. He said; Dillon went for the "GOLD", but Phil kept on singing!
@SteverinoCanEat "Dylan didn't have anything on Phil as far as talent was concerned" that's a silly comment. Both Bob and Phil are/were the best of the best. Pity that he didn't stay with us...
@SteverinoCanEat Dylan has always been a user is why his servants have to use porta potties that stink..Phil was true but a socialist so obviously he didn't understand humanity..not sorry one's dead and the other washed up..
In 1976, I read an article in Esquire magazine, "Phil Ochs Ain't Marchin' Anymore" about his suicide and checked out his work. The first record I got was "Pleasures of the Harbor". I have 2 vinyl copies, 1 C.D.. This song is a classic. (is it true that Warren Zevon is playing the guitar?)
I truly think that Phil Ochs was one of the best singer / songwriters that this world has ever produced. His voice in itself tells a thousand stories on top of the songs, and yet so many people have never heard of this man. There is a live piano version of this song that I had on cassette years ago and have never been able to find again. It is our job to keep Phil's music alive....I think we do a pretty good job....
I truly think that Phil Ochs was one of the best singer / songwriters that this world has ever produced. His voice in itself tells a thousand stories on top of the songs, and yet so many people have never heard of this man. There is a live piano version of this song that I had on cassette years ago and have never been able to find again. It is our job to keep Phil's music alive....I think we do a pretty good job....
@milnerad I echo every sentiment, and if you're still in search of it, I believe that the piano version to which you refer can be found on the album Gunfight At Carnegie Hall, Phil's 'Royal Albert Hall' moment, It's out of print, I think, but can be downloaded from iTunes/Amazon, amongst others...
Phil Ochs was at his best in this period of his short career creating, I think, his best music. Alot of people only remember him for his earlier songs and wrote him off when he recording clasics like this. That was sad. He was a master of composing great songs and is missed.
Thank you so much for posting. This was my favorite Phil Ochs song. I saw him in person twice - the second time I requested that he sing this and he did. He seemed really lonely at times. I wish he hadn't ended it all.
Phil was never much of a singer, and this song was over-orchestrated and over-produced but I remember the first time I heard it in '67 and it knocked me on my butt! Phil's extraordinary vocal honesty and his sensitive but never sentimental lyric make this one of the great songs from that era. If Phil were alive today he'd be 70, but then Phil was 70 when he was 25! There was a terrible foreboding in everything Phil did. I guess that's part of what made his work so brilliant. Thanks for posting.
Whenever I hear this song I'm overcome with the sad subtext that was to become Phil's fate, his suicide. "The candle is blown out, the darkness is so kind..." I can't help but sense the personality that he became was too overwhelming for him. I was lucky enough to hear Sylvia Plath a short time before she took her life, and the tone of her writing was eerily similar; a woman who's sailing would soon be over...
Funny, the person who posted this mentions the John Wayne movie "The Long Voyage Home," but the photo of Phil Ochs shows him standing with a poster of Steve McQueen in "The Sand Pebbles."
@fethard1 This song works a lot better in the context of the album it came from (also named "Pleasures of the Harbor.") When you hear the whole thing together, it fits in and you can hear the full greatness of Phil Ochs -- not just a radical, not just a funnyman, but an imaginative artist as well.
The Pleasures of the Harbor album was Phil Och's best, IMO. It wasn't political and the music is there for the sake of the music. This is a beautiful song. "The Party" is Phil Ochs at his sarcastic best. "The Crucifixion" is a masterpiece, although I think it works better as a religious song than as a tribute to JFK. I guess I'm too cynical to see JFK as Jesus. But this song I have loved for decades.
Maybe with a different arrangement this could have been a good song (maybe) but as it is, it's really not a very good song. I really like Phil Ochs but this is just not a good song. Boring!
@fethard1 : I've actually heard the song with a different, more pared-down arrangement. And your hunch is right: when you hear it that way, it *is* a good song.
WTF are you raving about 11xzxzxz? Smoke another joint. This is an interesting song but I have a feeling you really haven't listened to it. One of the downsides of YouTube is that anyone can rant jibberish. Oh well. Gotta take the bad with the good...
Conclusion. One study showed monkeys do the most moral thing when simulation of a railroad ride on a death train is "performed". When monkeys' only choice is to veer left to kill one human or right to kill 5 humans on the tracks .. they almost always choose to veer left and do the least damage. So even an animal can be moral and this has nothing to do with god except if there was a god and he just natural endowed man and primates with "good genes".
The animal world: The pleasure of doing good is shown in monkey studies; we presume monkeys don't believe in god or a higher authority . When monkeys do see other monkeys in cages getting painful shocks when they touch a bar that gives them food, so many have starved themselves to death rather than watch another monkey in pain. Heck a lot of humans might not do this.
Many studies show that even primates and other animals are moral and they may not have the ability to appreciate god in the sense that mankind does. And if animals are moral in terms of cooperation or feeling others' pain and it doesn't come from their knowledge of god or respecting or fearing god then this is an essential point. Anyone can disagree with this but just be clear and rational in explaining how I am wrong.
Of course many believers do good out of the same motivations as non-believers .. I don't think most believers are normally thinking about rewards of Christianity and Islam.
Most people don't seem to understand that it is better and more moral to do good for mankind, animals or yourself without expectation of heaven or avoidance of hell. If a believer does good how do we know if it is not just not increase chances of getting into heaven ?
Believers and non-believers inherit good genes as do most people from their parents. These good genes are naturally endowed and increase greatly with mammals. Non-believers raised by a caring families just feel good from doing a good act or cooperation with others or not liking to see others in pain because that is how they evolve - just as most believers. There is no anticipation of a huge reward as believers often think they have.
Phil was a childhood idol of mine...both a beautiful thing and sad thing... because as proud as i am that i rebel against the powers that be... it also makes life a really tough road no matter how righteous....perhaps this is what led to his sad departure........love you and miss you phil :)
This song is proof that Ochs was not just a great topical songwriter, but a great writer of songs as well. He was an amazing talent, with a voice to go along with it.
I love Phil Ochs. He was one of my Mom's favorite poets and songwriter. My later childhood and political views were very much shaped by him. I especially like this song! So beautifully composed and such fine sharp words.
First I didn't mind his politics so much esp for the time he lived. Politics is my thing probably much more than you .. I am an Independent and was once more liberal. I can't be pinned down as I am not an ideologue .
Ah, I think I know where this is going. I'm a hardcore conservative and everyone asks me, "How can you be a Phil Ochs fan?" Well, songs about revolution and the hypocrisy of liberals are pretty bi-partisan. ;D
@AtoZor Well I am not an ideologue and I "some other viewpoint" and not liberal, moderate, or conservative. I like and dislike some things I find in most conservatives, liberals and moderates. For conservatives, I dislike the mixing of religion and politics. "If you are not a liberal at 16 you lack heart; if you are not a conservative at 60 you might lack some head." Not sexual head, the other kind. I am an Ochs fan because he wrote many sensitive haunting songs (Changes, When I'm Gone).
Churchill's quote, "If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."? I don't believe I mix religion with politics. To use a practical example, I don't care if a kid prays in public school, because I believe the kid can use his right to exercise (religion) wherever he chooses. I also believe in the right to life, being as it's an inalienable right. The only religious point involved is that the right to life[s endowed by the "Creator"
@AtoZor Thanks for reminding me of the exact quote. I don't believe there is a Creator and morality comes from within."If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities."[Voltaire] Very few people realize that Atheist's good deeds are inherently more moral than fanatical Christians, or perhaps all Christians, when performing the same good deeds because there is no heavenly reward or punishment awaiting Atheists for their good acts.Motivation is essential to deeming good works "good" or not.
Listen to Harry CHAPIN's "The Parade's Still Passing By" and you'll get chills. I think that this is a testament to the greatness of this type of music. It transcends age and time and is relevant to all of us. I've turned on Many friends who are my age (32) and even younger to this music. I strongly encourage you to do the same. Now more than ever, we need to hear songs like these. We all need to take it upon ourselves to do something to make this world a better place to be. -Mike Tocci
There's another recorded version of this, live with only a piano and guitar, that I heard first. I love it too, but the song is a beautiful, sad story, and Phil's voice always seemed pure and sweet to me. I always mourned that he left us when we needed him most. Can you imagine how he would have lambasted Da Shrub? We have to treasure what he left us.
Some say that Phil Ochs was not much of a singer. For me, his voice was the most beautiful, sincere I have ever heard, combined with his writing abilities he is probubly the most underated talents of the 20th. century. Thank you for posting this masterpiece, and thank you Phil, just as you promised; "I'll be there".
Exactly. Phil had depth and vision and lyrics better than most great poets and his greatest instrument was his voice. But then the best voices for me are always perfectly non-perfect: Neil Young, Graham Parker, The Replacement's Paul Westerberg, etc. Phil was cinematic and if only a movie could be made BUT I AM SO GLAD THAT SEAN PENN DIDN'T PLAY PHIL CAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING CREEPY ABOUT THAT GUY. MICKY ROURKE COULD PLAY PHIL AND I'D BE HAPPY AS LONG AS SEAN WASN'T DOING IT. IMO.
That's OK if we disagree - I just don't like Sean's acting. I did see him do Milk and he was fine but I usually don't like him in movies as Casualties of War or Carlito's Way (he was a joke in that movie). And Tim Robins should have won best actor for Mystic River. I don't like emotive over-the-top scene stealing assholes and like more subtle acting. I was more inspired by Phil than Sean so does that mean I should play him?
How do you know if you were more inspired by Phil then Sean? My point was just that it would be great for someone who has a connection to him in some way to play him... But your point is well taken. Also he is usually depressing I know... he was great in MILK, i recomend seeing it... maybe not if u really dislike Sean Penn. It's okay if we disagree, let's focus more on what we share: a common love for Phil.
Well put, as a 58 yr old tattooed Harley rider I can say, without shame, this piece always brings a tear to my eye. Thinking of his untimely death makes the tear run down my face........Sadly beautiful.
Phil was MURDERED! I have personally collected precious evidence on Phil Ochs, I have mailed it to any who will ask. Phil Ochs was murdered by our own Government/CIA/Secret Service. I have very strong information to support this. It will convince any skeptic, I can assure that. Psychiatry, and "medicine" to help? Tom Cruise was right about that. Cut out the ignorance Phil Ochs fans, and let's get some Justice For Phil!
This comment was marked as spam, but honestly I'm not one to discount such things as ridiculous at all. I think in a world that runs on money, people conspiring together to do fucked up shit is more the norm than most people would think. That's of course just my opinion. But I feel bad, so in an effort to balance things out, I'm going to give this a a thumb's up.
"To Know someone You must walk in their shoes!!! This guy was a so very shy and used drugs to function and mask the pain that he was carrying throughout his all to short life early abuse of Valium just to get him up on stage!.The Lifelong struggle with "Bi Polar!" like Vincent Van Goth,St Francis of Assi,Franc ford Coppola William Blake to name a Few.... This high morale ground can be a very lonley place ... we all tend to walk on a tightrope without a safety net...great, song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Phil Ochs began his musical life as a teenage playing in the adult local symphony. A musical prodigy, some say. Clarinet is very much a melodic voice. It takes a good bit of breath.
He was also a good journalist. He is of his time, but we can appreciate all the sides in our times today.
This album is incredible, although it's quite different from his live material and the traditional "folk" sound. This track (the title track) is one of the best he ever recorded in the studio (in my opinion). Thanks for posting!
This song was inspired by the World War II film "The Long Journey Home". And if you check out the opening credits of that film, you can tell that Phil quotes part of the them music in the melody of this song.
This is a fantastic upload. One of Phil's best songs. I thought that I preferred the original, but this version has a strange emotional impact. Phil could write beautiful songs about the human condition.
Quite a change from his Elektra recordings; he reinvented himself and made this beautiful album without sacrificing one iota of his sincerity and passion for what he believed was right and fair. A true artist and gone way too soon.
One of Phil's best songs.Still as relevant today as it was 41 years ago.(OMG) It's not only a song about sailors on leave in port...it's also about growing older and letting your chances slip away. Also a strong foreshadowing of Phil's suicide.
Gussy it up all you like, this song is still about sailors getting some from the local working girls. But hey, whoring it up on shore leave has never been portrayed so beautifully!
haljor22 6 days ago
This song creates its own world. Live in it for awhile and enjoy. I love Phil's protest music, but he had matured as a writer when this came out. I don't know if anyone really cared.
swinedance 1 month ago
Brilliant song by a brilliant artist. Gone too soon. We miss you Phil.
garyinthedesert 1 month ago
Watched the PBS documentary on Phil Ochs last night. An amazing individual.
johnhorneguitar 1 month ago
@johnhorneguitar I watched it also. I think when he started to have a problem with his voice it affected him a lot. Too bad he didn't get medicine of help, when he said he was going to kill himself.
SharonZZZ1 1 month ago
The arrangement is breath -taking! I wish Phil was alive ..
thesantoshow93 2 months ago in playlist Phil Ochs
We could use him nowadays! I bet he would be all over OWS
vootie99 2 months ago 3
@vootie99 So love me,love me love; I'm a Liberal...
SoEyeSay 1 month ago
@SoEyeSay OWS is more socialist...
vootie99 1 month ago
I LOVE the orchestration on this tune!!!
SoEyeSay 3 months ago
There is a good song buried under all that instrumentation somewhere.
ccarterkk 10 months ago
@ccarterkk its all over it, not under it
Zuxinowo 6 months ago
beautiful
njceltic88 10 months ago
What a very wonderful song this is. Thankyou for posting.
Muteswan1 11 months ago
Jaredf921- Right; who cares who's "better"? I pity anyone who can't appreciate Dylan's rasp or Phil's choir-boy tenor. I always thought Phil was an amazing singer, with good pitch and suberb feel. This song is the perfect example of his talent. This is no "4-chord folk song".
SoEyeSay 11 months ago
Phil's mind was both deep and steep ... besides being misunderstood by many, his senses probably were too keen and his mindset and frustration sent him overboard as he took his own life... Bob Dylan didn't have anything on Phil as far as talent was concerned.. but what a difference in success, timing and outcome.. such a pity.
SteverinoCanEat 1 year ago 5
@SteverinoCanEat- A song like this could get you 'kilt in the USA, & with J. Edgar Hoover in charge they could even make it look like you did it yourself.
Many a good person, who expressed an anti-war point of view, went 2 Heaven, way 2 soon, especially if you drew a crowd! re(J/Lennon)
I was not into this stuff until it (Nam)was well over. 1ST heard of Phil on a CBC radio show called "Morningside", with Don Harron @ the time. He said; Dillon went for the "GOLD", but Phil kept on singing!
hanksnow2 1 year ago
@SteverinoCanEat "Dylan didn't have anything on Phil as far as talent was concerned" that's a silly comment. Both Bob and Phil are/were the best of the best. Pity that he didn't stay with us...
jaredf921 1 year ago
@SteverinoCanEat Dylan has always been a user is why his servants have to use porta potties that stink..Phil was true but a socialist so obviously he didn't understand humanity..not sorry one's dead and the other washed up..
paragtime 5 months ago
i love this man.
zoeruls 1 year ago
In 1976, I read an article in Esquire magazine, "Phil Ochs Ain't Marchin' Anymore" about his suicide and checked out his work. The first record I got was "Pleasures of the Harbor". I have 2 vinyl copies, 1 C.D.. This song is a classic. (is it true that Warren Zevon is playing the guitar?)
rockerphelps 1 year ago
so sweet
paschal421 1 year ago
Liked his voice; liked his lyrics; liked his messages; still have his vinyl somewhere.
Oprahd 1 year ago
Damn right he was a great singer. The complete package .. not just a brilliant lyricist and maker of maudlin melodies
11xzxzxz 1 year ago 2
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I truly think that Phil Ochs was one of the best singer / songwriters that this world has ever produced. His voice in itself tells a thousand stories on top of the songs, and yet so many people have never heard of this man. There is a live piano version of this song that I had on cassette years ago and have never been able to find again. It is our job to keep Phil's music alive....I think we do a pretty good job....
milnerad 1 year ago
I truly think that Phil Ochs was one of the best singer / songwriters that this world has ever produced. His voice in itself tells a thousand stories on top of the songs, and yet so many people have never heard of this man. There is a live piano version of this song that I had on cassette years ago and have never been able to find again. It is our job to keep Phil's music alive....I think we do a pretty good job....
milnerad 1 year ago 3
@milnerad I echo every sentiment, and if you're still in search of it, I believe that the piano version to which you refer can be found on the album Gunfight At Carnegie Hall, Phil's 'Royal Albert Hall' moment, It's out of print, I think, but can be downloaded from iTunes/Amazon, amongst others...
ItTookMeFarTooLong 11 months ago
Phil Ochs was at his best in this period of his short career creating, I think, his best music. Alot of people only remember him for his earlier songs and wrote him off when he recording clasics like this. That was sad. He was a master of composing great songs and is missed.
PaMairi 1 year ago
I also wanted to say - that I have this on a record album - yes vinyl - that has seen better days. It's great to know it is here. Again thanks.
Moonlighthasmehooked 1 year ago
Thank you so much for posting. This was my favorite Phil Ochs song. I saw him in person twice - the second time I requested that he sing this and he did. He seemed really lonely at times. I wish he hadn't ended it all.
Moonlighthasmehooked 1 year ago
this is a fucking classic, i wish there was sound like today.
oh gosh...this is like the anthem of life.
joshcky0113 1 year ago
phil ochs, was amazing.
and this song isnt even nearly over orchestrated :D.
its paaaaaaaaarfect.
joshcky0113 1 year ago
Phil was never much of a singer, and this song was over-orchestrated and over-produced but I remember the first time I heard it in '67 and it knocked me on my butt! Phil's extraordinary vocal honesty and his sensitive but never sentimental lyric make this one of the great songs from that era. If Phil were alive today he'd be 70, but then Phil was 70 when he was 25! There was a terrible foreboding in everything Phil did. I guess that's part of what made his work so brilliant. Thanks for posting.
copperleaves 1 year ago
THIS IS THE ONLY ALBUM OF HIS THAT I EVER HAD. THANK THE LORD I STILL HAVE IT .
mrwells2001 1 year ago
Brilliant song. Brilliant talent.
oxnard99 1 year ago
this song is just simply lovely. i have always loved it.
therealpattibowie 1 year ago
I grew up listening to this guy. I've never forgotten his lyrics. Oh how I listened to him with ardor and liberty of soul.
xabixnaq 1 year ago
Nonsense. This great, great song was a tribute to Lenny Bruce.
kcscribeable 1 year ago
Write back in your twilight years, 11xzxzxz.
9duryea9 1 year ago
Whenever I hear this song I'm overcome with the sad subtext that was to become Phil's fate, his suicide. "The candle is blown out, the darkness is so kind..." I can't help but sense the personality that he became was too overwhelming for him. I was lucky enough to hear Sylvia Plath a short time before she took her life, and the tone of her writing was eerily similar; a woman who's sailing would soon be over...
badjaycl 1 year ago
My favorite Phil Ochs song. Thanks so much for putting it up.
accelo4 1 year ago
I love this song and the orchestration. The Long Voyage Home is a John Ford film based on some of Eugene O'Neill's short plays, and it's a fine film.
brian14leonard 1 year ago 2
Funny, the person who posted this mentions the John Wayne movie "The Long Voyage Home," but the photo of Phil Ochs shows him standing with a poster of Steve McQueen in "The Sand Pebbles."
ivpaul42 2 years ago
The song is great - a great great song. The live version is better but it's not on Youtube.
OswaldvonWolkenstein 2 years ago
Fuck you all, this song is great. Have a better appreciation for music you cocksuckers.
AUSROTTENY2K 2 years ago
@fethard1 This song works a lot better in the context of the album it came from (also named "Pleasures of the Harbor.") When you hear the whole thing together, it fits in and you can hear the full greatness of Phil Ochs -- not just a radical, not just a funnyman, but an imaginative artist as well.
KuryakinIllya 2 years ago
@KuryakinIllya
The Pleasures of the Harbor album was Phil Och's best, IMO. It wasn't political and the music is there for the sake of the music. This is a beautiful song. "The Party" is Phil Ochs at his sarcastic best. "The Crucifixion" is a masterpiece, although I think it works better as a religious song than as a tribute to JFK. I guess I'm too cynical to see JFK as Jesus. But this song I have loved for decades.
TomKattt 2 years ago
Maybe with a different arrangement this could have been a good song (maybe) but as it is, it's really not a very good song. I really like Phil Ochs but this is just not a good song. Boring!
fethard1 2 years ago
@fethard1 : I've actually heard the song with a different, more pared-down arrangement. And your hunch is right: when you hear it that way, it *is* a good song.
LanguorousLass 1 year ago
WTF are you raving about 11xzxzxz? Smoke another joint. This is an interesting song but I have a feeling you really haven't listened to it. One of the downsides of YouTube is that anyone can rant jibberish. Oh well. Gotta take the bad with the good...
PaMairi 2 years ago
Conclusion. One study showed monkeys do the most moral thing when simulation of a railroad ride on a death train is "performed". When monkeys' only choice is to veer left to kill one human or right to kill 5 humans on the tracks .. they almost always choose to veer left and do the least damage. So even an animal can be moral and this has nothing to do with god except if there was a god and he just natural endowed man and primates with "good genes".
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
The animal world: The pleasure of doing good is shown in monkey studies; we presume monkeys don't believe in god or a higher authority . When monkeys do see other monkeys in cages getting painful shocks when they touch a bar that gives them food, so many have starved themselves to death rather than watch another monkey in pain. Heck a lot of humans might not do this.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Many studies show that even primates and other animals are moral and they may not have the ability to appreciate god in the sense that mankind does. And if animals are moral in terms of cooperation or feeling others' pain and it doesn't come from their knowledge of god or respecting or fearing god then this is an essential point. Anyone can disagree with this but just be clear and rational in explaining how I am wrong.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Of course many believers do good out of the same motivations as non-believers .. I don't think most believers are normally thinking about rewards of Christianity and Islam.
Most people don't seem to understand that it is better and more moral to do good for mankind, animals or yourself without expectation of heaven or avoidance of hell. If a believer does good how do we know if it is not just not increase chances of getting into heaven ?
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Believers and non-believers inherit good genes as do most people from their parents. These good genes are naturally endowed and increase greatly with mammals. Non-believers raised by a caring families just feel good from doing a good act or cooperation with others or not liking to see others in pain because that is how they evolve - just as most believers. There is no anticipation of a huge reward as believers often think they have.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Phil was a childhood idol of mine...both a beautiful thing and sad thing... because as proud as i am that i rebel against the powers that be... it also makes life a really tough road no matter how righteous....perhaps this is what led to his sad departure........love you and miss you phil :)
midnite22155 2 years ago 2
I still think Phil's definitive version of this song is on Live At Newport where it's just him and his guitar but it's all good.
TheLIKP 2 years ago
This song is proof that Ochs was not just a great topical songwriter, but a great writer of songs as well. He was an amazing talent, with a voice to go along with it.
MiserableOldFart 2 years ago 3
one of the best songs ever
superking1989 2 years ago 3
Miss you, see you in the paradise...I will hear you sing a happier song... with that amazing voice, & talent.
Penhappy101 2 years ago 3
Phil was no different from many of us other than smarts and courage. His death could have been prevented with plethora of kindred spirits!!!
jobe413007 2 years ago
I love Phil Ochs. He was one of my Mom's favorite poets and songwriter. My later childhood and political views were very much shaped by him. I especially like this song! So beautifully composed and such fine sharp words.
Greenstoneson 2 years ago 2
Also I loved Phil the man, the writer, caring guy, sensitive soul and raconteur and could care less about his radical politics.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago 7
But his politics made up so much of his writing!
I love Phil, all of him, if politics isn't your thing that's cool!
:)
I really enjoy all types of people, no worries.
94lukepl 2 years ago 3
First I didn't mind his politics so much esp for the time he lived. Politics is my thing probably much more than you .. I am an Independent and was once more liberal. I can't be pinned down as I am not an ideologue .
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Ah, I think I know where this is going. I'm a hardcore conservative and everyone asks me, "How can you be a Phil Ochs fan?" Well, songs about revolution and the hypocrisy of liberals are pretty bi-partisan. ;D
AtoZor0through9 2 years ago
@AtoZor Well I am not an ideologue and I "some other viewpoint" and not liberal, moderate, or conservative. I like and dislike some things I find in most conservatives, liberals and moderates. For conservatives, I dislike the mixing of religion and politics. "If you are not a liberal at 16 you lack heart; if you are not a conservative at 60 you might lack some head." Not sexual head, the other kind. I am an Ochs fan because he wrote many sensitive haunting songs (Changes, When I'm Gone).
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Churchill's quote, "If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."? I don't believe I mix religion with politics. To use a practical example, I don't care if a kid prays in public school, because I believe the kid can use his right to exercise (religion) wherever he chooses. I also believe in the right to life, being as it's an inalienable right. The only religious point involved is that the right to life[s endowed by the "Creator"
AtoZor0through9 2 years ago
@AtoZor Thanks for reminding me of the exact quote. I don't believe there is a Creator and morality comes from within."If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities."[Voltaire] Very few people realize that Atheist's good deeds are inherently more moral than fanatical Christians, or perhaps all Christians, when performing the same good deeds because there is no heavenly reward or punishment awaiting Atheists for their good acts.Motivation is essential to deeming good works "good" or not.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
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Listen to Harry CHAPIN's "The Parade's Still Passing By" and you'll get chills. I think that this is a testament to the greatness of this type of music. It transcends age and time and is relevant to all of us. I've turned on Many friends who are my age (32) and even younger to this music. I strongly encourage you to do the same. Now more than ever, we need to hear songs like these. We all need to take it upon ourselves to do something to make this world a better place to be. -Mike Tocci
miketocci 2 years ago
The last time I heard this song was the early 70's. Thank you for posting! so sweet.
Joanna129 2 years ago 17
This is a truly beautiful recording. I've heard it before, but forgot how good it is. Thanks for reminding me.
DDBartoli 2 years ago 8
There's another recorded version of this, live with only a piano and guitar, that I heard first. I love it too, but the song is a beautiful, sad story, and Phil's voice always seemed pure and sweet to me. I always mourned that he left us when we needed him most. Can you imagine how he would have lambasted Da Shrub? We have to treasure what he left us.
BelindaKyle 2 years ago 3
There is no such thing as "overly-orchestrated."
spot0914 2 years ago 2
Some say that Phil Ochs was not much of a singer. For me, his voice was the most beautiful, sincere I have ever heard, combined with his writing abilities he is probubly the most underated talents of the 20th. century. Thank you for posting this masterpiece, and thank you Phil, just as you promised; "I'll be there".
VJ254 2 years ago 42
I feel the same way.
droverk 2 years ago 4
cant agree more. its sad that the music industry will never realize the talent he had.
three3rdszer0 2 years ago 6
Exactly. Phil had depth and vision and lyrics better than most great poets and his greatest instrument was his voice. But then the best voices for me are always perfectly non-perfect: Neil Young, Graham Parker, The Replacement's Paul Westerberg, etc. Phil was cinematic and if only a movie could be made BUT I AM SO GLAD THAT SEAN PENN DIDN'T PLAY PHIL CAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING CREEPY ABOUT THAT GUY. MICKY ROURKE COULD PLAY PHIL AND I'D BE HAPPY AS LONG AS SEAN WASN'T DOING IT. IMO.
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
Sean Penn is the finest American working actor!
And he was inspired by Phil's life, he's extremely political.
i would've LOVED to see Penn do it, only now he's far to old to do it...
Did you see him do Harvey Milk in MILK? FAN FUCKING TASTIC.
94lukepl 2 years ago
That's OK if we disagree - I just don't like Sean's acting. I did see him do Milk and he was fine but I usually don't like him in movies as Casualties of War or Carlito's Way (he was a joke in that movie). And Tim Robins should have won best actor for Mystic River. I don't like emotive over-the-top scene stealing assholes and like more subtle acting. I was more inspired by Phil than Sean so does that mean I should play him?
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
IT's okay if we disagree, I agree.
How do you know if you were more inspired by Phil then Sean? My point was just that it would be great for someone who has a connection to him in some way to play him... But your point is well taken. Also he is usually depressing I know... he was great in MILK, i recomend seeing it... maybe not if u really dislike Sean Penn. It's okay if we disagree, let's focus more on what we share: a common love for Phil.
94lukepl 2 years ago
I think his voice is pure, I can hear the earth and the wind in his words, he was the real deal
clashcitywannabe 2 years ago 7
Another Ochs Pathos!
autodelete66 2 years ago
Love this song.
Love the Live in Vancouver version.
CaptainPillowMusic 2 years ago 3
Beautiful tune. I like the version on "Chords of Fame." The sailor in the pic looks like Steve McQueen in "the Sand Pebbles."
neilcovey 2 years ago 4
It's hardly over-orchestrated. It's sublime, poetically enthralling.
orbis2009 2 years ago 6
Nice!
11xzxzxz 2 years ago
A masterpiece.
danieljosephleo 2 years ago 4
A masterpiece.
danieljosephleo 2 years ago 2
Hauntingly beautiful, just as I remembered from a lifetime ago.
brownesq 2 years ago 3
Well put, as a 58 yr old tattooed Harley rider I can say, without shame, this piece always brings a tear to my eye. Thinking of his untimely death makes the tear run down my face........Sadly beautiful.
skippy025025 2 years ago 6
This has been flagged as spam show
Phil was MURDERED! I have personally collected precious evidence on Phil Ochs, I have mailed it to any who will ask. Phil Ochs was murdered by our own Government/CIA/Secret Service. I have very strong information to support this. It will convince any skeptic, I can assure that. Psychiatry, and "medicine" to help? Tom Cruise was right about that. Cut out the ignorance Phil Ochs fans, and let's get some Justice For Phil!
philochs 2 years ago
This comment was marked as spam, but honestly I'm not one to discount such things as ridiculous at all. I think in a world that runs on money, people conspiring together to do fucked up shit is more the norm than most people would think. That's of course just my opinion. But I feel bad, so in an effort to balance things out, I'm going to give this a a thumb's up.
Shapelander 2 years ago
"To Know someone You must walk in their shoes!!! This guy was a so very shy and used drugs to function and mask the pain that he was carrying throughout his all to short life early abuse of Valium just to get him up on stage!.The Lifelong struggle with "Bi Polar!" like Vincent Van Goth,St Francis of Assi,Franc ford Coppola William Blake to name a Few.... This high morale ground can be a very lonley place ... we all tend to walk on a tightrope without a safety net...great, song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
malachy1847 2 years ago 4
Phil Ochs began his musical life as a teenage playing in the adult local symphony. A musical prodigy, some say. Clarinet is very much a melodic voice. It takes a good bit of breath.
He was also a good journalist. He is of his time, but we can appreciate all the sides in our times today.
edithhughes 3 years ago
This album is incredible, although it's quite different from his live material and the traditional "folk" sound. This track (the title track) is one of the best he ever recorded in the studio (in my opinion). Thanks for posting!
deejaygps 3 years ago 2
This song was inspired by the World War II film "The Long Journey Home". And if you check out the opening credits of that film, you can tell that Phil quotes part of the them music in the melody of this song.
KennBurch 2 years ago
This is a fantastic upload. One of Phil's best songs. I thought that I preferred the original, but this version has a strange emotional impact. Phil could write beautiful songs about the human condition.
lennycohenfan 3 years ago
The sailor is Phil....I cried when I heard this song again...I realized that he was singing about life and me....all of us. It's a beautiful song.
swqak 3 years ago 5
Quite a change from his Elektra recordings; he reinvented himself and made this beautiful album without sacrificing one iota of his sincerity and passion for what he believed was right and fair. A true artist and gone way too soon.
maida1982a 3 years ago 4
One of Phil's best songs.Still as relevant today as it was 41 years ago.(OMG) It's not only a song about sailors on leave in port...it's also about growing older and letting your chances slip away. Also a strong foreshadowing of Phil's suicide.
I listen to Phil and Marvin Gaye every day.
Gone too soon.
garyinthedesert 3 years ago 9
Warren Zevon said you can hear his guitar "way in the back" on this recording.
elusiverobertdenby 3 years ago
same as v!
thank you so much!
xoxopetitchatxoxo 3 years ago
Thank you so much! I've been waiting for someone to put this song up. This is from my favorite Phil Ochs album. I have the original. Thanks again.
accelo4 3 years ago
When you reach 60- you all will cry like babies at the beauty of this song.
JOROSS2 3 years ago 5
I would bet so from a coward that has never even played hockey.
But is very happy to define how they are when THEY fight.
LOL
plett410 3 years ago
It's is shameful to Ochs spirit that a self proclaimed socialist voter mocks him so.
Not that it would mean anything to you that lives for a , "Haha" on the internet.
Perhaps we shall meet? LOL
You would hide behind your wife and children to not get hit in the face for first time if we met. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
plett410 3 years ago
LOL @"No hate here".
Again this is not original Phil.
It's a shame how he is abused.
plett410 3 years ago
No hate here--a beautiful song and great (underrated) album.
republicansattack 3 years ago 2
republicansattack
Please provide me with the release date of this album.
plett410 3 years ago
1967, on A&M Records
republicansattack 3 years ago