I spent the last few hours listening to Phil Ochs

[Reverend_Smitty]

and I know this might be a DU sin but I say Ochs is better than Dylan...there I said it, plus he has a better voice.

Flame away!

[intheflow]

1. "Ochs is better than Dylan"

You got that right, Rev! A) His lyrics made sense. B) He could carry a tune. It was truly a musical loss that he died so young.

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. plus Ochs had a great sense of humor

his lyrics were so snarky that *this* wise ass could really appreciate

[The empressof all]

3. His voice is haunting

I've been thinking about Phil since the "best writer of folk songs" thread yesterday.

I have been known to just weep to his music-it never ages for me. It always seems so present yet takes me back to a time in my youth when I really had no doubts that we could change the world.

Since his death he has really fallen off even the mainstream folk music radar. I think most of old time folkies though do recognize that he was pure genius, under-rated and under-valued even in his own time and a true inspiration to all who have heard and learned from him.

And you are correct his voice is amazing.

[The River]

4. I Wouldn't Say Better....

but I would say angrier than Dylan.
As a Poet/Writer, Dylan wins hands down.
As a pure protester, Ochs wins.
I played a lot of both on guitar as a
teen. Dylan when the song/message needed to be "mellow"
Ochs when you could let it all hang out (no cops or parents around).
Phils best song is "Changes".
These days "Cops Of The World" seems more appropriate

[Reverend_Smitty]

6. Changes is the song that is playing right now

and Cops of the World was also on the playlist

Change the words Richard Nixon to George Bush and this song is right up to date

Here's to the State of Richard Nixon

For underneath his borders the devil draws no line
If you drag his muddy rivers nameless bodies you will find
And the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes
And the calender is lyin' when it reads the present time
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the schools Richard Nixon
Where they're teaching all the children they don't have to care
All the rudiments of hatred are present everywhere
And every single classroom is a factory of despair
Oh, there's nobody learnin' such as foreign word as fair
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the laws Richard Nixon
Where the wars are fought in secret, Pearl Harbor every day
He punishes with income tax that he don't have to pay
And he's tapping his own brother just to here what he would say
But corruption can be classic in the Richard Nixon way
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the churches Richard Nixon and Billy Graham
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust
And the Sunday mornin sermons pander to their lust
All the fallen face of Jesus is chokin' in the dust
And Heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the government Richard Nixon
In the swamp of their bureaucracy their always boggin' down
And criminals are posing as advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights and no one hears the sound
And the speeches of the President are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon find yourself another country to be part of

[enigmatic]

5. I prefer Ochs to Dylan

Although both are Gods. Best topical songwriter there ever was, and his later albums (Pleasures Of The Harbor, Tape From California, Rehersals For Retirement) are overlooked classics.

And if you've never heard the "Gunfight At Carnegie Hall" album try to get it; the version of "Pleasures Of The Harbor" on it is superior to the album version.

Phil was one of the good ones..

[murielm99]

7. I love Phil Ochs.

His songs are pure genius. His voice was beautiful. Look at the lyrics to Cops of the World. Has anything changed? Will we be singing the Draft Dodger rag again?

Ochs is by far my favorite.

He was right in the thick of things at the Chicago convention. He even testified at the trial.

I saw him and heard him once. He came to my college, to sing at the McCarthy headquarters, and to urge us to vote for McCarthy. I was a Kennedy supporter, but what the hell? I went to hear him sing. He was in the loft above the headquarters, a big open space. We sat on the floor. There were only about thirty people there. It was unbelievable.

[tmooses]

8. I just recently heard Ochs on the radio and it reminded me what an

incredible voice he had-along with lyrics that seemed written more by a poet than a musician. I think his take on love,war,loss,society, etc. just struck a more vivid chord with me than Dylan (maybe because he was
about the first "protest" folk singer I remember). I do wonder what his take on our current state of affairs would be. "Chaplain of the War" foretold the world of Bush and neocons:

" Give thanks to the parents who taught them as a boy they must obey
Give thanks to the church who taught them how to pose and how to pray
Give thanks to the schools who taught them well what they are fighting for
Blessings from the Chaplain of the War.

I know it will be hard, your finger on the trigger might refrain
But someone's dealt the cards and the Bible says you're clearly not to blame
Just think about the past, all the Christian guns who've carried on before
with the Blessings of the Chaplain of the War.

The enemy is godless, the holy way is one they never knew
Forgive them as you kill them, believe me, they know not what they do
And the prisoners you take, you can try to lead them to the Christian shore
now Blessings from the Chaplain of the War.

Now you may find it strange that a man of peace is asking you to fight
But the church is known to change, embracing half the wrongs it hopes to right
I can't describe the times, I've wrestled with my conscience to the core
now Blessings from the Chaplain of the War."