Ep. 120 Singing louder than the bullets: Phil Ochs Voice of the Waterlily- Our Stories

I had a full circle moment recently. It was about this time last year, a cloudy day, drizzling.  I was wearing a wool sweater too, not the same one, but similar. I was moody and sad, both days. Last year, that day, I first listened to “Manifesto”, Victor Jara and I will say again, it changed my life. This past year has changed me as a person, and that moment when I first heard that beautiful voice and that guitar, I could feel the change. It was a song that I felt I had heard my entire life, yet a song I had never heard before. 

This year, I finally after having known about him for months, actually I first heard listened to Phil Ochs for the first time. And I had a similar reaction to “I ain’t marching no more”. I was struck by more than Ochs’ voice or the lyrics of the song, I was struck by poignant, relevant and sincere his music was. As I listened to more of his music, I was amazed at just how applicable they are to everything happening now, from US militarism, foreign policy, racism, western liberalism and revolution, all things Ochs sang about. I knew it was significant for me to come upon Ochs’ music at the time I did. I almost regretted that I hadn’t found his music just a tiny bit sooner, so I could have played his “Love me, I’m a liberal” on my recent show about Western liberalism.Today we will talk about Phil Ochs, his music, how it so perfectly talks about what is happening today and much more.



Songs:

What’s That I Hear 

Spanish lament 

Remember me 

Talking Vietnam blues 

Talking Cuban crisis

Too many martyrs

The thresher

I ain’t marching anymore 

Draft dodger rag 

Talking Birmingham Jam 

Here’s to the state of Mississippi 

There but for fortune 

I’m going to say it now 

Ringing of revolution 

Santo Domingo

Love me. Im a liberal 

Canons of Christianity. 

The war is over

Changes 

When I’m Gone 


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