Philip Ochs
Spanish Civil War Song
Oh, say do you remember 25 years ago,
They fought the fascist army, they fought the fascist foe?
Do you remember Franco, Hitler's old ally?
He butchered Spain's democracy,half a million free men died.
Ai, ai, ai, ai--
Did you wonder why?
Did you ever pause and cry?
And don't forget the churches and the sad role that they played:
They crucified their people and worked the devil's trade;
But now the wounds are healing with the passing of time,
So we send them planes and rifles and recognize their crime.
Ai, ai, ai, ai--
Did you wonder why?
Did you ever pause and cry?
So spend your tourist dollars and turn your heads away.
Forget about the slaughter, it's the price we all must pay,
For now the world's in struggle, to win we all must bend:
So dim the light in Freedom's soul: sleep well tonight, my friend.
Ai, ai, ai, ai--
Did you wonder why?
Did you ever pause and cry?
I Like Hitler
I like Hitler, Jolly Jolly Hitler
I like Hitler and Mussolini too
I like Franco in Spain
And I'll have to maintain
That Batista was
Really quite all right
Trujillo was my man
Henry Ford/Hendrik Verwoerd would understand
What this country
really needs is apartheid
Loyally we Birch along
Birch along, Birch along
Loyaly we Birch along
Back to the good old days
God save the king
Notes:
"There's supposedly a wave of conservatism sweeping the country (sounds familar) and as the groups move farther and farther to the right, they find fewer and fewer songs that can be sung by people or groups as a whole...and when they finally arrive, I'd like to...I wrote this song for them, so they can sing when they get together." -- Phil Ochs
What Are You Fighting For
C F Em
Oh you tell me that there's danger to the land you call your own
F Em Am
And you watch them build the war machine right beside your home
C F Em
And you tell me that you're ready to go marchin' to the war
Dm G7 C
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
Before you pack your rifle and sail across the sea
Just think upon the Southern part of the land that you call free
Oh, there's many kinds of slavery and we've found many more
I know you're set for fightin', but what are you fighting for?
And before you walk out on your job in answer to the call
Just think about the millions who have no job at all
And the men who wait for handouts with their eyes upon the floor
Oh I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
[This verse is not in the sheet music]
Turn on your TV, turn it on so loud
And watch the fool a smiling there and tell me that you're proud
And listen to your radio, the noise it starts to pour
Oh I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
Read your morning papers, read every single line
And tell me if you can believe that simple world you find
Read every slanted word till your eyes are getting sore,
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
And listen to your leaders, the ones who won the race
As they stand right there before you and lie into your face
If you ever try to buy them, you know what they stand for
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
Put ragged clothes upon your back and sleep upon the ground,
And tell police about your rights as they drag you down,
And ask them as they lead you to some deserted door,
Yes, I know you're set for fightin', but what are you fightin' for?
But the hardest thing I'll ask you, if you will only try
Is take your children by their hands and look into their eyes
And there you'll see the answer you should have seen before
If you'll win the wars at home, there'll be no fighting anymore
We Seek No Wider War
Over the ashes of blood marched the civilized soldiers,
over the ruins of the French fortress of a failure
over the silent screams of the dead and the dying
saying please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
The treaties were signed, the country was split into sections
but growing numbers of prisons were built for protection
rapidly filling with people who called for elections
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
Ngo Dinh Diem was the puppet who danced for the power
The hero of hate who gambled on hell for his hour
Father of his country was stamped on the medals we showered
but please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
Machine gun bullets became the bloody baptizers
and the falcon 'copters don't care if someone's the wiser
but the boy in the swamp didn't know he was killed by advisers
So please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
And fires were spitting at forests in defoliation
while the people were pressed into camps not called concentration
and the greater the victory the greater the shame of the nation
but please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
While we were watching the prisoners were tested by torture
and vicious and violent gasses maintained the order
as the finest Washington minds found slogans for slaughter
but please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
Then over the border came the Bay of Pigs planes of persuasion
All remaining honor went up in flames of invasion
But the shattered schools never learned that it's not escalation
[or: But who'll tell the bodies of children it's not escalation? ]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
We're teaching peaple freedom for which they are yearning
While were dragging them down to the path of never returning
But we'll condescend to talk while the cities are burning
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war.
And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders
but the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers
and a world of hunger in vengeance will always remember
So please be reassured, we seek no wider war,
we seek no wider war.
Viet Nam
U.S. soldiers are a-dying over there, over there
as the status quo remains over there
U.S. soldiers are a-dying while their mothers sit home crying
it's a crime how they're dying over there.
Viet Nam, oh Viet Nam, oh why must we die in Viet Nam
Well, I don't really care to die to die for the New Frontier
and make Viet Nam safe for Di-em-o-cra-cy.
Now one family rules the country over there, over there
and they lock up opposition over there
Well, I don't really crave to fill a Viet Nam-grave
as one family fills their pockets over there.
*chorus*
Now our soldiers burn the towns up over there, over there
and they relocate the people over there
Now this may sound like treason, but it sure shows lack of reason
to lock up groups of people over there.
*chorus*
Well, if you want to stop the fighting over there, over there
then you better stir up action over here
Drop your Congressman a line, let him know what's on your mind
and the crisis will be over over there.
*chorus*
1962
Too Many Martyrs
by Phil Ochs and Bob Gibson
Em G Am
In the state of Mississippi many years ago
D Em
A boy of 14 years got a taste of southern law
Em G Am
He saw his friend a hanging and his color was his crime
Am D Em
And the blood upon his jacket left a brand upon his mind
Am D G Em
CHORUS: Too many martyrs and too many dead
Am D G Em
Too many lies too many empty words were said
Am D G Em
Too many times for too many angry men
Am D Em
Oh let it never be again
His name was Medgar Evers and he walked his road alone
Like Emmett Till and thousands more whose names we'll never know
They tried to burn his home and they beat him to the ground
But deep inside they both knew what it took to bring him down
*chorus*
The killer waited by his home hidden by the night
As Evers stepped out from his car into the rifle sight
he slowly squeezed the trigger, the bullet left his side
It struck the heart of every man when Evers fell and died.
*chorus*
And they laid him in his grave while the bugle sounded clear
laid him in his grave when the victory was near
While we waited for the future for freedom through the land (*)
The country gained a killer and the country lost a man
*chorus*
Where were you in Chicago?
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
You know I didn't see you there
I didn't see them crack your head or breathe the tear gas air
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
When the fight was being fought
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
'Cause I was in Detroit.
Ringing of Revolution
G C G C
In a building of gold, with riches untold,
G C G - C
lived the families on which the country was founded.
G C G C
And the merchants of style, with their red velvet smiles,
G Em D
were there, for they also were hounded.
G C G C
And the soft middle class crowded in to the last,
G Em Bm
for the building was fully surrounded.
G C G D7 G
And the noise outside was the ringing of revolution.
Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
and searched for a comforting notion.
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion.
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks,
wet their minds in bitter emotion.
And they talked about the ringing of revolution.
We were hardly aware of the hardships they beared,
for our time was taken with treasure.
Oh, life was a game, and work was a shame,
And pain was prevented by pleasure.
The world, cold and grey, was so far away
In the distance only money could measure.
But their thoughts were broken by the ringing of revolution.
The clouds filled the room in darkening doom
as the crooked smoke rings were rising.
How long will it take, how can we escape
Someone asks, but no one's advising.
And the quivering floor responds to the roar,
In a shake no longer surprising.
As closer and closer comes the ringing of revolution.
Softly they moan, please leave us alone
As back and forth they are pacing.
And they cover their ears and try not to hear
WIth pillows of silk they're embracing.
And the crackling crowd is laughing out loud,
peeking in at the target they're chasing.
Now trembling inside the ringing of revolution.
With compromise sway we give in half way
When we saw that rebellion was growing.
Now everything's lost as they kneel by the cross
Where the blood of christ is still flowing.
To late for their sorrow they've reached their tomorrow
and reaped the seed they were sowing.
Now harvested by the ringing of revolution.
In tattered tuxedos they faced the new heroes
and crawled about in confusion.
And they sheepishly grinned for their memoroes were dim
of the decades of dark execution.
Hollow hands were raised; they stood there amazed
in the shattering of their illusions.
As the windows were smashed by the ringing of revolution.
Down on our knees we're begging you please,
We're sorry for the way you were driven.
There's no need to taunt just take what you want,
and we'll make amends, if we're living.
But away from the grounds the flames told the town
that only the dead are forgiven.
As they crumbled inside the ringing of revolution.
No Christmas in Kentucky
G C
Christmas shoppers shopping on a neon city street
D C G
Another Christmas dollar for another Christmas treat
G C
There's satin on the pretty dolls that make the children glow
D C G
While a boy walking ragged in the cold Kentucky snow
G C G
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
C D
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
G C G
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
C D G
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor
There's lots of toys for children when then Christmas time is near
But the present for the miners is a stocking full of beer
In the dark hills of Kentucky there's one gift that may be found
The coal dust of forgotten days that's lying on the ground
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor
Let's drink a toast to Congress and a toast to Santa Claus
and a toast to all the speeches that bring the loud applause
There's not enough to give, no, there's not enough to share
So let's drown the sounds of sorrow with a hearty Christmas cheer
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor
Have a merry, merry Christmas and a happy new year's day
For now's a time of plenty, and plenty's here to stay
But if you knew what Christmas was, I think that you would find
That Christ is spending Christmas in the cold Kentucky mine
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor
No More Songs
intro chords: Dm\C\B flat\A
Em
Hello, hello, hello
C
Is there anybody home?
Em
I've only called to say
C D
I'm sorry.
Em
The drums are in the dawn,
G D
and all the voices gone.
C D Em
And it seems that there are no more songs.
Once I knew a girl
She was a flower in a flame
I loved her as the sea sinks/sings(?) sadly
Now the ashes of the dream
Can be found in the magazines.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
Once I knew a sage/saint(?)
who sang upon the stage
He told about the world,
His lover.
A ghost without a name,
Stands ragged in the rain.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
The rebels they were here
They came beside the door
They told me that the moon was bleeding
Then all to my suprise,
They took away my eyes.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
A (scar, star)?? is in the sky,
It's time to say goodbye.
A whale is on the beach,
He's dying.
A white flag in my hand,
And a white bone in the sand.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
Hello, hello, hello
Is there anybody home?
I've only called to say
I'm sorry.
The drums are in the dawn,
and all the voices gone.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
It seems that there are no more songs.
It seems that there are no more songs.
Joe Hill
F Fsus F C (open D string/then back on 2nd fret)
Joe Hill come over from Sweden shores
F Fsus F C
Looking for some work to do
F C Am
And the Statue of Liberty waved him by
C (Open D string/place finger on G st. 2nd fret/return)
As Joe come a sailing through, Joe Hill
C G7 C
As Joe come a sailing through.
Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were high
As he headed for the promised land
And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work streets
Before he began to understand
Before he began to understand
And Joe got hired by a bowery bar
sweeping up the saloon
As his rag would sail over the baroom rail
Sounded like he whistled on a tune
You could almost hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe rolled on from job to job
From the docks to the railroad line
And no matter how hungry the hand that wrote
In his letters he was always doing fine
In his letters he was always doing fine
Oh, the years went by like the sun goin' down
slowly turn the page
And when Joe looked back at the sweat upon his tracks
He had nothing to show but his age
He had nothing to show but his age
So he headed out for the California shore
There things were just as bad
So he joined the Industrial Workers of the World
'Cause, The union was the only friend he had
'Cause, The union was the only friend he had
Now the strikes were bloody and the strikes were black
as hard as they were long
In the dark of night Joe would stay awake and write
In the morning he would raise them with a song
In the morning he would raise them with a song
And he wrote his words to the tunes of the day
To be passed along the union vine
And the strikes were led and the songs were spread
And Joe Hill was always on the line
Yes Joe Hill was always on the line
Now in Salt Lake City a murder was made
There was hardly a clue to find
Oh, the proof was poor, but the sheriff was sure
Joe was the killer of the crime
That Joe was the killer of the crime
Joe raised his hands but they shot him down
he had nothing but guilt to give
It's a doctor I need and they left him to bleed
He made it 'cause he had the will to live
Yes, He made it 'cause he had the will to live
Then the trial was held in a building of wood
And there the killer would be named
And the days weighed more than the cold copper ore
Cause he feared that he was being framed
Cause he found out that he was being framed
Oh, strange are the ways of western law
Strange are the ways of fate
For the government crawled to the mine owner's call
That the judge was appointed by the state
Yes, The judge was appointed by the state
Oh, Utah justice can be had
But not for a union man
And Joe was warned by summer early morn
That there'd be one less singer in the land
There'd be one less singer in the land
Now William Spry was Governor Spry
And a life was his to hold
On the last appeal, fell a governor's tear
May the lord have mercy on your soul
May the lord have mercy on your soul
Even President Wilson held up the day
But even he would fail
For nobody heard the soul searching words
Of the soul in the Salt Lake City jail
Of the soul in the Salt Lake City jail
For 36 years he lived out his days
And he more than played his part
For his songs that he made, he was carefully paid
With a rifle bullet buried in his heart
With a rifle bullet buried in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up against the wall
Blindfold over his eyes
It's the life of a rebel that he chose to live
It's the death of a rebel that he died
It's the death of a rebel that he died
Now some say Joe was guilty as charged
And some say he wasn't even there
And I guess nobody will ever know
'Cause the court records all disappeared
'Cause the court records all disappeared
Say wherever you go in this fair land
In every union hall
In the dusty dark these words are marked
In between all the cracks upon the wall
In between all the cracks upon the wall
It's the very last line that Joe Will wrote
When he knew that his days were through
"Boys, this is my last and final will
Good luck to all of you
Good luck to all of you"
I Kill Therefore I Am
Intro : G F C D
G F C D
Meet the king of cowboys, he rides a pale pony
G F C D B
He fights the bad boys brings them to their knees
C
He patrols the highways from the air
D Em
He keeps the country safe from long hair
Bb F G
I am the masculine american man
D C D C D
I kill therefore I am.
I don't like the black man, for he doesn't know his place
Take the back of my hand or I'll spray you with my mace
I'm as brave as any man can be
I find my courage through chemistry
I am the masculine american man
I kill therefore I am.
I don't like the students now, they don't have no respect
They don't like to work now, I think I'll wring their necks
They call me pig, although I'm underpaid
I'll show those faggots that I'm not afraid
I am the masculine american man
I kill therefore I am.
Farewell to the gangsters we don't need them anymore
We've got the police force, they're the ones who break the law
He's got a gun and he's a hater
He shoots first, he shoots later
I am the masculine american man
I kill therefore I am.
I Ain't Marching Anymore
D G C D
Oh I marched to the battle of New Orleans
G C D
At the end of the early British war
G C
The young land started growing
G
The young blood started flowing
C Am D
But I ain't marchin' anymore
For I've killed my share of Indians
In a thousand different fights
I was there at the Little Big Horn
I heard many men lying
I saw many more dying
But I ain't marchin' anymore
C G
It's always the old to lead us to the war
C Am D
It's always the young to fall
Now look at all we've won with the sabre and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all
For I stole California from the Mexican land
Fought in the bloody Civil War
Yes I even killed my brother
And so many others
And I ain't marchin' anymore
For I marched to the battles of the German trench
In a war that was bound to end all wars
Oh I must have killed a million men
And now they want me back again
But I ain't marchin' anymore
(chorus)
For I flew the final mission in the Japanese sky
Set off the mighty mushroom roar
When I saw the cities burning
I knew that I was learning
That I ain't marchin' anymore
Now the labor leader's screamin' when they close the missile plants,
United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore,
Call it "Peace" or call it "Treason,"
Call it "Love" or call it "Reason,"
But I ain't marchin' any more.
United Fruit
And the fruit boats ride on the waves,
And the crew will dream of returning
Back to the Florida waters,
For the work of unloading onto the trains.
And the ships will dance by the shore,
With fruit from Venezuela, Brazil and Costa Rica,
But the Fruit from the Island of Cuba
is carried no more.
And on the decks it will lay,
Picked by the hands of the peons
at the lowest possible wages,
While the profits are made by the strangers
from far away.
Now some will pick the fruit of the vine
While others will go to the mountain
And eat the fruit of the hillside
And learn the way of the rifle,
wait for the time.
Allianza dollars are spent
To raise the towering buildings
For the weary bones of the workers
So they will be strong in the morning
to go back again.
Oh the companies keep a sharp eye
And pay their respects to the army
To watch for the hot-blooded leaders
And be prepared for the junta to
crush them like flies.
So heavy the price that they pay
As daily the fruit it is stolen
Over the blue Carribean
But the lengthening shadow of Cuba
The United Fruit Company
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The United Fruit Company, a U.S. concern, is notorious for having economically colonized Central American in particular, using the support of the U.S. politically--and, on occasion, militarily--to ensure its taking of large profits in the region. Dissent within the U.S. against the U.S. government-United Fruit Company collaboration reached its peak in the second decade of the 20th century.
When I'm Gone
Capo 1st fret
Intro:D/Bm/G/Em/A/D/A/Bm/Em/A/D
D Bm
There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
G Em A
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
D A Bm
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
Em A D
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour out a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
Can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
All my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name into the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
