I Ain't Marching Anymore From Wiki I Ain't Marching Anymore was Phil Ochs' second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965. Dispensing with second guitarist Danny Kalb, Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman" set to music (much as Poe's "The Bells" had been set to music on the previous album) and a cover of Ewan MacColl's "The Ballad of the Carpenter". Of the twelve originals, probably the most noted was the title track, with its distinctive trilling guitar part, that spoke of a soldier sick of fighting. Also of note was the album closer, "Here's to the State of Mississippi", a biting criticism of that state's lack of civil rights and general bigoted attitude. Other important songs include "Draft Dodger Rag" (assailing those "red blooded Americans" who were in favor of US participation in the Vietnam War but did not fight because they were just summertime soldiers and sunshine patriots), "That Was The President" (a tribute to John Kennedy written soon after his assassination), "Talking Birmingham Jam" (which used the traditional talking blues form to assail the racist leaders of Birmingham) and "Links on the Chain" (attacking labor unions for excluding African-Americans and failing to support civil rights). Ochs showed great thematic versatility on the album, including not just blatantly anti-war or protest songs but also poetry (Alfred Noyes, John Rooney, and Ewan MacColl) and some songs his followers probably didn't want to hear. He noted, for instance, in the liner notes that his Marxist friends couldn't understand why he wrote "That Was the President," dryly adding that that was one of the reasons he wasn't a Marxist. He showed more socialist sympathies with the songs "The Men Behind the Guns" and "Ballad of the Carpenter," with its memorable lyric "Jesus was a working man." (Ochs wrote in the liner notes that "songs like this" were one of the reasons the State Department blocked Ewan MacColl from entering the U.S., adding that this was unwise given "the quality of culture in America.") However, more doctrinaire socialists may have had mixed feelings about "That's What I Want to Hear," in which Ochs tells an out of work man to stop begging and fight for full employment. Among more traditional protest songs, the most pointed might be "Iron Lady," about the death penalty, with the memorable line "And a rich man never died upon the chair." (The "iron lady" in the title referred to the electric chair.) Ochs wrote that "in the future, intelligent men will read in amazement about the murder of Caryl Chessman." But hard hitting songs like that and the title song were softened with sentimental and even romantic songs like "That Was the President" and Noyes' "The Highway Man." And while critical, songs like "Draft Dodger Rag" and "Talking Birmingham Jam" used humor rather than harsh rhetoric to make their points. On the 2001 CD reissue, an alternative electric version of "I Ain't Marching Anymore" follows "Here's to the State of Mississippi". Released as the A-side of a British 45, it had first appeared in the States on the now out-of-print 1997 box set Farewells & Fantasies. Track listing All songs by Phil Ochs unless otherwise noted. "I Ain't Marching Anymore" – 2:37 "In the Heat of the Summer" – 3:08 "Draft Dodger Rag" – 2:13 "That's What I Want to Hear" – 3:10 "That Was the President" – 3:26 "Iron Lady" – 3:37 "The Highwayman" (A. Noyes, with musical interpretation by Phil Ochs) – 5:42 "Links on the Chain" – 4:20 "Hills of West Virginia" – 3:21 "The Men Behind the Guns" (J. Rooney, with musical interpretation by Phil Ochs) – 3:03 "Talking Birmingham Jam" – 3:13 "The Ballad of the Carpenter" (Ewan MacColl) – 3:54 "Days of Decision" – 3:14 "Here's to the State of Mississippi" – 6:02 "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) – 2:50 + + = bonus track on 2002 CD reissue Participants Phil Ochs - vocals, guitar Jac Holzman - production supervisor Paul A. Rothchild - recording director with the Blues Project: Roy Blumenfeld - drums on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) Danny Kalb - guitar on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) Steve Katz - guitar on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) Andy Kulberg - bass on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) Al Kooper - piano on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version)
I Ain't Marching Anymore is a masterpiece in my opinion. The whole album is. The title track is one of the best antiwar songs out there. I love the way Ochs writes about the history of the United States. Draft Dodger Rag is a perfect dig at the chicken hawks who promote warfare for others yet come up with reasons why they do not need to fight. Still a very relevant song. I really like the three songs back to back: That Was The President(tribute to Pres. Kennedy) The Iron Lady(about a real life murder and the bystanders who did nothing to help) and The Highwayman(another poem set to music). Also Here's To The State of Mississippi is a response to the recent murder of 3 civil rights workers in Mississippi during freedom summer which happened 50 years ago. I could go on, just too many good songs. Possibly Och's best album.
Your confusing Iron Lady with Small Circle Of Friends. Iron Lady is about the finality of the death penalty and "old Sparky".
So cool that this album is online now. Strangely enough, I bought Camp Favorites in 1982 in a church bazaar for 50 cents. I had no idea that Phil Ochs was on it, but since I collect all kinds of folk albums (and it did credit Dick Weissman), I thought it would surely be worth 50 cents. I took it home and played it (in very good condition,by the way) and it was delightful. I listened to it quite a few times over the years. It was only a couple of years ago when I was reading about Phil online that I saw the album mentioned and read that the male lead vocal on it was Phil Ochs and that even Michael Ochs had an extremely hard time finding a copy. I took it off the shelf and played it. That voice was unmistakably Ochs. How did I never notice before? Perhaps it's because it never would have dawned on me that the same guy who wrote all those scathing topical songs and then created a brilliant masterpiece like Pleasures of the Harbor would have been singing "Polly Wolly Doodle" and "We'll Build a Bungalow." It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, though, since he had obvious folk roots. So it was in my collection for 30 years before I knew it was "the lost Phil Ochs album." I would call it a must for Ochs completists. It was always a keeper, and it's even more of one now. (As a side note, I have another budget line album from the early '60s called Folk Favorites on the Wyncote label. The cover photo is a cropped section of the cover photo used on Camp Favorites and one of the performers is Raun McKinnon who,many years later, sang backup with Steve Goodman.)
D'Oh! You are correct sir. I am misremembering because I remember reading Ochs liner notes about The Iron Lady where he talks about the murder of a man on death row and I confused it with Outside a Small Circle of Friends where neighbors refused to get involved when a woman was being murdered. Still it is one of the best songs about the death penalty. "And a rich man has never died upon the chair" is spot on analysis.
The death row inmate in question was Caryl Chessman, who was sentenced to death for crimes other than murder(rape and robbery), and its still not sure he did all they accused him of. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryl_Chessman "Shortly after the execution had started and Chessman was already reacting to the hydrogen cyanide gas, the telephone rang. The caller was a judge's secretary informing the warden of a new stay of execution. The warden responded, "It's too late; the execution has begun." There was no way to stop the fumes or open the chamber door and remove Chessman without the fumes killing others. Due to her nervousness, the secretary had initially dialed the wrong telephone number and lost valuable seconds in getting the call through."
The title track, "In the Heat of the Summer," "Draft Dodger Rag," "That's What I Want to Hear" (especially!), "Hills of West Virginia", "The Ballad of the Carpenter" and "Here's to the State of Mississippi" are among my favorites. I'm less impressed with "Iron Lady"...Caryl Chessman just wasn't a very sympathetic case to base that argument on, I'm afraid. I do like "That Was the President," but he did a better job on the same subject elsewhere in "A Toast to Those Who are Gone". Overall, though, definitely one of his best. I think this might be second only to In Concert as the best introduction to Ochs.
Also, Phil's first recordings under his own name were 5 cuts on a Vanguard album called New Folks Vol. 2 which also included the debut recordings of Eric Andersen, Lisa Kindred, and Bob Jones. The Ochs tracks are "William Moore","Talking Airplane Disaster","Paul Crump", "What Are You Fighting For", and an early studio take of "There But for Fortune." These were after Camp Favorites, but before his first Elektra album. I have them on the New Folks Vol. 2 album, but I think they were later released on CD. I'm not sure if they were bonus tracks or part of a compilation.
I was a big fan, I remember We're Not Marching Anymore in particular but would have bought all his work until his untimely passing. I remember particular songs, such as the one of the title just mentioned, Changes of course, Love Me I'm A Liberal (the live version with the funny introduction, where he talks about being committed unless "it affects me personally"), and There But For Fortune. Anyone who is participating in this thread, who hasn't seen his bio film released a few years ago, needs to see that big time. It was very well done. I never actually cared for his leftist orientation, but I can separate that from his talent and his ability to get across what he believed in effectively. He was a fine singer and a competent guitarist, in addition to having written some of the best songs of the period. Certainly Changes, and probably There But For Fortune, will never be forgotten. The gold lame period was unfortunate, and showed (IMO) the mental strains he was under in the last years. Has Bob Dylan ever written a song about Phil Ochs?
There may be people reading who actually don't know Phil Ochs, so I hope it's okay to post this: Note the intelligence of the lyrics, the perfect vocal, the humor. ("Get it?". Sure do). He is coming from a place I don't share, but it's a fine song and performance.
And I realize we are treading lightly. Separating Phil from the politics of the times is impossible. But I ask that you do try. I doubt there are many here who are bigger lefties than I am, but I will ask for removal of any posts crossing the lines. And I mean either way. I have "placed a governor on my keyboard" and I ask you all to do the same. I think his music is important and deserves this retrospective.
Great thread! I'm a recent convert-devotee of all things Phil Ochs. I haven't heard everything although I have most of his main LP output. I haven't spun those albums in awhile, but this thread has me ready to dig them out again. I agree with the proposition that Phil Ochs was a major musical talent of the 20th century - beyond the "protest-folksinger" tag (even though he was arguably the best of what that genre had to offer). I hadn't really heard his music until I saw the documentary streaming from the PBS website. Watching that really threw me for a loop. How could I have missed him all these years? Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. Excellent info / stories so far - looking forward to more. Cheers! ------------- Chris
Not that I know of, though he probably had guys like Ochs in mind when he wrote "Positively 4th Street" and he definitely has a number of rather nasty comments about the man to his credit. (The same could, of course, be said for most Greenwich Village folkies of the era.) Among those who have written songs about Ochs: Tom Paxton, "Phil" (mentions Dylan) Nanci Griffith, "Radio Fragile" (also mentions Dylan, albeit not by name) Harry Chapin, "The Parade's Still Passing By" Billy Bragg, "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night"
Thin Wild Mercury by Todd Snider Poor Phil Ochs, sad and low Hands in his pockets, wonderin' where to go Watching those tail lights leave him behind Thrown for the limousine for speaking his mind Like a red-eyed photo into a garbage can At the corner of hero and also ran A fragile heart skipped a fragile beat It's warm in the limousine, cold on the streets Thin wild mercury and gold lame Things will go your way or they won't Thin wild mercury and gold lame You know what they say or you don't It was all over some new Dylan song That Phil had the nerve to say sounded wrong Dylan stopped the car, words shook like a fist "Phil, you ain't a writer, you're a journalist" Death of a rebel, twist of fate If he ever thought better, he thought too late Poor Phil Ochs, he slipped through the cracks Judas went electric and he never looked back on Thin wild mercury and gold lame Things will go your way or they won't Thin wild mercury and gold lame You know what they say or you don't Thin wild mercury and gold lame Things will go your way or they won't Thin wild mercury and gold lame You know what they say or you don't Or you don't, or you don't, no, you don't
And this one is mine. From the Mudcat Café, and no I have never made an official recording of it. SONG FOR PHIL (Jamie Crawford) Hey Phil Ochs well I wrote you a song But then you wrote so many for me We all wear our fears on the inside well hidden You wore yourself out for the whole world to see And hey Phil tell me about the Village And hey Phil was Chicago that bad And hey Phil was LA still crazy The Darkest of times that you had I was knocked to the floor when I heard Crucifixion With your voice swirling up out of cacophony And the words gave me goose bumps just hearing you sing it And I thought you were singing for me And hey Phil what about Miami And hey Phil was Ohio so bad And hey Phil was LA still crazy The darkest of times that you had So I ended up Phil by writing this song But you left the stage early so you can't sing along You wore yourself for the whole word to see And I always thought you were singing for me But hey Phil you lived through Chicago And hey Phil you made it through Chile But hey Phil what was the trouble Your last day in Far Rockaway And hey Phil tell me about Newport And hey Phil how was Carnegie Hall You know Phil I always said you Were my favorite singer of all And hey Phil tell me about Dylan And hey Phil how's about Jim and Jean And hey Phil what of Wickham and Westin Your friends on the Hollywood scene And hey Phil tell me about the Village And hey Phil was Ohio that bad And hey Phil was LA still crazy The darkest of times that you had The darkest of times that you had And the darkest times just weren't that bad Notes: Found this one posted on Yahoo 'Phil Ochs' group. When I requested permission to post on mudcat, and enquired about a recording, this was the reply: "I have no objection to publishing the lyrics. The song is only on live tapes at this point. Thanks for the interest." This is all the information I have apart from the fact that it was written c.1998. R.M.
< There are others! I must admit though, I am a much bigger fan of his A&M stuff, can't wait until we get there!
If it isn't too late to chime in on All the News That's Fit to Sing, I just gave the album a spin for the first time in several months and I consider it one of the finest and most enduring albums of the '60s and it still holds up well. It's easy to consider some of the topical songs like "Talking Vietnam", "Talking Cuban Missile Crisis", and "Too Many Martyrs" as "dated", but to put a different spin on it, I consider those songs as relevant as the chapters about those events in any history book. As for Ochs famously saying that he came to Greenwich Village to be the best songwriter in the country, met Dylan, and decided to be the second best, it's my opinion that Ochs was often Dylan's equal as a lyricist and often superior to Dylan as a melody writer. My take on All the News... is that it's all killer, no filler, and that the interplay between Ochs and Danny Kalb on guitars is very tasty icing on the cake. Question: Who played the (uncredited) harmonica on "Bound for Glory?"
