Celia

When the wind from the island is rollin' through the trees When a kiss from a prison cell is carried in the breeze That's when I wonder how sad a man can be Oh, when will Celia come to me? I still remember the mountains of the war Sierra Madre and the Filipino shore When will I lie beside my Celia 'neath the trees? Oh, when will Celia come to me? So many years were stolen, so many years are gone And the vision of my Celia make dreams to dream upon Each hour is a day filled with memories Oh, when will Celia come to me? I wake each morning and I watch the sun arise Wonder if my Celia sleeps, wonder if she cries If hate must be my prison lock, love must be the key Oh, when will Celia come to me? The guns have stopped their firing, you may wander through the hills They kept my Celia through the war, they keep her from me still She waits upon the island now, a prisoner of the sea Oh, when will Celia come to me? When the wind from the island is rolling through the trees When a kiss from a prison cell is carried in the breeze That's when I wonder how sad a man can be Oh, when will Celia come to me? Oh, when will Celia come to me? This song is about Celia and William Pomeroy. William was an American who served with the army in World War II in the Philippines to fight against the William became involved with the Philippine guerrillas, sympathetic to their cause and protested against the Untied States treating them as enemies. Celia was a member of the Hukbalahap, the guerrillas who were also fighting against the Japanese in the Philippines at that time. This is how they met.  The were captured and imprisoned in 1952 until 1962 at which time they were released and William was sent back to The United States however Celia was not granted a passport to return with him. William started lobbying for action and when Celia was finally released, the two of them moved to London to be together as she still couldn’t be grated entry into America.  It’s a heartbreaking story and a heartbreaking melody. It’s romantic theme is rare for Phil. Only one other song comes to mind, but again there’s a lot of learning to be done here for me. 

Power and Glory

Come on and take a walk with me Through this green and growing land Walk through the meadows and the mountains and the sand Walk through the valleys and the rivers and the plains Walk through the sun and walk through the rain

Here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh, her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Glory shall rest on us all

From Colorado, Kansas, and the Carolinas, too Virginia and Alaska, from the old to the new Texas and Ohio and the California shore Tell me, who could ask for more?

Here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh, her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Glory shall rest on us all

Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of the poor Only as free as a padlocked prison door Only as strong as our love for this land Only as tall as we stand

Oh, here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh, her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Glory shall rest on us all

Come on and take a walk with me Through this green and growing land Walk through the meadows and the mountains and the sand Walk through the valleys and the rivers and the plains Walk through the sun and walk through the rain

Here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh, her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Glory shall rest on us all, on us all

Here is patriotic Phil, he truly believed America was beautiful and full of potential. If he didn’t believe that then he wouldn’t have been so affected by what he was seeing around him.  He further expresses that disappointment here with the verse,

Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of the poor Only as free as a padlocked prison door Only as strong as our love for this land Only as tall as we stand

but there is still hope for his country, and even while he criticises, that’s what this song is about. 

I’ve heard this song compared to This Land is You Land, thematically it’s the same message. Only recently, I learned that Woody Guthrie’s original lyrics in This Land is Your Land expressed disappointment too, it’s because of Phil that I learned there were lyrics I’d missed there. I’ll post that here too just for the comparison.

“There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me; Sign was painted, it said private property; But on the back side it didn't say nothing; This land was made for you and me.” -This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie

Nevertheless I see why the comparison was made. Even without the controversy they’re both taking you on a tour to show you what they love about their country.  And Woody was a big influence for Phil too, so that sort of warms my heart.

Lou Marsh

On the streets of New York City When the hour was getting late There were young men armed with knives and guns Young men armed with hate And Lou Marsh stepped between them And died there in his tracks For one man is no army When the city turns its back And now the streets are empty Now the streets are dark So keep an eye on shadows And never pass the park For the city is a jungle When the law is out of sight And death lurks in El Barrio With the orphans of the night He left behind the chambers Of the church he served so long For he learned the prayers of distant men Will never right the wrongs His church became an alley And his pulpit was the street And he made his congregation From the boys he used to meet And now the streets are empty Now the streets are dark So keep an eye on shadows And never pass the park For the city is a jungle When the law is out of sight And death lurks in El Barrio With the orphans of the night There were two gangs approaching In Spanish Harlem town The smell of blood was in the air The challenge was laid down He felt their blinding hatred And he tried to save their lives And the answer that they gave him Was their fists and feet and knives And now the streets are empty Now the streets are dark So keep an eye on shadows And never pass the park For the city is a jungle When the law is out of sight And death lurks in El Barrio With the orphans of the night Will Lou Marsh lie forgotten In his cold and silent grave? Will his memory still linger on In those he tried to save? And all of us who knew him Will now and then recall And shed a tear on poverty Tombstone of us all For now the streets are empty Now the streets are dark So keep an eye on shadows And never pass the park For the city is a jungle When the law is out of sight And death lurks in El Barrio With the orphans of the night

This is one of the songs on this album that I had never heard before. Which feels tragic in a way. Additionally I have never heard of Lou Marsh before and simple google search only told me about a sports journalist with an uncomfortable history. But that’s not who Phil is singing about. 

Will Lou Marsh lie forgotten In his cold and silent grave? Will his memory still linger on In those he tried to save? Feels very poignant.  From what I have been able to gather though, the Lou Marsh in this song was a minister who was very focused on helping troubled youth, it was his life’s work. And so Phil begins this sombre tale about a man who gave his life to help people that nobody else was willing to help. By all accounts he did make some differences in young men’s lives, showing them respect that they likely hadn’t been shown before. It’s not a story about any mistakes Lou Marsh might have made, it’s about the horrors of poverty and how a hero fought for a better life for these young people. 

For one man is no army When the city turns its back

Musically it’s beautiful, lyrically it’s beautiful. The story is just the kind of story I like to hear from Phil. I have no good reason for never hearing this before, but that’s just another plus to going through his songs like this. 

Talking Vietnam

Sailing over to Vietnam Southeast Asian Birmingham Well training is the word we use Nice word to have in case we lose Training a million Vietnamese To fight for the wrong government and the American Way Well they put me in a barracks house Just across the way from Laos They said you're pretty safe when the troops deploy But don't turn your back on your house boy When they ring the gong, watch out for the Viet-Cong Well the sergeant said it's time to train So I climbed aboard my helicopter plane We flew above the battle ground A sniper tried to shoot us down He must have forgotten, we're only trainees Them Commies never fight fair Friends the very next day we trained some more We burned some villages down to the floor Yes we burned out the jungles far and wide Made sure those red apes had no place left to hide Threw all the people in relocation camps Under lock and key, made damn sure they're free Well I walked through the jungle and around the bend Who should I meet but President Diem Said you're fighting to keep Vietnam free For good old Diem-ocracy That means rule by one family And 15, 000 American troops, give or take a few Thousand American Troops He said, I was a fine old Christian man Ruling this backward Buddhist land Well it ain't much but what the heck It sure beats hell out of Chiang Kai-shek I'm the power elite Me and the 7th fleet He said, Meet my sister, Madam Nhu The sweetheart of Dien Bien Phu He said, Meet my brothers, meet my aunts With the government that doesn't take a chance Families that slay together, stay together If you want to stay you'll have to pay Over a million dollars a day But it's worth it all, don't you see? If you loose the country you'll still have me Me and Syngman Rhee, Chiang Kai-shek, Madam Nhu Like I said on Meet the Press 'I regret that I have but one country to give for my life’ Well now old Dien is gone and dead All the new leaders are anti-Red. Yes they're pro-American, freedom sensations Against Red China, the United Nations. Now all the news commentators and the CIA are saying, Thank God for coincidence

-

So this song is heavy and also it’s one that I could listen to over and over again all day long. I personally find talking songs, like this one, to be mesmerising. They’re usually simple and straight forward, using humour to get the point across.

That sarcastic anger is even heavier here with Vietnam being the focus of the song that makes a lot of sense, since Phil was probably best known for being outspoken against the War. This is a very topical song, it might be hard to get excited about it in the way people would have in 1964, but in other ways it’s easy to see why they did. He’s enthusiastic about sharing his outrage. Comparing Vietnam to Birmingham, and the civil rights issues going on there was a way to connect with the folk audience. Sailing over to Vietnam Southeast Asian Birmingham

(Ngô Đình Diệm) Diem was the president of Vietnam, he was corrupt and power-hungry, and biased . He was a Catholic and was strongly opposed to the Buddhist majority in the country. Leading to the repression of Buddhists in Vietnam in many ways. He had the military support from the United States, because he was anti-communist. Nepotism is often mentioned, specifically referring to his brother and sister-in-law, both of whom worked closely with him.

Chiang Kai-shek was an anti-communist leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party, he was backed by the United States for a time as well.

(Trần Lệ Xuân) Madame Nhu was Diem’s sister-in-law and the First Lady, she was very outspoken in her opinions, known for being harsh and quite aggressive with her Catholicism. She used the power that came with her position to advocate for morality laws, outlawing abortion, divorce, contraceptives and dance halls.

Syngman Rhee was the president of South Korea from 1948-1960. He is also seen historically as a corrupt dictator

So in the end Diem’s assassination played a huge part in getting the United States more deeply involved in the conflict in Vietnam.

Thank God for coincidence.

The Thresher

Portsmouth town on the eastern shore Where many a fine ship was born. The Thresher was built And the Thresher was launched And the crew of the Thresher was sworn. She was shaped like a tear She was built like a shark She was made to run fast and free. And the builders shook their hands And the builders shared their wine, And thought that they had mastered the sea. Yes, she'll always run silent And she'll always run deep Though the ocean has no pity Though the waves will never weep They'll never weep. And they marvelled at her speed marvelled at her depth marvelled at her deadly design. And they sailed to every land And they sailed to every port Just to see what faults they could find. Then they put her on the land For nine months to stand And they worked on her from stem to stern. But they could never see It was their coffin to be For the sea was waiting for their return. Yes, she'll always run silent And she'll always run deep Though the ocean has no pity And the waves will never weep They'll never weep. On a cold Wednesday morn They put her her out to sea When the waves they were nine feet high. And they dove beneath the waves And they dove to their graves And they never said a last goodbye. And its deeper and deeper And deeper they dove Just to see what their ship could stand. But the hull gave a moan And the hull gave a groan And they plunged to the deepest darkest sand. Now she lies in the depths Of the darkened ocean floor Covered by the waters cold and still. Oh can't you see the wrong She was a death ship all along Died before she had a chance to kill. And she’ll never run silent, And she’ll never run deep, For the ocean had no pity And the waves, they never weep, They never weep.

And it's 8000 fathoms of the water above And over 100 men below And sealed in their tomb Is the cause of their doom That only the sea will ever know This song follows One More Parade musically, building off of the tension you’re probably already feeling. Very classically folk, telling the story very clearly and painting a picture with the words. Which is kind of the point of this entire album. There is more anger here than in the first track, he’s almost scornful with some of these lyrics. It’s real though, and there is beauty in it.

“Oh can't you see the wrong She was a death ship all along Died before she had a chance to kill”

The Thresher was a U.S. Navy Submarine that sank in 1963, 129 people died in the accident. Several folk artists of the time sang about the disaster including The Kingston Trio and Pete Seeger. But Phil’s version sounds more cynical than the others, where the others are more sympathetic. The Thresher was designed to seek out Soviet ships and eliminate them. There isn’t anything soft about Phil’s lyrics here. He begins by describing the way that the builders and designers saw the ship, like it could do no wrong. He tells the story of the men who died and while he does acknowledge the tragedy he’s really telling this story because he sees a sort of grim irony in it’s ending. 

Meanwhile Seeger uses his lyrics to express hope for peace to prevent such devastating consequences. He doesn’t have the same tone Phil as at all. Pete Seeger was definitely radical, but he treats this tragedy with more of a gentleness. 

I hope this loss will bring to pass, a day we’ll live to see when ship’s are all designed to sail together peacefully

-The Thresher, Pete Seeger

And The Kingston Trio go completely in the opposite direction, patriotic and not only mourning for the men aboard but praising them. There is no talk about war or how these deaths might have been avoided, it was just folks doing their best.

Every man jack on board was a hero Every man jack on board there was brave Every man jack on board was a hero Each man risked a watery grave

-Ballad of the Thresher, The Kingston Trio

This event impacted a lot of people and seeing how three different writers expressed their feelings about it at the time is truly fascinating. 

One More Parade

Hup, two, three, four, marchin' down the street

Rollin' of the drums and the trampin' of the feet General salutes and the mothers wave and weep Here comes the big parade Don't be afraid, price is paid One more parade

So young, so strong, so ready for the war So willin' to go an' die upon a foreign shore All march together, everybody looks the same So there is no one you can blame Don't be ashamed, light the flame One more parade

Listen for the sound and listen for the noise Listen for the thunder of the marching boys Few years ago their guns were only toys Here comes the big parade Don't be afraid, price is paid One more parade

So young, so strong, so ready for the war So willin' to go an' die upon a foreign shore All march together, everybody looks the same So there is no one you can blame Don't be ashamed, light the flame One more parade

Medals on their coats and guns in their hands Trained to kill as they're trained to stand Ten thousand ears need only one command Here comes the big parade Don't be afraid, price is paid One more parade

So young, so strong, so ready for the war So willin' to go an' die upon a foreign shore All march together, everybody looks the same So there is no one you can blame Don't be ashamed, light the flame One more parade

Cold hard stares on faces so proud Kisses from the girls and cheers from the crowd And the widows from the last war cry into their shrouds Here comes the big parade Don't be afraid, price is paid Don't be ashamed, war's a game World in flames So start the parade

=

I think this one is pretty popular, I feel like it comes up more often than lots of other songs on this album. It’s not one of my favourites, but musically it’s tense and lyrically it’s making it’s point. The point being that young men are being used and conditioned to die in an endless game of war. 

I am reminded of Tom Paxton’s The Willing Conscript, he sings from the point of view of an innocent young man who wants to fight for his country but doesn’t understand quite what that means. Leaning heavier into the ignorance of innocence. And I want to do my duty But one thing I do implore You must give me lessons, sergeant For I've never killed before I believe this was a common theme for songs of this era, I just really like the way Tom went with it.

One More Parade starts off describing the Parade as they were meant to be seen at the time, glory and excitement and almost immediately turns to become less and less something that we should be celebrating. We are reminded that the Marching Boys were innocents once and that the war has changed them into something machine-like. This verse still sounds like it’s still trying to hold them accountable though. All march together, everybody looks the same  So there is no one you can blame

It just doesn’t hit as hard for me as a lot of this other songs for some reason, Regardless the imagery at the end does kind of make my chest hurt in the way that its supposed to, 

Don’t be ashamed, war’s a game, world in flames, so start the parade

All the News That’s Fit to Sing

His debut album, though not technically his first, It still seems like the obvious place to start. Phil establishes himself here as the singing journalist. The topics mentioned in the songs on this album are stories right out of headlines. Reaching out to people and speaking boldly and beautifully about what is hurting him and the people around him at that time. 

At least that’s how it looks to me, I don’t know much about poetry, or even much about the year 1964. But I do know about hurting. And personally, I believe that’s why this music might resonate with me. 

As of this moment I have not yet listened to all of the songs on this album. I learned of Phil Ochs about six months ago maybe, the year 2021 was disorienting at times,  

1. One More Parade {Bob Gibson/Phil Ochs} 2. The Thresher {Ochs} 3. Talking Vietnam{Ochs} 4. Lou Marsh{Ochs} 5. Power And The Glory{Ochs} 6. Celia{Ochs} 7. The Bells {Lyrics by Edgar Allen Poe} 8. Automation Song{Ochs} 9. Ballad Of William Worthy{Ochs} 10. Knock On The Door{Ochs} 11. Talking Cuban Crisis{Ochs} 12. Bound For Glory{Ochs} 13. Too Many Martyrs{Gibson/Ochs} 14. What's That I Hear{Ochs} 15. Bullets of Mexico{Ochs}

Next I will be looking at the individual songs, because I find the best way to stop obsessing over something is to pour your heart into it until there isn’t anything left to give.