She’s listening to draft dodger rag

phil ochs updates his iconic track "love me, i'm a liberal" for a february 1971 concert in houston, TX

snoopy ochs: the (almost) full discography

Phil Ochs performs at a benefit concert in the Gainesville Sun newspaper parking lot on August 25, 1973 in Gainesville, Florida.

Phil Ochs photographed by Alice Ochs (1966)

I go to civil rights rallies

And I put down the old d.a.r.

I love harry and sidney and sammy

I hope every colored boy becomes a star

But don't talk about revolution

That's going a little bit too far

So love me, love me, love me, I’m a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive

I wore every conceivable pin

Even went to the socialist meetings

Learned all the old union hymns

But I’ve grown older and wiser

And that's why I’m turning you in

So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

"Love Me, I'm a Liberal" by Phil Ochs, originally released on his 1966 live album, Phil Ochs in Concert

This kicks ass

"Phil truly loved people. He sang of their concerns; he remained accessible to them [...] Phil relished contact with his fans. Anyone was welcome backstage, and when he met with people, Phil didn’t give them the impression that they were part of a privileged audience. He would ask about what was on their minds..."

phil ochs + descriptors from there but for fortune: the life of phil ochs by michael schumacher

Happy birthday, Phil Ochs! (December 19, 1940)

One of the most celebrated political songwriters of the American folk music tradition, Phil Ochs was born in El Paso, Texas to a family which moved frequently. He showed musical aptitude from a young age, influenced by popular acts of the 1950s such as Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, and became aware of folk music in college, where he also became politically aware. Now influenced by performers such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Ochs moved to New York City to join the burgeoning folk music scene there. Ochs never found mainstream success, but his beautiful, poetic lyrics have given him enduring popularity in the folk music community, with such songs as "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore," "When I'm Gone," and "Draft Dodger Rag" being especially well-loved. He was politically active, protesting the Vietnam War and segregation, and was supportive of socialist movements in America and abroad. He was particularly encouraged by the election of Salvador Allende in Chile, and horrified by his overthrow. Towards the end of his life, Ochs' mental health suffered greatly, and he began abusing alcohol and drugs. Convinced that the FBI were spying on him, which they were, Ochs took his own life in 1976.

"It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life."

photos by jan persson, 1968

Phil Ochs poses for a portrait in 1967 in New York City, New York.

pete seeger singing a phil ochs tune is the greatest thing to ever witness