"The People's Folksinger" (for Phil Ochs)

Up there on the stage they’re singing your songs
Yet something seems strange and something seems wrong
At events like this,
You were always there
For you were the People’s Folksinger.

You quit writing news and grasped the guitar
You composed many tunes and sang in the bars
The truth you exposed
Just like Woody’s heir
For you were the People’s Folksinger.

Through long years of war, your poems said it all
Despite gaining fame, you still served the cause
The tyrants that rule,
Your voice brought them fear
For you were the People’s Folksinger.

They sent their police to keep you in line
Their radio sounds excluded your mind
You felt more sad,
And created no more
But you were the People’s Folksinger.

I wish you still lived in these changing times
I wish you were here to sing of new crimes
Your memory,
New songs inspires
For you were the People’s Folksinger.

The People’s Folksinger was written after Phil Ochs’ death in April 1976 for a Phil Ochs memorial event.

To listen to The People's Folksinger , you can click on the following music site links:

http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+A.+Feldman/Biographical+Folk+Songs/The+People%27s+Folksinger+%28for+Phil+Ochs%29

http://www.mp3.com/artist/bobafeldman/songs/

For more information about U.S. anti-war folksinger Phil Ochs’ life and role in U.S. counter-cultural history you can check out www.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/

Next: Phil Ochs’ 429-Page FBI File