Power and Glory -- Phil Ochs

Chiming in on the American patriotism theme:

(Poem #1803) Power and Glory Come 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 This is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Her 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 Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of her poor Only as free as the padlocked prison door Only as strong as our love for this land Only as tall as we stand -- Phil Ochs

Ever since I first discovered Phil Ochs, I have been mystified at his
relative obscurity and lack of popularity. Personally, at his best he's
every bit as good as his contemporary Bob Dylan (and a lot more pleasant to
listen to!), and seems to inspire an intensity of appreciation in his fans -
myself included - that many more popular singers would be hard-pressed to
match.

Today's song, while not really among his best lyrically, is nonetheless
nicely representative of his style. Ochs's songs were informed by his
journalism background; indeed, he described himself as a "singing
journalist", a description that Dylan echoed rather more disparagingly with
his "You're not a folksinger, you're a journalist". Either way, the
assessment was accurate, and even his less topical songs, like today's, have
a refreshing clarity and directness to them.

This is, predictably enough, a much better song in performance - it still
suffers a bit from inconsistency of quality, but the first and last verses
are both catchy and memorable, and lyrics that seem flat and trite on the
printed page acquire a vibrant energy with music added. While it might not
have been the song I'd have selected if asked for a Phil Ochs piece at
random, it's usually the first song I think of on the current theme, and
definitely worth a listen.

martin

[Links]

Wikipedia on Ochs:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Ochs

Some retrospectives:
  http://www.furious.com/perfect/philochs.html
  http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/nov97carter.htm

Collections of Ochs links:
  [broken link] http://philochs.pitas.com/
  http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/