List of songs recorded by Phil Ochs


American singer-songwriter Phil Ochs wrote or recorded at least 238 songs during his brief career. Most of the songs which he performed he composed himself: they ranged in style from protest songs and topical songs to ballads and folk rock. In concert, Ochs sometimes covered songs made famous by other performers. On one occasion, during the height of Beatlemania in 1964, he and Eric Andersen performed The Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better" at a hootenanny, something Ochs described as "very much out of character with this whole program". In the early part of 1970, Ochs surprised his fans by donning a gold lamé suit and going on tour with a rock band; during the brief concert tour, he sang his own material along with medleys of songs by Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Merle Haggard.
Ochs never had a hit single, but one of his records broke into the charts. "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" reached No. 20 in Los Angeles and was No. 119 on Billboards national "Hot Prospect" listing. Joan Baez had a hit in the U.K. with her cover of "There but for Fortune", a song written by Ochs.
Ochs' songs, "Bwatue" and "Niko Mchumba Ngombe", which he co-wrote with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa. were written and recorded in Kenya in 1973, and are early examples of blending Western popular music with world music. Critics note that they predate Paul Simon's Graceland album by more than ten years. The lyrics to "Bwatue" are in Lingala, and the lyrics to "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" are in Swahili. The songs were released as a single in Africa, and most Ochs fans never heard of them until they were included on a compilation album in 1997.
This is a list of all songs recorded by Ochs that have been officially released. In the case of studio recordings released during his lifetime, the album title and date of album release have been included. For posthumous releases and demo recordings, the approximate date of recording is shown as well. In the case of live recordings, the date of recording and album on which the track appears have been included. Some recordings have been re-released on compilation albums; their reissue has not been noted.
Except where indicated, all songs were written by Ochs.

A

Song titleRecordingsNotes
"All Shook Up"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
Written by Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley.Performed as part of a medley of Elvis Presley songs.
"A.M.A. Song"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
"Another Age"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • '
    "Another Country"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    • "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman.Performed as part of a medley of Elvis Presley songs.
    "Automation Song"Studio recording:'
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing''

    B

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Me"Studio recording:
    • Greatest Hits
    		About Ochs and his circle of friends.
    "The Ballad of Alferd Packer" Demo recordings:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
  • On My Way
    		• About Alferd Packer, a Rocky Mountain guide who ate the other members of his party.
    "The Ballad of Billie Sol"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    		• About Billie Sol Estes, who was accused of swindling investors, banks, and the federal government of $24 million.
    "The Ballad of Davey Moore"See "Davey Moore"
    "The Ballad of John Henry Faulk"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    		• About John Henry Faulk, a popular radio show host who fell victim to the blacklist when he was falsely accused of being a Communist.
    "The Ballad of Medgar Evers"See "Too Many Martyrs"
    "The Ballad of Oxford " Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recording:
    • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    		About James Meredith, the first African American student to attend the University of Mississippi.
    "The Ballad of Rubén Jaramillo"See "Jaramillo"
    "The Ballad of U.S. Steel"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • "The Ballad of the Carpenter"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		• Written by Ewan MacColl.
    "Ballad of William Worthy"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recordings:
    • Broadside Ballads Volume 1
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		About U.S. journalist William Worthy, who traveled to Cuba despite State Department restrictions.
    "Basket in the Pool"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    		• About a drunken incident at a party Ochs attended, in which he threw a gift basket into the host's swimming pool.
    "The Bells"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    • Live recording:
    • '
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    		Lyrics adapted from the poem by Edgar Allan Poe.The 1969 live recording features Allen Ginsberg on bells.
    "Bobby Dylan Record"Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    "Bound for Glory"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		• About U.S. folk singer Woody Guthrie.
    "Boy in Ohio"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    		• About Ochs's childhood in Columbus, Ohio.
    "Bracero"Live recording:
  • Phil Ochs in Concert
    		• About Mexican migrant workers under the Bracero Program.
    "Bullets of Mexico"See "Jaramillo"
    "Bwatue"Studio recording:'''
  • Single
    		• Written by Ochs, Dijiba, and Bukasa.

    C

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Canons of Christianity"
    		Live recording:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    "Celia"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		• A love song inspired by William J. Pomeroy and Celia Mariano, a married couple who were imprisoned in the Philippines.
    "Changes"Demo recording:
  • Sings for Broadside
    • Live recordings:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • '
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    		Inspired by Ochs's separation from his wife.
    "Changing Hands"Demo recording:
  • Broadside Reunion
    • "Chords of Fame"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    • Live recordings:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    "Christine Keeler"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    		• About Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, two women at the heart of the Profumo affair.
    "City Boy"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    • "Colored Town"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    • "The Confession"Demo recording:
  • Farewells & Fantasies
    • "Cops of the World"Live recording:
  • Phil Ochs in Concert
    		• About U.S. intervention in the affairs of foreign countries.
    "Cross My Heart"Demo recording:
  • Farewells & Fantasies
    • Studio recording:
    • Pleasures of the Harbor
    Live recordings:
    • Live at Newport
    		The studio version was released as a single in 1967.
    "Crucifixion"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor
    • Live recordings:
    • '
    • Chords of Fame
    • Sings for Broadside
    		About the rise and fall of a hero, and the public's role in creating, destroying, and deifying its heroes. The song usually is interpreted as an allegory likening the life and assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy to the career of Jesus, although the song may refer to other heroes as well.

    D

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Davey Moore" Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    Studio recording:
    • The Early Years
    		About Davey Moore, a boxer who died as a result of injuries sustained during a match.
    "Days of Decision"Demo recording:
  • Sings for Broadside
    • Studio recording:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • "The Doll House"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • '
    "Don't Try Again"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • "Do What I Have to Do"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    • Live recording:
    • Sing for Freedom
    		Written in May 1964 at a Freedom Song workshop at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.
    "Draft Dodger Rag"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    • Live recording:'
    • Evening Concerts Volume 1''

    E

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Everyday"Live recording:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		Written by Norman Petty and Charles Hardin.Performed as part of a medley of Buddy Holly songs.

    F

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "First Snow"Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    "The Floods of Florence"Studio recording:
  • Tape from California
    • "Flower Lady"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor
    • "A Fool Such as I"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Bill Trader.

    G

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Gas Station Women"Studio recording:
    • Greatest Hits
    "Going Down to Mississippi"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone

    • H

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Half a Century High"Studio recording:
    • Tape from California
    Live recording:
    • Live at Newport
    "The Harder They Fall"Studio recordings:
  • Tape from California
  • B-side of "The War Is Over" single
    		• The single version of "The Harder They Fall" has never been included on any album or compilation.
    "Hazard, Kentucky"Demo recordings:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
  • On My Way
    		• About the poor work and living conditions of coal workers in Kentucky.
    "Heartbreak Hotel"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Thomas Durden, Elvis Presley, and Mae Boren Axton.Performed as part of a medley of Elvis Presley songs.
    "Here's to the State of Mississippi"Studio recording:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		Inspired by the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi during 1964.
    "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon"Live recording:
  • B-side of "Power and the Glory" single
    		• Recorded at Max's Kansas City in New York City.A revised version of "Here's to the State of Mississippi", with lyrics updated to refer to U.S. President Richard Nixon.
    "The Highwayman"Studio recording:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    Live recording:
    • '
    		Lyrics adapted from the poem by Alfred Noyes.
    "The Hills of West Virginia"Studio recordings:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    • "How Long"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recording:
    • The Early Years
    "Hunger and Cold"Demo recording:'
  • Broadside Reunion''

    • I

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "I Ain't Marching Anymore"Studio recordings:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    • Single
    Live recordings:
    • Live at Newport
    • '
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    		An anti-war song that became a 1960s protest anthem.The 1966 single was a folk-rock version of the song that included accompaniment by The Blues Project and a bagpipe player.
    "If I Knew"Demo recording:
    • The Broadside Tapes 1
    "I Kill Therefore I Am"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recordings:
    • '
    "I'll Be There"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recording:
    • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    "I'm Going to Say It Now"Live recordings:
  • Phil Ochs in Concert
  • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
  • Sings for Broadside
    		• About student activism in the U.S., particularly the Free Speech Movement.
    "I'm Gonna Love You Too"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, and Norman Petty.Performed as part of a medley of Buddy Holly songs.
    "I'm Tired"Studio recording:
    • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    "In the Heat of the Summer"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		• About urban riots, particularly the Harlem riot of 1964.
    "The Iron Lady"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		• About the death penalty.
    "I Should Have Known Better"Live recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    		• Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.Performed with Eric Andersen.
    "Is There Anybody Here"Live recordings:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • Live at Newport
    "I've Had Her"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor

    • J

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Jaramillo"
    		 Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		About Mexican revolutionary Rubén Jaramillo.
    "Jim Dean of Indiana"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    		• About actor James Dean.
    "Joe Hill"Studio recording:
  • Tape from California
    • Live recording:
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    		About labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill.

    K

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Kansas City Bomber"Studio recording:
    • Single
    		Written as the theme song for the film Kansas City Bomber, although it was not used in the soundtrack.
    "Knock on the Door"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing

    • L

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Links on the Chain"Studio recordings:
    • Broadside Ballads Volume 3
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    Live recording:
    • Live at Newport
    		About the relationship between the labor movement and the Civil Rights Movement.The 1964 studio recording is credited to the Broadside Singers; Ochs sings lead.
    "Lou Marsh"Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		About Lou Marsh, a social worker and former Yale Divinity School student who died trying to prevent a gang war in New York City.
    "Love Me, I'm a Liberal"Live recording:
  • Phil Ochs in Concert

    • M

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of Santo Domingo"See "Santo Domingo"
    "The Men Behind the Guns"Studio recording:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		Lyrics adapted from the poem by John Rooney.
    "Miranda"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor
    • "Mona Lisa"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston.
    "Morning"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Live recording:
    • Farewells & Fantasies
    		Live recording from Bob Fass's radio program on WBAI in New York City.
    "My Baby Left Me"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Arthur Crudup.Performed as part of a medley of Elvis Presley songs.
    "My Kingdom for a Car"Studio recording:
    • Greatest Hits
    "My Life"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement

    • N

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Never Again"Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    "New Town"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • "Niko Mchumba Ngombe"Studio recording:
  • B-side of "Bwatue" single
    		• Written by Ochs, Dijiba, and Bukasa.
    "No Christmas in Kentucky"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    		• About coal miners and their families.
    "No More Songs"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    • Live recording:
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    		The studio recording was the last song on the last studio album released during Ochs's lifetime.
    "Not Fade Away"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Charles Hardin and Norman Petty.Performed as part of a medley of Buddy Holly songs.

    O

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Oh, Boy!"Live recording:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		Written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, and Norman Petty.Performed as part of a medley of Buddy Holly songs.
    "Okie from Muskogee"Live recording:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		Written by Roy Burris and Merle Haggard.
    "Once I Lived the Life of a Commissar"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    		• Music based on "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out".
    "One More Parade"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		• Written by Ochs and Bob Gibson.
    "One Way Ticket Home"Studio recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    • "On Her Hand a Golden Ring"Demo recording:
  • Sings for Broadside
    		• About the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four girls.
    "On My Way"Demo recordings:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
  • On My Way
    • "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor
    • Live recordings:
    • Sings for Broadside
    		Inspired by the case of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death outside her home while dozens of her neighbors reportedly ignored her cries for help.The studio version was released as a single in 1967. The song's reference to marijuana led A&M to release two alternate versions of the single.

    P

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "The Party"Studio recording:
    • Pleasures of the Harbor
    Live recording:
    • Live at Newport
    "The Passing of My Life"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    • "Paul Crump"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recordings:
    • New Folks Volume 2
    • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    		About Paul Crump, a death row prisoner whose sentence was commuted.
    "Pleasures of the Harbor"Studio recording:
  • Pleasures of the Harbor
    • Live recordings:
    • Live at Newport
    • '
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    • Sings for Broadside
    		Inspired by the John Wayne film The Long Voyage Home.
    "Power and the Glory"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recordings:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    • Single
    Live recording:
    • July 1963
    		An American patriotic anthem.On the 1974 single, Ochs was accompanied by a fife and drum corps.
    "Pretty Smart on My Part"Studio recording:'
    • Rehearsals for Retirement''

    R

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Ready Teddy"Live recording:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		Written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco.Performed as part of a medley of Elvis Presley songs.
    "Rehearsals for Retirement"Studio recording:
    • Rehearsals for Retirement
    "Remember Me"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    • "Ringing of Revolution"Demo recording:
    • Sings for Broadside
    Live recordings:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace
    "Rivers of the Blood"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1

    • S

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Santo Domingo" Live recordings:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • Sings for Broadside
    		Inspired by the U.S. invasion of the Dominican Republic during April 1965.
    "Say What I Have to Say"See "Do What I Have to Do"
    "School Days"Live recording:
  • American Troubadour
    		• Written by Chuck Berry.
    "The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • '
    		Inspired by the disappearance of the, a nuclear-powered attack submarine that disappeared at sea during May 1968.
    "Song of a Soldier"Demo recording:
  • Farewells & Fantasies
    • "Song of My Returning"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    • "Spaceman"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    • "Spanish Civil War Song" Demo recordings:'
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
  • On My Way''

    • T

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "Talkin' Cuban Crisis"Demo recording:
    • On My Way
    Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		About the Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962.
    "Talking Airplane Disaster"Demo recording:
  • On My Way
    • Studio recording:
    • New Folks Volume 2
    "Talking Birmingham Jam"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    • Live recording:
    • Newport Broadside
    		About the Birmingham campaign during the Civil Rights Movement.
    "Talkin' Pay TV"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    		• Inspired by cable television.
    "Talkin' Vietnam"Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    Live recording:
    • July 1964
    		About the growing involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
    "Tape from California"Studio recording:
  • Tape from California
    • Live recording:
    • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    "Ten Cents a Coup"Live recording:
  • Greatest Hits
    		• About U.S. President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew.
    "That's the Way It's Gonna Be"Demo recording:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
    • "That's What I Want to Hear"Demo recording:
  • Sings for Broadside
    • Studio recording:
    • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    "That Was the President"Studio recording:
  • I Ain't Marching Anymore
    		• About the life and assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
    "There but for Fortune"Studio recording:
  • New Folks Volume 2
    • Live recordings:
    • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • '
    "Think It Over"Live recording:
  • Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
    		• Written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty, and Jerry Allison.Performed as part of a medley of Buddy Holly songs.
    "The Thresher"Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    		About the, a nuclear-powered attack submarine that sank by accident on April 10, 1963,.
    "Time Was"Demo recordings:
  • The Broadside Tapes 1
  • On My Way
    • "A Toast to Those Who Are Gone"Studio recording:
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    • "Too Many Martyrs"Studio recording:
    • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    Live recordings:
    • Newport Broadside
    		Written by Ochs and Bob Gibson.About the assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963,.
    "The Trial"Studio recording:'
    • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone''

    U

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "United Fruit"Demo recording:
    • Sings for Broadside

    W

    Song titleRecordingsNotes
    "The War Is Over"Studio recording:
    • Tape from California
    		A cynical anti-Vietnam War song.
    "We Seek No Wider War"Demo recording:
  • Farewells & Fantasies
    		• About the role of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
    "What Are You Fighting For?"Demo recording:
  • Sings for Broadside
    • Studio recording:
    • New Folks Volume 2
    "What's That I Hear"Studio recording:
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing
    • "When I'm Gone"Live recording:
  • Phil Ochs in Concert
    • "Where Were You in Chicago?"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • '
    		Inspired by the police riot that broke up protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Sometimes considered part of "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed".
    "White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land"Studio recording:
    • Tape from California
    		About the role of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
    "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed" Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • '
    		Inspired by the police riot that broke up protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
    "William Moore"Studio recordings:
  • New Folks Volume 2
  • A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
    		• About William Moore, a postal worker who staged lone civil rights protests.
    "The World Began in Eden and Ended in Los Angeles"Studio recording:
  • Rehearsals for Retirement
    • Live recording:
    • ''

    Footnotes

    Works cited

    *