Poetry Wednesday 03/04/09: Changes

I can remember back in the sixties, before the days of mass media, the folksinger was often a traveling newspaper spreading tales through music.

There was an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions, and musical poetry was perhaps the most effective mirror available. I can remember every newspaper headline being a potential song.

Remembering the poetic lyrics of Phil Ochs…

Changes
by Phil Ochs

Sit by my side come as close as the air
Sharin’ a memory of grey
And wander in my words
And dream about the pictures that I play
Of changes
Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall
To brown and to yellow they fade
And then they have to die
Trapped within the circle time parade
Of changes

Moments of magic will glow in the night
All fears of the forest are gone
For when the morning breaks
They’re swept away by golden drops of dawn
Of changes

Passions will part to a warm melody
As fires will sometimes turn cold
Like petals in the wind
We’re puppets to the silver strings of souls
Of changes

Your tears will be trembling now we’re somewhere else
One last cup of wine we will pour
I’ll kiss you one more time
And leave you on the rolling river shore
of changes.

[mp3j track=”changes.mp3″]

Hello, and welcome back to Poetry Wednesday 3/04/09. You can sign in today and take the tour thru Thursday, so take your time.

I’ll be your hostess again this week. My sister, Sans Souci, is on a break, putting together her own poetry book, but she will check in.

Before we get started, please make sure that your post has a link to get back to this page to make it easier to take the tour:

1) Copy and paste the following link that I have provided for you from this page to somewhere on your poetry post.

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Link back to the Poetry Wednesday tour on Laurita’s page

2) Leave the link of your poetry post in the comments section below. This is the link guests will click on to read your poem (see my post below as an example).

Phillip David Ochs (December 19, 1940-April 9,, 1976) was a U.S. protest singer (or, as he preferred, a “topical singer, songwriter, musician, journalist and recording artist who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice. He wrote hundreds of songs in the 1960s and released eight LP record albums in his lifetime.

He performed at many political events, including anti-Vietnam War civil rights rallies, student events, and organized labor events over the course of his career, in addition to many concert appearances at such venues as New York City’s The Town Hall and Carnegie Hall. Politically, Ochs described himself as a “left social democrat” who turned into an “early revolutionary” after the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which had a profound effect on his state of mind. He was often seen as a radical and also a patriot — though he was also interested in differing political philosophies as well as journalism, and was an avid fan of music and movies. and

After years of prolific writing in the 1960s, Ochs’ mental stability declined in the 1970s and eventually he succumbed to a number of problems including manic depression and alcoholism, and he took his own life in 1976.

Some of his major influences were Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Gibson, Faron Young, Merle Haggard, John Wayne, and John F. Kennedy. His best known songs include “Power and the Glory”, “Draft Dodger Rag”, “What’s That I Hear”, “There But for Fortune”, “Changes”, “Crucifixion”, “The War Is Over”, “When I’m Gone”, “Love Me I’m a Liberal”, “Links on the Chain”, “Ringing of Revolution”, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, “One More Parade” and “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”.

Phil Ochs on tour

Let’s start our own !

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