You've long been on the open road you've been sleepin' in the rain
From dirty words and muddy cells your clothes are soiled and stained
But the dirty words and the mud of cells will soon be judged insane
So only stop and rest yourself and you'll be off again
"Turn on your tv, turn it on so loud
And watch the fool a smiling there and tell me that you're proud
And listen to your radio, the noise it starts to pour
Oh I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?"
"Read your morning papers, read every single line
And tell me if you can believe that simple world you find
Read every slanted word till your eyes are getting sore
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?"
"And listen to your leaders, the ones who won the race
As they stand right there before you and lie into your face
If you ever try to buy them, you know what they stand for
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?"
"Put ragged clothes upon your back and sleep upon the ground
And tell police about your rights as they drag you down
And ask them as they lead you to some deserted door
Yes, I know you're set for fightin', but what are you fightin' for?"
"But the hardest thing I'll ask you, if you will only try
Is take your children by their hands and look into their eyes
And there you'll see the answer you should have seen before
If you'll win the wars at home, there'll be no fighting anymore."
"So I'll say these words to you, though you won't believe a word I say... Gonna say the words anyway."
This was Peter Yarrow's introduction of Phil Ochs during the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. The song that Ochs would open with was the Ballad of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader slain only a few weeks earlier.
“There is something happening in the world of art today. There are people who some think are new idols, new grand personalities. A lot of people resent the fact that these people are saying critical things, penetrating things. But it’s not idolatry, it’s the most positive, most affirmative aspect of our nation today.”
Happy Autumn. A season of "changes".
While you have most certainly heard the Pete Seeger version, have you heard the original Malvina Reynolds version from 1961? She really has the quite the voice.
"And here's to the government of Richard Nixon
In the swamp of their bureaucracy
They're always bogging down
And criminals are posing
As advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights
And no one hears the sounds
And the speeches of the president
Are the ravings of a clown"
"Oh here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon: find yourself another country to be part of"