Sep 21 2008
There But For Fortune: Peter Paul & Mary, Phil Ochs
September 21st is the international day of peace. I was reminded of this song by my friend Bob Ortiz, who sang it at a Peace Day celebration, a day early, today. By making a small change in one line Bob, brought the image of the twin towers into the song.
Here, Peter Paul and Mary have added a verse, which Mary Travers sings, about famine, which PP&M dedicated to the work of the late Harry Chapin, who used his music to feed the hungry.
There But For Fortune was written by Phil Ochs. Ochs has sometimes been dismissed as a “journalist” writing and singing songs that sound like newspaper articles. Actually the artistry of his songs, and of his performance, was hard to match in the folk scare ere of the 1960s. This clip, filmed at the Bitter End in New York in 1967, contains only a partial performance, but you can get a taste of the kind of musical chops Phil Ochs really had.
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[…] picks to remind me! he has a video on his blog of peter, paul and mary singing “there but for fortune“. it’s a song i grew up with, one that still speaks deeply to my heart. here are […]
great to meet you here in the world of entrecard! you must be the first blogger ever i’ve seen who has one of my musical heroes, mercedes sosa, in his sidebar …
Isabella, I have a post on Mercedes Sosa, too.
Here
Mmmm. I had a crush on Mary when it wasn’t cool. Course that was after her time, but before she came back around. lol