Phil Ochs, There But for Fortune

Last night Dan and I went to the Independent Film Center to see a documentary on Phil Ochs.  The last time we were at IFC was to see the Pete Seeger documentary. This one contrasted in many ways to Pete's.  For one thing, Phil was a total creature of the New Left:  he believed that the Kennedys were going to fix everything that was wrong with the country, and/or that the New Left would create a revolution.  These two delusions, apparently, were common to the New Left (not me).  Phil wrote some very popular songs of the anti-war movement (I Ain't a-Marching Anymore, etc.) and became very big-name in anti-war circles.  He was competitive and very jealous of Bob Dylan, who put him down for writing lyrics that were "too political."  Manic depression ran in Phil's family, and he apparently suffered from it, although he seems to have refused to be treated for it.  He moved to Hollywood and tried to hit the big time but didn't really make it. Then, when the revolution didn't take place during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, he went off the rails.  By the time the war was over, he was practically over.  He organized a huge celebration for the end of the war in Central Park in Jay 1975 (which I attended) but could never regain his mental footing.  He hung himself in 1976.  He had a beautiful voice and was a good songwriter.  It was just too bad.

Pete Seeger, on the other hand, has a much more comprehensive understanding of the world and of the ways movements act in history; although Phil was a star singer-songwriter, Pete still has been able to inspire countless people in a wide variety of movements, from civil rights through worker's movements to anti-war.  And, in spite of the terrible state of the world, Pete was able to celebrate his 90th birthday with his sister and brother, his wife and three children and his grandchildren, plus thousands and thousands of people he has moved.  Pete's documentary was an up; we all left the theater smiling and singing.  After Phil's, we left with long faces (some with tears in their eyes).  Poor Phil; poor us.