I Ain't Marching Anymore
Encyclopedia
I Ain't Marching Anymore was Phil Ochs
' second LP, released on Elektra Records
in 1965. Dispensing with second guitarist Danny Kalb, Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes
' "The Highwayman
" set to music (much as Poe
's "The Bells" had been set to music on the previous album
) and a cover of Ewan MacColl
's "The Ballad of the Carpenter".
Of the twelve originals, probably the most noted was the title track
, with its distinctive trilling guitar part, that spoke of a soldier sick of fighting. Also of note was the album closer, "Here's to the State of Mississippi", a biting criticism of that state's lack of civil rights and general bigoted attitude. Other important songs include "Draft Dodger Rag
" (assailing those "red blooded Americans" who were in favor of US participation in the Vietnam War but did not fight because they were just summertime soldiers and sunshine patriots), "That Was The President" (a tribute to John Kennedy written soon after his assassination), "Talking Birmingham Jam" (which used the traditional talking blues
form to assail the racist leaders of Birmingham) and "Links on the Chain" (attacking labor unions for excluding African-Americans and failing to support civil rights).
Ochs showed great thematic versatility on the album, including not just blatantly anti-war or protest songs but also poetry (Alfred Noyes, John Rooney, and Ewan MacColl) and some songs his followers probably didn't want to hear. He noted, for instance, in the liner notes that his Marxist friends couldn't understand why he wrote "That Was the President," dryly adding that that was one of the reasons he wasn't a Marxist. He showed more socialist sympathies with the songs "The Men Behind the Guns" and "Ballad of the Carpenter," with its memorable lyric "Jesus was a working man." (Ochs wrote in the liner notes that "songs like this" were one of the reasons the State Department blocked Ewan MacColl from entering the U.S., adding that this was unwise given "the quality of culture in America.") However, more doctrinaire socialists may have had mixed feelings about "That's What I Want to Hear," in which Ochs tells an out of work man to stop begging and fight for full employment. Among more traditional protest songs, the most pointed might be "Iron Lady," about the death penalty, with the memorable line "And a rich man never died upon the chair." (The "iron lady" in the title referred to the electric chair.) Ochs wrote that "in the future, intelligent men will read in amazement about the murder of Caryl Chessman
." But hard hitting songs like that and the title song were softened with sentimental and even romantic songs like "That Was the President" and Noyes' "The Highway Man." And while critical, songs like "Draft Dodger Rag" and "Talking Birmingham Jam" used humor rather than harsh rhetoric to make their points.
On the 2001 CD reissue, an alternative electric version of "I Ain't Marching Anymore" follows "Here's to the State of Mississippi". Released as the A-side of a British 45, it had first appeared in the States on the now out-of-print 1997 box set Farewells & Fantasies
.
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
' second LP, released on Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1965. Dispensing with second guitarist Danny Kalb, Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes
Alfred Noyes
Alfred Noyes was an English poet, best known for his ballads, "The Highwayman" and "The Barrel-Organ".-Early years:...
' "The Highwayman
The Highwayman (poem)
"The Highwayman" is a narrative poem written by Alfred Noyes, first published in the August 1906 issue of Blackwood's Magazine. The following year it was included in Noyes' collection, Forty Singing Seamen and Other Poems, becoming an immediate success....
" set to music (much as Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's "The Bells" had been set to music on the previous album
All the News That's Fit to Sing
All The News That's Fit to Sing was Phil Ochs' first official album. Recorded in 1964 for Elektra Records, it was full of many elements that would come back throughout his career. It was the album that defined his "singing journalist" phase, strewn with songs whose roots were allegedly pulled from...
) and a cover of Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
's "The Ballad of the Carpenter".
Of the twelve originals, probably the most noted was the title track
I Ain't Marching Anymore (song)
"I Ain't Marching Anymore" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military industrial complex...
, with its distinctive trilling guitar part, that spoke of a soldier sick of fighting. Also of note was the album closer, "Here's to the State of Mississippi", a biting criticism of that state's lack of civil rights and general bigoted attitude. Other important songs include "Draft Dodger Rag
Draft Dodger Rag
"Draft Dodger Rag" is a satirical anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military industrial complex...
" (assailing those "red blooded Americans" who were in favor of US participation in the Vietnam War but did not fight because they were just summertime soldiers and sunshine patriots), "That Was The President" (a tribute to John Kennedy written soon after his assassination), "Talking Birmingham Jam" (which used the traditional talking blues
Talking blues
Talking blues is a form of country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict....
form to assail the racist leaders of Birmingham) and "Links on the Chain" (attacking labor unions for excluding African-Americans and failing to support civil rights).
Ochs showed great thematic versatility on the album, including not just blatantly anti-war or protest songs but also poetry (Alfred Noyes, John Rooney, and Ewan MacColl) and some songs his followers probably didn't want to hear. He noted, for instance, in the liner notes that his Marxist friends couldn't understand why he wrote "That Was the President," dryly adding that that was one of the reasons he wasn't a Marxist. He showed more socialist sympathies with the songs "The Men Behind the Guns" and "Ballad of the Carpenter," with its memorable lyric "Jesus was a working man." (Ochs wrote in the liner notes that "songs like this" were one of the reasons the State Department blocked Ewan MacColl from entering the U.S., adding that this was unwise given "the quality of culture in America.") However, more doctrinaire socialists may have had mixed feelings about "That's What I Want to Hear," in which Ochs tells an out of work man to stop begging and fight for full employment. Among more traditional protest songs, the most pointed might be "Iron Lady," about the death penalty, with the memorable line "And a rich man never died upon the chair." (The "iron lady" in the title referred to the electric chair.) Ochs wrote that "in the future, intelligent men will read in amazement about the murder of Caryl Chessman
Caryl Chessman
Caryl Whittier Chessman was a convicted robber and rapist who gained fame as a death row inmate in California. Chessman's case attracted worldwide attention, and as a result he became a cause célèbre for the movement to ban capital punishment.-Crime and conviction:Born in St...
." But hard hitting songs like that and the title song were softened with sentimental and even romantic songs like "That Was the President" and Noyes' "The Highway Man." And while critical, songs like "Draft Dodger Rag" and "Talking Birmingham Jam" used humor rather than harsh rhetoric to make their points.
On the 2001 CD reissue, an alternative electric version of "I Ain't Marching Anymore" follows "Here's to the State of Mississippi". Released as the A-side of a British 45, it had first appeared in the States on the now out-of-print 1997 box set Farewells & Fantasies
Farewells & Fantasies
Farewells & Fantasies is the 1997 posthumous box set of the work of singer/songwriter Phil Ochs, chronicling his life and career in music from 1964 through 1970. With its non-chronological running order, it plays like three separate albums, each showcasing a different side of Ochs...
.
Track listing
All songs by Phil Ochs unless otherwise noted.- "I Ain't Marching AnymoreI Ain't Marching Anymore (song)"I Ain't Marching Anymore" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military industrial complex...
" – 2:37 - "In the Heat of the Summer" – 3:08
- "Draft Dodger RagDraft Dodger Rag"Draft Dodger Rag" is a satirical anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military industrial complex...
" – 2:13 - "That's What I Want to Hear" – 3:10
- "That Was the President" – 3:26
- "Iron Lady" – 3:37
- "The Highwayman" (A. Noyes, with musical interpretation by Phil Ochs) – 5:42
- "Links on the Chain" – 4:20
- "Hills of West Virginia" – 3:21
- "The Men Behind the Guns" (J. Rooney, with musical interpretation by Phil Ochs) – 3:03
- "Talking Birmingham Jam" – 3:13
- "The Ballad of the Carpenter" (Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
) – 3:54 - "Days of Decision" – 3:14
- "Here's to the State of Mississippi" – 6:02
- "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) – 2:50 +
- + = bonus track on 2002 CD reissue
Participants
- Phil OchsPhil OchsPhilip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
- vocals, guitar - Jac Holzman - production supervisor
- Paul A. Rothchild - recording director
- with the Blues ProjectBlues ProjectThe Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. While their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles, they are most remembered as one of the earliest practitioners of psychedelic rock, as well as one...
:- Roy Blumenfeld - drums on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version)
- Danny KalbDanny KalbDanny Kalb is an American blues guitarist, and was one of the original members of the 1960s group, Blues Project.-Life and career:...
- guitar on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) - Steve KatzSteve Katz (musician)Steve Katz is a guitarist and record producer who is best known as a member of the rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears. Katz was an original member of the rock bands The Blues Project and American Flyer...
- guitar on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) - Andy KulbergAndy KulbergAndy Kulberg was an American musician notable for his bass playing with the groups Blues Project and Seatrain....
- bass on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version) - Al KooperAl KooperAl Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
- piano on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (electric version)
Media
External links
- Liner notes from CD reissue by Richie Unterberger