"There but for Fortune" | |
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Song by Phil Ochs | |
from the album New Folks Volume 2 | |
Published | 1963 |
Released | 1964 |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 2:11 |
Label | Vanguard |
Songwriter(s) | Phil Ochs |
"There but for Fortune" | ||||
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Single by Joan Baez | ||||
from the album Joan Baez/5 | ||||
Released | 1965 | |||
Recorded | October 1964 | |||
Length | 3:11 | |||
Label | Vanguard (U.S.), Fontana (U.K.) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Phil Ochs | |||
Producer(s) | Maynard Solomon | |||
Joan Baez singles chronology | ||||
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U.K.singles chronology | ||||
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"There but for Fortune" is a song by American folk musician Phil Ochs. Ochs wrote the song in 1963 and recorded it twice, for New Folks Volume 2 (Vanguard, 1964) and Phil Ochs in Concert (Elektra, 1966). Joan Baez also recorded "There but for Fortune" in 1964, and her version of the song became a chart hit.
"There but for Fortune" consists of four verses, each one of which ends with the line "there but for fortune may go you or I". The first verse is about a prisoner. [1] The second verse describes a hobo. [2] The third verse is about a drunk who stumbles out of a bar. The final verse describes a country that has been bombed. [3] [4]
One of Ochs' biographers wrote that, "of all the songs that Phil would ever write, none would show his humanity as brilliantly as the four brief verses of 'There but for Fortune'". [1]
The song's title was used as the name of the 1989 compilation album There but for Fortune , which featured material taken from three albums Ochs recorded for Elektra Records between 1964 and 1966. [5] Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune was also used as the title of Michael Schumacher's 1996 biography, as well as Kenneth Bowser's 2011 documentary on the singer's life. [1] [6]
Ochs recorded "There but for Fortune" twice. In 1964, he recorded it for the Vanguard compilation New Folks Volume 2. [7] The 1964 recording was reissued on the 2000 compact disc The Early Years .
In 1966, Ochs's concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall and Boston's Jordan Hall were recorded. They were released as Phil Ochs in Concert . One of the songs on In Concert was "There but for Fortune". [8] Ochs introduces the song by saying it was written for him by Joan Baez, an ironic reference to her hit single.
In October 1964, Baez recorded "There but for Fortune" for Joan Baez/5 . It was released in the U.S. as a single [4] in June, 1965, with "Daddy, You Been on My Mind", a Bob Dylan song, as the B-side. In July, it was released as a single in the U.K., where its B-side was "Plaisir d'amour". [9]
The single became a Top Ten hit in the U.K., reaching #8. [10] It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Folk Recording". [11] In the U.S. it peaked at #50 on the Billboard chart [12] — a good showing, but not a hit. [13] In Canada the song reached #27. [14]
By coincidence, Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2 became a #8 hit in the U.K. at the same time "There but for Fortune" did. [10]
Monica Barbaro, portraying Baez in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown , sings the song in a concert scene. [15]
The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, [16] and a "War Is Over" rally was held in New York's Central Park on May 11. At the rally, Ochs and Baez sang a duet of "There but for Fortune". [17] [18]
"There but for Fortune" has been covered by more than a dozen performers besides Baez, including Chad and Jeremy, Eugene Chadbourne, Cher, The Gretchen Phillips Experience, Jim and Jean, The Mike Leander Orchestra, Vicky Leandros (from the 1966 album "Songs und Folklore") The New Christy Minstrels, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Spokesmen, Françoise Hardy, [19] and Sammy Walker. [20] Peter, Paul and Mary's cover features a bridge between the third and fourth verses, containing references to hunger and children, written by Noel Paul Stookey. [21] [22] Also, a French version, "Où va la chance?", with lyrics adapted by Eddy Marnay, was originally performed by Françoise Hardy [23] and later covered by Isabelle Boulay. [24]
Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote approximately 200 songs throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and released eight albums.
Joan Chandos Baez is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more than 30 albums.
Phil Ochs in Concert is Phil Ochs' third long player, released in 1966 on Elektra Records. Despite its title, it was not entirely live, as several tracks were actually recorded in the studio, owing to flaws in the live recordings made in Boston and New York City in late 1965 and early 1966. The album's producers retained the essence of a live album by including song patter and audience reactions between and during the songs. Phil Ochs in Concert features many of the folksinger's most enduring songs and represents the culmination of Ochs' folk career, the last of his original albums to be all-acoustic.
There but for Fortune was a 1989 compilation that summed up the three albums that Phil Ochs recorded for Elektra Records between 1964 and 1966. The album drew heavily from the third, presenting ten of its eleven tracks, and presenting six and five respectively from the first and second.
Judith Anne Henske was an American singer and songwriter, dubbed "the Queen of the Beatniks" by producer Jack Nitzsche. Initially performing in folk clubs in the early 1960s, her performances and recordings embraced blues, jazz, show tunes, and humorous material. Her 1963 recording of "High Flying Bird" was influential on folk-rock, and her 1969 album Farewell Aldebaran, with husband Jerry Yester, was an eclectic "fusion of folk music, psychedelia, and arty pop".
"Power and the Glory" is an American patriotic song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military and industrial establishment. Originally released on his 1964 debut album, All the News That's Fit to Sing, "Power and the Glory" is said to have contributed to Ochs' profound impact.
"Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" is a song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s. "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", which was originally released on Ochs' 1967 album Pleasures of the Harbor, became one of Ochs' most popular songs.
Jim R. Glover is an American peace activist and folk singer. He is from Cleveland, Ohio and lives in Brandon, Florida.
"I Ain't Marching Any More" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a passionate critic of the American military industrial complex. Originally released on his 1965 album of the same name, "I Ain't Marching Any More" is one of Ochs's best-known songs.
"The War Is Over" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, an American protest singer in the 1960s and early 1970s. Ochs was famous for harshly criticizing the Vietnam War and the American military-industrial establishment. The song, which was originally released on Tape from California (1968), has been described as "one of the most potent antiwar songs of the 1960s".
The discography of Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer and songwriter, consists of seven studio albums, six live albums, six compilation albums, one box set, six other albums, and nine singles.
"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. Originally released on his 1965 album, I Ain't Marching Anymore, "Draft Dodger Rag" quickly became an anthem of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Comment te dire adieu is the ninth studio album by French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, released in 1968 on Disques Vogue. Like many of her previous records, it was originally released without a title and came to be referred to, later on, by the name of its most popular song. The cover artwork was a drawing by Jean-Paul Goude.
"Crucifixion" is a 1966 song by Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter. Ochs described the song as "the greatest song I've ever written".
"Cross My Heart" is a 1966 song by Phil Ochs, an American singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s.
Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune is a documentary film on the life and times of folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs. The film, released theatrically in January 2011, was written and directed by Kenneth Bowser. Its title is taken from one of Ochs' best known songs, "There but for Fortune" (1963).
"Love Me, I'm a Liberal" is a satirical political song by Phil Ochs, an American singer-songwriter. Originally released on his 1966 live album, Phil Ochs in Concert, "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" was soon one of Ochs's most popular concert staples.
Françoise in Italian is a compilation album by the French popular singer Françoise Hardy where all songs are in Italian language. This compilation was only published in South Africa in 1970 under label World Record Co. It contains ten titles published in singles under Italian label Compagnia Generale del Disco, of 1968 to 1970.