Biography:
Philip David Ochs (pronounced o?ks/) (December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer) and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice. He wrote hundreds of songs in the 1960s and released eight albums in his lifetime.
Ochs performed at many political events, including anti-Vietnam War and civil rights rallies
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Other songs:
- A Toast To Those Who Are Gone
- A Year To Go By
- Another Age
- Another Country
- Automation Song
- Ballad Of Oxford
- Ballad Of William Worthy
- Bound For Glory
- Bracero
- Celia
- Changes
- Chords Of Fame
- Cops Of The World
- Cross My Heart
- Crucifixion
- Davey Moore
- Days Of Decision
- Doesnt Lenny Live Here Anymore
- Draft Dodger Rag
- Flower Lady
- Going Down To Mississippi
- Half A Century High
- Hands
- Heres To The State Of Mississippi
- Heres To The State Of Richard Nixon
- I Aint Marching Anymore
- I Shoulda Known Better
- Im Going To Say It Now
- Im Gonna Say It Now
- Im Tired
- In The Heat Of The Summer
- Is There Anybody Here
- Joe Hill
- Knock On The Door
- Links On The Chain
- Love Me Im A Liberal
- Maintaining Law And Order
- No More Songs
- One Way Ticket Home
- Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends
- Passing Of My Life
- Pleasures Of The Harbor
- Power And The Glory
- Pretty Smart On My Part
- Rehersal For Retirement
- Remember Me
- Ringing Of Revolution
- Scorpion Departs But Never Returns
- Small Circle
- Song Of A Soldier
- Spaceman
- Spanish Civil War Song
- Street Soldier
- Ten Cents A Coup
- Thats The Way Its Gonna Be
- Thats What I Want To Hear
- The Bells
- The Cannons Of Christianity
- The Confession
- The Doll House
- The Highwayman
- The Passing Of My Life
- The Thresher
- The Trial
- The War Is Over
- There But For Fortune
- This Old World Is Changing Hands
- Too Many Martyrs
- Watch The Waterfall
- What Are You Fighting For
- Whats That I Hear
- When Im Gone
- When In Rome
- Where Were You In Chicago
- White Boots Marching In A Yellow Land
- William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
Hands
By Phil Ochs, Arrangements & lyric changes by Jim Glover
G Bm C D
I've seen the hands of laborers that lifted all the loads
G Bm C D
And the granite stuck to their fingers as they dug the canals and the roads
Em Bm
Now they're cleared and the bridges span
C D
The river paused for a power dam
G Bm C D
And now the hand of the laborer is reaching out to you
Chorus:
G Em C D G Em
Oh the hands hands hands that worked to build land, land, your land
D G Em C D G
The labor of the woman and the man workin' with their hands
Hands, hands, hands a-workin' with their hands
I've seen the hands of the miners digging out the coal.
The black dust stuck to their fingers as they lived their life in a hole.
The rocks they're still under the ground, and now their mine is a-closin'
down.
And now the hand of the miner is reaching out to you. (Chorus)
Well I've seen the hands of the lumberjacks; forests swaying in the breeze.
And the splinters stuck to their fingers as lumber was torn from the trees.
And the wood that came from the timber tall built your buildings from
wall to wall.
And now the hand of the lumberjack is reaching out to you.
And I've seen the hands of the farmers plowin' across the fields.
And the topsoil stuck to their fingers as the land was split by the steel.
Just growing all they could grow, to fill your tables row after row.
And now the hand of the farmer is reaching out to you.
Oh the hands, hands, hands were working on the land, your land.
The labor of the woman and the man working with their hands.
Hands, hands, working with their hands.
Notes:
This song and the following commentary was pubished in SingOut magazine.
"Hands" comes to these pages through Sonny Ochs, Phil's sister. A friend of hers, Peter
Benson, gave her a tape of Phil's concert at the Gaslight in New York City on June 3,
1964. It,along with about 13 other songs rediscovered in a similar fashion, was never
recorded by Phil. Jim Glover, of Middlebury, Ct, transcribed this song and is working on the
remaining songs. Upon transcribing this song Jim recalled being there that evening. Jim
writes: "The only thing that bothered me about the song, when I first heard it at the
Gaslight and later when I listened to the tape, was that it never mentined or gave credit
to women while it told the story of the people who built America. So, I changed the lyrics
accordingly...it's been getting wonderful reactions from live audences." Once again, we
have the folk process in action. A song that makes a valid statement, and appeals to a
wide audience, can remain relevant for years without losing its original impact. We are planning
to publish more of Phil's previously unreleased material in the future; but if you
can't wait, the December, 1983 issue of Broadside contains a whole body of work by and about
Phil--songs, letter, articles, etc.
Transcribed by Pam Raver
Copyright 1983
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics.html
By Phil Ochs, Arrangements & lyric changes by Jim Glover
G Bm C D
I've seen the hands of laborers that lifted all the loads
G Bm C D
And the granite stuck to their fingers as they dug the canals and the roads
Em Bm
Now they're cleared and the bridges span
C D
The river paused for a power dam
G Bm C D
And now the hand of the laborer is reaching out to you
Chorus:
G Em C D G Em
Oh the hands hands hands that worked to build land, land, your land
D G Em C D G
The labor of the woman and the man workin' with their hands
Hands, hands, hands a-workin' with their hands
I've seen the hands of the miners digging out the coal.
The black dust stuck to their fingers as they lived their life in a hole.
The rocks they're still under the ground, and now their mine is a-closin'
down.
And now the hand of the miner is reaching out to you. (Chorus)
Well I've seen the hands of the lumberjacks; forests swaying in the breeze.
And the splinters stuck to their fingers as lumber was torn from the trees.
And the wood that came from the timber tall built your buildings from
wall to wall.
And now the hand of the lumberjack is reaching out to you.
And I've seen the hands of the farmers plowin' across the fields.
And the topsoil stuck to their fingers as the land was split by the steel.
Just growing all they could grow, to fill your tables row after row.
And now the hand of the farmer is reaching out to you.
Oh the hands, hands, hands were working on the land, your land.
The labor of the woman and the man working with their hands.
Hands, hands, working with their hands.
Notes:
This song and the following commentary was pubished in SingOut magazine.
"Hands" comes to these pages through Sonny Ochs, Phil's sister. A friend of hers, Peter
Benson, gave her a tape of Phil's concert at the Gaslight in New York City on June 3,
1964. It,along with about 13 other songs rediscovered in a similar fashion, was never
recorded by Phil. Jim Glover, of Middlebury, Ct, transcribed this song and is working on the
remaining songs. Upon transcribing this song Jim recalled being there that evening. Jim
writes: "The only thing that bothered me about the song, when I first heard it at the
Gaslight and later when I listened to the tape, was that it never mentined or gave credit
to women while it told the story of the people who built America. So, I changed the lyrics
accordingly...it's been getting wonderful reactions from live audences." Once again, we
have the folk process in action. A song that makes a valid statement, and appeals to a
wide audience, can remain relevant for years without losing its original impact. We are planning
to publish more of Phil's previously unreleased material in the future; but if you
can't wait, the December, 1983 issue of Broadside contains a whole body of work by and about
Phil--songs, letter, articles, etc.
Transcribed by Pam Raver
Copyright 1983
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics.html
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