Ochs, Phil - That Was The President Lyrics






The bullets of the false revenge have struck us once again
As the angry seas have struck upon the sand
And it seemed as though a friendless world had lost itself a friend
That was the President and that was the man

I still can see him smiling there and waving at the crowd
As he drove through the music of the band
And never even knowing no more time would be allowed
Not for the President and not for the man

Here's a memory to share, here's a memory to save
Of the sudden early ending of command
Yet a part of you and a part of me is buried in his grave
That was the President and that was the man

It's not only for the leader that the sorrow hits so hard
There are greater things I'll never understand
How a man so filled with life, even death was caught off guard
That was the President and that was the man

Every thing he might have done and all he could have been
Was proven by the troubled traitors hand
For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men
That was the President and that was the man

Yes, the glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain
It's been carried over time and time again
And to the list of honor you may add another name
That was the President and that was the man
That was the President and that was the man

Here is an older version of the song, supplied by Cody Gillespie-Lynch

On a South Pacific ocean, on a South Pacific shore
A legend was written on the sand
For a man of peace was born in the middle of a war
That was the president, and that was the man

With the wisdom of the old and the vision of the young
A challenge was given to the land
And our dreams of peace were spoken with a gifted, golden tongue
That was the president, and that was the man

When the freedom revolution gave a rumble and a roar
The world was shown on which side he would stand
For the first time in a hundred years he opened up the door
That was the president, and that was the man

When a hungry world was searching for a way to feed it's own
The Peace Corps was offered as his plan
And now these seeds of knowledge go wherever winds have blown
That was the president, and that was the man

Everything he might've done and all he could've been
Was proven by the tainted traitor's hand
For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men
That was the president, and that was the man

No end to all the sorrow and the hours we shall grieve
So deep was the fire of his brand
And still I can remember, and still I can't believe
That was the president, and that was the man

Yes, the glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain
That glory shown with Roosevelt again
And to this list of honor you may list another name
For these were the presidents, and these were the men





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Ochs, Phil That Was The President Comments
  1. N.... B....

    Phil we could use you today.

  2. K.... O....

    Ochs himself was a far better example of humanity than JFK, because he was a real flawed man not a symbol. Ochs would have laughed his ass off if anyone suggested that to him. It is time we stopped looking for symbols and got together and fought for a better world. JFK was also flawed but I am attacking the idea of symbols not JFK. I certainly fell more affection for Ochs than JFK when I hear him speak. There is a slightly goofy non polished simple honesty in the way he speaks and there are certainly better speakers but few more genuine. As I said an ordinary man nothing more nothing less. Well a grate songwriter but we all have some exceptional quality.

    K.... O....

    +Kieran O'Sullivan :3 no problem.

    K.... O....

    +Kieran O'Sullivan
    I was fortunate enough to hear Phil during some sort of Stars of Folk show in Chicago in August of 65 - the same evening the Beatles were playing down the street. It was memorable evening of songs and patter. My sister was at the Beatles show while a friend and I attended this superstar show. Both my sister and I came home with some great memories. It saddens me that the fun loving man I saw that evening ended his life in such despair

    K.... O....

    I'm a huge fan of both.

    K.... O....

    jconn0403, I was a teen in the 60's also. I remember that we had 3-4 arenas of music that attracted the youth. The Beatles and the Beach Boys, The Stones, The Animals, and other "hard" Rock, and the Motown Sound, etc. Then there was the "Folk" singers. These are all very wide slices of the Music pie. Folk in itself is also broken into it's own pieces. In the "protest" slice we had major players like Dylan and Baez, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul, and Mary, as well as earlier there was Woody and others. Phil Ochs was in a category of his own. Phil didn't just protest the Viet Nam war, Phil protested ANYTHING that was wrong in his mind. Any human rights violations. He had a huge effect on the direction of my own music. I think that the closest thing to Phil in the "modern" sounds and rebellion music is Chris Cornell (RIP), Eddie Vedder, and others from the Seattle sound. Nirvana was instrumental in re-introduced protest and dissention into the music of the young at that time. This is all very vague and I'm sure everyone will have a comment of "how about the music of?" I know there is much more to be said, but there has never been another like Phil Ochs, and I doubt there ever will. RIP Phil and thank you for all of your music and all my memories! Peace and Love, Skip

    K.... O....

    I would like to add the voice / music / ideas of BRUCE COCKBURN from Canada.@skpgrn