international day of peace

phil ochs in new work in the sixtiessomehow i missed that today is the international day of peace.  i’m about to go to bed but want to at least pay some hommage to it; thanks to clark’s picks to remind me!  he has a video on his blog of peter, paul and mary singing “there but for fortune“.  it’s a song i grew up with, one that still speaks deeply to my heart.  here are the lyrics, written by great american folk singer and activist phil ochs:

show me the prison, show me the jail
show me the prisoner, whose life has gone stale
and i’ll show you a young man
with so many reasons why
and there but for fortune, go you or i ….

show me the alley, show me the train
show me the hobo, who sleeps out in the rain
and i’ll show you a young man
with so many reasons why
and there but for fortune, go you or i …

show me the whiskey, stains on the floor
show me the drunkard, as he stumbles out the door
and i’ll show you a young man
with so many reasons why
and there but for fortune go you or i …

show me the country, where the bombs had to fall
show me the ruins of the buildings, once so tall
and i’ll show you a young land
with so many reasons why
and there but for fortune go you and i, you and i.

image by kptyson

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *