There but for Fortune (song)

"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.

The song

"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. The second verse describes a hobo. The third verse is about a drunk who stumbles out of a bar. The final verse describes a country that has been bombed.

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'".

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.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.

There but for Fortune

There but for Fortune may refer to:

There but for Fortune (album)

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.

The compact disc edition omits three tracks, two from the first album and one from the second. Both editions lop off a few introductions on the "In Concert" album.

A cover version of "There But For Fortune" by Joan Baez became a top-ten hit in the UK in 1965. Somewhat irritated by her greater success with the song, Ochs sometimes introduced it as "by Joan Baez" in his live performances.

Track listing

All songs by Phil Ochs unless otherwise noted.

Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune

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).

The film features extensive archival footage of Ochs, as well as scenes reflecting the turbulent political climate of the 1960s during which he emerged as a spokesperson on causes such as racial injustice, political oppression, the horrors of war, and labor issues. In addition, it includes interviews with family members and many of the artists and activists who knew him from his arrival in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s through his death in 1976. Also featured are comments from contemporary figures on Ochs' influence. This documentary was broadcast on January 23, 2012 on the PBS series American Masters.

Personal biography and political history

The film is a biography of Ochs as well as a history of the anti-war movement, the folk song revival in the United States, and left-wing political activism during the 1960s. Tracking Ochs' rise to fame during the folk and protest song movements of the period, the film depicts his growing involvement in the radical politics that developed over the decade. Throughout, he wrote hundreds of songs, many of them ripped straight from the daily news. As the film's interviews bring out, Ochs firmly believed his music could change the world for the better.