"Turning Away Song"

download .mp3 (4:48)

"Turning Away Song" (Acoustic Demo)

download .mp3 (4:50)

The telecast went on way too long the night of the Academy Awards
And the neighborhood crossing guard called out sick the day afterward
She was still daydreaming at 11:45, contemplating meritocracies
An enterprising producer could turn it into an interstitial bit for ABC
Because who doesn't understand the feeling?
Who hasn't composed his or her own Oscar acceptance speech?
After all, even Phil Ochs himself once got cosmetic surgery

It's in Michael Schumacher's "There But For Fortune" biography
Published in 1996 by Hyperion, see pages 29 to 30
Phil's nose job took place between graduating high school and enrolling at Ohio State
Schumacher also wrote about Eric Clapton, publishing things as far back as '88.

In 1990 Rhino Records released Phil Ochs' "There & Now" posthumously
It was recorded live in 1968 in Vancouver, B.C.
His brother Michael, the archivist, wrote in the liner notes that Phil had just seen "the death of democracy"
Phil himself noted as much while introducing "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (track 14)

He said, "So what can you do? I mean here you are, a helpless soul, a helpless piece of flesh amid all this cruel, cruel machinery and terrible heartless men. So all you can do is turn away from the filth and hopefully start to build something new someday. So here is a turning away song."

Acoustic recorded July 24, 2009 direct to mp3 at home in Long Island City, Queens

Version recorded October 18, 2011 at home in Astoria, Queens