Take a journey with me. Come and take a voyage out to sea. We’ll weigh the anchor and set our sails. The course is on the chart. Our heading points across time. Hurry! We’ll follow a long, lost traveler—the master story-teller and minstrel of his day, Phil Ochs. “Pleasures of the Harbor” was his fourth full-length album, released on Halloween in 1967—the day after my 18th birthday—and a week prior to my enlistment in the Navy. I knew him then, and now we’re on our way.

In the 60’s Phil Ochs was popular, especially back east.  But even though Phil sang at all the festivals and was friends with Bob Dylan, his offerings were not regularly put on the air. They were a bit too topical, too edgy and too critical of the status quo for station big wigs to authorize their air-time. One song, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends,” even included a verse about marijuana! The nerve of that guy!

The album’s title song “Pleasures of the Harbor”[1] may have been censored, too. It’s real. It doesn’t hold back. It is the story of a lonely sailor’s return to port, and therefore it sings of certain pleasures that were missed at sea. Phil painted his portrayal in poetic detail. Yes, there was communication in the Biblical sense—and with ladies whose social status was less than polite. All right. The sailors drank in bars and mingled with prostitutes. How on Earth could DJs be expected to play that record in the 60s! Draft cards and bras were burning, but there was no way a song could mention working women. That came in the 70s.

Why do I add this colorful ballad to my website? It deals with sex and so-called vices, drinking, smoking and the like. None of these life aspects are on the pages of my blog or my book. Heavens, no! My story is about murder, war and theft—massive crimes that overwhelm a simple people—including Bentari, a boy so young.

Here’s the connection. What is more pertinent than the simple contact that all living creatures need? If not for mere survival, we need it to succeed. Love and warmth—as basic to our needs as air and water! The lyrical ballad “Pleasures of the Harbor” shows us men and women surviving. Bentari is a survivor, too. Sources may differ—and methods. But the need is the same. Humans make do. With a bit of luck and a little help, they make it.

I’m left now, with the feeling that Phil Ochs wrote songs for the same reason that I tell stories. To find a better way. To make things better for others. If only to build a smile.

Photo: Phil Ochs with family and felines

See our entries (below) about “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends” and “Crucifixion”

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPJwSjByXGo – Phil on guitar, sings live in Montreal, 1966 --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnD_ZdALLdY -- Phil sings with orchestra; for lyrics, see:
http://www.songlyrics.com/phil-ochs/pleasures-of-the-harbor-lyrics/