Get all 29 Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers releases available on Bandcamp and save 65%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Far Rockaway - The Songs of Phil Ochs, Christmas In Prison - Live From Swillville - December 2023, There But For Fortune, Questions, Answers & Songs, SWILL'S SURPRISE SESSION (JAN 20TH 2022), GHOSTS OF ROCK N ROLL, Folk at the Fortress, THE BEST OF SWILL'S SUNDAY SESSION VOLUME 2, and 21 more.
Excludes supporter-only releases.
1. |
THE THRESHER
03:20
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The Thresher
In Portsmouth town on the eastern shore
Where many a fine ship was born.
The Thresher was built
And the Thresher was launched
And the crew of the Thresher was sworn.
She was shaped like a tear
She was built like a shark
She was made to run fast and free.
And the builders shook their hands
And the builders shared their wine,
And thought that they had mastered the sea.
Yes, she'll always run silent
And she'll always run deep
Though the ocean has no pity
Though the waves will never weep
They'll never weep.
And they marvelled at her speed,
marvelled at her depth
marvelled at her deadly design.
And they sailed to every land
And they sailed to every port
Just to see what faults they could find.
Then they put her on the land
For nine months to stand
And they worked on her from stem to stern.
But they could never see
It was their coffin to be
For the sea was waiting for their return.
Yes, she'll always run silent
And she'll always run deep
Though the ocean has no pity
Though the waves will never weep
They'll never weep.
On a cold Wednesday morn
They put her her out to sea
When the waves they were nine feet high.
And they dove beneath the waves
And they dove to their graves
And they never said a last goodbye.
And its deeper and deeper
And deeper they dove
Just to see what their ship could stand.
But the hull gave a moan
And the hull gave a groan
And they plunged to the deepest darkest sand.
Now she lies in the depths
Of the darkened ocean floor
Covered by the waters cold and still
Oh can't you see the wrong
She was a death ship all along
Died before she had a chance to kill
Yes, she'll never run silent
And she'll never run deep
And the ocean has no pity
And the waves will never weep
They'll never weep.
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2. |
HUNGER AND COLD
03:23
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I've been all around your dirty old city
been all around your dirty old town [shades of ewan maccoll --.ed]
i've slept in your alleys, i've slept in your subways
hunger and cold, they follow me down
Chorus:
hunger and cold, hunger and cold
i wouldn't mind but i'm growing so old
but as low as i am, you know i'm still a man
and i wouldn't mind but i'm growing so old
only last year i was rolling in money
only last year the good times would roll
only last year my friends were so many
but only last year was so long ago
(Chorus)
it's all so easy to throw me in prison
it's all so easy to just walk on by
but it's not so easy to see a man hungry
it's not so easy to look in his eye
(Chorus)
yes there's poison in my cheap rotten liquor
there's poison in every old garbage can
but the worst kind of poison
is in your own brain
when you look at me and forget i'm a man
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3. |
CHANGES
03:54
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Sit by my side, come as close as the air,
Share in a memory of gray, and wander in my words,
dream about the pictures that I play, of changes.
Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall
To brown and to yellow they fade
And then they have to die
Trapped within the circle time parade
Of changes
Scenes of my young years were warm in my mind
Visions of shadows that shine
'Til one day I returned
And found they were the victims of the vines
Of changes
The world's spinning madly, it drifts in the dark
Swings through a hollow of haze
A race around the stars
A journey through the universe ablaze
With changes
Moments of magic will glow in the night
All fears of the forest are gone
But when the morning breaks
They're swept away by golden drops of dawn
Of changes
Passions will part to a strange melody
As fires will sometimes burn cold
Like petals in the wind
We're puppets to the silver strings of souls
Of changes
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4. |
THE MEN BEHIND THE GUNS
03:22
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Let's drink a toast to the admiral
And here's to the captain bold
And glory more for the commodore
When the deeds of might are told
They stand to the deck through the battle's wreck
When the great shells roar and pound
And never they fear when the foe is near
To lay their orders down
But off with your hats and three times three
For every sailor's son
For the men below who fight the foe
The men behind the guns
Oh, the men behind the guns
Their hearts a-pounding heavy
When they swing to port once more
With never enough of the greenback stuff
They start for the leave ashore
And you'd think perhaps the blue-blouse chaps
Had better clothes to wear
For the uniforms of officers
Could hardly be compared
Warriors bold with straps of gold
That dazzle like the sun
Outshine the common sailor boys
The lads who serve the guns
Oh, the men behind the guns
But say not a word till the shot is heard
That tells the fight is on
And the angry sound of another round
Says there must be gun
Over the deep and the deadly sweep
For the fire and the bursting shell
Where the very air is a mad despair
The throes of a living hell
But down and deep in a mighty ship
Unseen by the midday sun
Oh, you'll find the boys who make the noise
The lads who serve the guns
Oh, the men behind the guns
And well they know the cyclone blow
Loosed from the cannon's steel
And they know the hull of the enemy ship
Will quiver with the feel
And the decks will rock with the lightning shock
And shake with the great recoil
While the sea grows red with the blood of the dead
And swallows up her spoil
But not until the final ship
Has made her final run
Can we give their rest to the very best
To the lads who serve the guns
Oh, the men behind the guns
So, let's drink a toast to the admiral
And here's to the captain bold
And glory more for the commodore
When the deeds of might are told
They stand to the deck through the battle's wreck
When the great shells roar and pound
And never they fear when the foe is near
To lay their orders down
But off with your hats and three times three
For every sailor's son
For the men below who fight the foe
The men behind the guns
Oh, the man behind the gun
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5. |
THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE
02:34
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Show me a prison, show me a jail,
Show me a prisoner whose face has gone pale
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, may go you or I
Show me the alley, show me the train,
Show me a hobo who sleeps out in the rain,
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, may go you or go I -- you and I.
Show me the whiskey stains on the floor,
Show me the drunken man as he stumbles out the door,
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, may go you or go I -- you and I.
Show me the country where bombs had to fall,
Show me the ruins of buildings once so tall,
And I'll show you a young land with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I -- you and I.
You and I,
There but for fortune, go you or go I -- you and I.
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6. |
FLOWER LADY
04:37
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7. |
THE PASSING OF MY LIFE
02:33
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8. |
IF I KNEW
02:56
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9. |
A YEAR TO GO BY
02:34
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10. |
CHORDS OF FAME
03:08
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11. |
BOUND FOR GLORY
03:32
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Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers London, UK
Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers is singer and a songwriter with legendary UK folk rebel rockers The Men They Couldn’t Hang. He is also a
solo artist in his own right.
Audiences around the world from Cairo to Reykjavik, Brisbane to Vancouver and Berlin to London have submitted to his effervescent and heartfelt vocal style in stadium, theatre, hall and after hours lock in.
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Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers recommends:
Ring The Blues EP
by The Men They Couldn't Hang
The 3rd in a rolling series of digital EP’s from The Men They Couldn't Hang! Track List: Ring The Blues One More Whiskey Ring The Blues Demo Telegram Sam All proceeds go to the TMTCH album fund.
go to album
Campfire Songs
by Naomi Bedford, Paul Simmonds and the Campfire Ensemble
Paul Simmonds from The Men They Couldn't Hang and his partner Naomi Bedford making modern and traditional folk music together
go to album
Australia's very own Mick Thomas - always a sure thing!
go to albumIf you like Far Rockaway - The Songs of Phil Ochs, you may also like:
Shun Fame
by The Men They Couldn't Hang
supported by 135 fans who also own “Far Rockaway - The Songs of Phil Ochs”
What a tribute, I haven’t the words to say how this group have been the soundtrack to my life, through good and bad. Anything that helps is the least I can do, missed dearly.
go to album
Broadway Melodies (A collection of B Sides and Unreleased Tracks
by The Men They Couldn't Hang
supported by 122 fans who also own “Far Rockaway - The Songs of Phil Ochs”
Another great collection of tunes from the evergreen TMTCH, I'm sure a few will be rolled out over the course of next year's 40th anniversary celebrations. Great to hear Paul taking lead on a couple of tunes, Swill's songs as superb as ever and to round it off with Cush's most vitriol-filled song - and a stonewall classic at that - is just perfect.
go to album
The Edge of the Land
by Katie Spencer
Spencer's indie folk sophomore album was recorded live in the studio over the course of two days.
go to album
