Dylan Jones: Man about town
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Barack Obama has never spoken of his fondness for Phil Ochs, and it is completely possible that he has never heard of him. One of America's foremost protest singers (though he preferred being called a topical singer), he described himself as a "left social democrat", and during the Sixties became a staple at civil rights rallies, student sit-ins, and anti-Vietnam marches.
Originally a political journalist, he started writing political songs when he was introduced to the music of Woody Guthrie (pictured), Pete Seeger and the Weavers. Although best known for songs such as "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "Here's To The State Of Mississippi" and "Here's To The State Of Richard Nixon", the song for which he ought to be remembered is "Love Me, I'm A Liberal".
In this lovingly constructed rant, Ochs castigates those who claim liberal status but who fall short of effecting social change: "I cried when they shot Mr Kennedy," he sings, "as though I'd lost a father of mine ... But Malcolm X got what was coming, He got what he asked for this time. So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal ..."
There is a great YouTube clip of Ochs introducing the song, when he says: "In every American community you have varying shades of political opinion. One of the shadiest of these is the liberals ... Ten degrees to the left of centre in good times. Ten degrees to the right of centre if it affects them personally."
Ochs' lyrics have started to gain traction in the blogosphere, as it becomes fashionable to accuse Obama of reneging on his promises. Personally, the attacks seems trite, although I wouldn't be surprised if Nick Clegg wasn't made aware of Phil Ochs sometime soon.
Dylan Jones is the editor of GQ
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