Love Me, I'm a Liberal

[Yollam]

Love Me, I'm a Liberal
Phil Ochs

I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
Tears ran down my spine
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
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

I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crain?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I read New republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the Democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal


For those of you that don't know, this is a classic 60's protest song. It is a slam against the DLCers of the time, who were then called liberals. What we call liberals now, would have been the "radicals" of the time. This is not directed at DUers, or anyone in particular, it's just an expression of what I'm feeling today.

Some posters apparently don't know this old standard, hence the additional info.

[Totally Committed]

1. Frankly, I find that insulting.

I am not ashamed. My head is unbended. I am a Liberal... Left Wing all the way. And, old enough to be insulted by that. Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you that I may be grayer, but there is still a fire in my soul for what's right.

I don't know how you meant that, but it not a gesture of unity at this time. No mending fences with that song.

TC

[Yollam]

2. If you are left wing all the way...

...why should you find it insulting?

How odd.


I live in the SF Bay area, and this place is CRAWLING with this type (2006 version). Their complacency and comfort in their affluence is a major part of the problem we are dealing with, like it or not.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Did you read those lyrics?!?!

Are you fucking kidding me?

[Yollam]

6. It's a classic song.

Of course I know the lyrics.


Sorry if you don't get it.

[Totally Committed]

5. LIke I said, I am proud to be a Liberal...

I have neither complacency nor comfort, even at this late stage of the game. I think you owe everyone here who is a Liberal an apology.

That was really nasty. Tell your Liberal neighbors how you feel about them if you want, but no one who comes here and posts... no matter what their stripe... fits this "Liberal" mold of yours.

TC

[Yollam]

7. I never said that anyone here was like that.

I posted the song on it's own for it's own sake because it summed up my feelings right now.

You take it as an accusation, well I'm sorry you feel that way.

Everyone's entitled to read into it what they want, I suppose, but my point is that this song seems as fresh and on the nose today as it did back then.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. Read into it the way they want?!

Yeah, I'm sorry, but I can't see another way of reading into that except calling all liberals racists, quite frankly. There's no interpretation of that song other than how it's bashing us.

[Yollam]

13. That is not what the song says at all.

You need some work on your reading comprehension, dude.

It's saying that a certain kind of liberal is willing to support (insert liberal cause) up to the point that it affects THEM.

This song is 40 years old, you have to keep that in mind.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Reading comprehension? Okay, you explain these to me then

I guess I'm kind of dense but saying liberals don't minorities moving in next door and not actually wanting to do anything for black people strikes me as being just about the same as saying liberals are closet racists. Perhaps you can shed a little more light on that.

I don't have to keep jack shit in mind. You posted it today, so obviously you thought it held some sort of relevance. Apparently, you think we're all racists.

[Yollam]

20. For the Nth time, it's not about DUers.

You need to get some historical perspective on the song.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

24. First of all, you posted NOTHING but the song.

And when it just says "liberals", and you post it with no preface or anything, to me, that tells me you're making a comment about ALL liberals. Historical perspective my ass. If I posted something from Mein Kampf saying that we should eliminate all Jews without any preface, what would you think? Would you really search long and hard for a historical perspective and then making vast assumptions as to what my intentions were for posting that right now? No! You'd call me an asshole anti-Semite, and you'd be right to do so.

[Yollam]

25. I assumed everybody knew it.

If you don't you should.

Have you ever looked up the FULL lyrics of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land"? YOu might be in for a surprise. The past has things to teach us you know.

And I'm done responding to your shrill feigned outrage posts.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

26. I could assume everyone would know Mein Kampf too.

What's your point?

And yeah, great assumption that everyone would know a 40 year old obscure folk song. :eyes:

[Yollam]

29. It's not obscure just because corporate radio doesn't play it.

Don't limit yourself to what the corporations serve up to you. There's a lot more out there, if you go looking....

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

30. Sorry if 40 year old folk music isn't my taste.

That has nothing to do with corporations, I just don't like it.

[Aaaargh]

44. So you're saying all liberals are informers who go to Pete Seeger concerts

Just kidding.

Sad, isn't it, Yollam? Just don't try 'Masters of War' on this crowd, they'll be calling the FBI on your ass.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

46. Apparently you aren't

And I'm done responding to your shrill feigned outrage posts

"shrill feigned outrage", hmmm, now who does that sound like?

It sounds like the vocabulary and mindset of the freepers, neocons, MSM right wing "pundits" to me!

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

48. You do realize that was a response to #25 by Yollam, don't you? n/t

[Aaaargh]

49. Don't be modest! You're today's WINNER!

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

50. If you say so. n/t

[Totally Committed]

11. I'm not the only one!

Take a look at the rest of the posts in this thread.

The song is a cynical poke... and you can back-peddle all you want, but I wasn't the only one here who took it the way I did.

And, the people who "recommended" on this can kiss my Liberal butt, too.

TC

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. Here's hoping you get banned in the near future.

[Yollam]

8. There is an alert button. Feel free to use it.

If posting this classic song is cause for being banned here, then indeed, I do not belong here.

But I suspect that you do not comprehend the song at all...


Look at this line:

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

Is that not EXACTLY like some of our DLC friends who call Cindy Sheehan a nut, or claim that Michael Moore is hurting our cause with his "conspiracy theories"?

Sure, back in the day, DLC types were not afraid to call themselves liberals - it wasn't a dirty word then. And the real rabble-rousers were counterculture, leftists, etc.

But the salient points in the song hold true today f you update the labels and the events.

[Totally Committed]

16. NO ONE IN THE DLC IS A LIBERAL!

Cut out this nonsense.

TC

[Yollam]

22. You're thinking in contemporary terms.

The liberals of the 60s were equivalent to the DLCers of today. And what we call liberals now would have been called radicals then.

[Totally Committed]

28. Whatever...

And we were NOT = to the DLC today. We were radical then, and ask anyone of my kids... they think I'm pretty radical now.

And, we still get no respect.

TC

[Blue_Tires]

45. don't worry

this song has been posted a few times in the past without flames

[utopian]

14. But Phil Ochs Was a Liberal

As are Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon, who remade this song. It obvously lampoons a certain type of Liberal who, the artists believe, are unwilling to to do what it really takes to enact true change.

Liberals can be targets of satire as much as anybody else. It's nothing to feel insulted about.

Think of John Kerry getting lampooned on JibJab. I heard that he (and shrub) laughed at that bit.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

19. Lampooning is different from calling me a racist.

Call me crazy, but one you take seriously, the other you don't.

[Yollam]

21. Nobody's calling you a racist.

The liberals of the 60s were equivalent to the DLCers of today. And what we call liberals now would have been called radicals then.

[NYCGirl]

9. Obviously, a lot of the folks posting here don't know Phil Ochs.

Shame. He's so worth checking out.

This is one of my favorites of his:

Outside of a Small Circle of Friends

Riding down the highway, yes, my back is getting stiff
Thirteen cars are piled up, they're hanging on a cliff.
Maybe we should pull them back with our towing chain
But we gotta move and we might get sued and it looks like it's gonna rain
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.

Sweating in the ghetto with the (colored/Panthers) and the poor
The rats have joined the babies who are sleeping on the floor
Now wouldn't it be a riot if they really blew their tops?
But they got too much already and besides we got the cops
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.

Oh there's a dirty paper using sex to make a sale
The Supreme Court was so upset, they sent him off to jail.
Maybe we should help the fiend and take away his fine. (*)
But we're busy reading Playboy and the Sunday New York Times
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Smoking marihuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Oh look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

< Additional verse, 1974 >
Down in Santiago where they took away our mines
We cut off all their money so they robbed the storehouse blind
Now maybe we should ask some questions, maybe shed a tear
But I bet you a copper penny, it cannot happen here
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

[Totally Committed]

12. Are you serious? Don't know Phil Ochs?

He was part of the soundtrack of the 60's. No one in the Anti-War movement at the time doesn't know who he is. I just think posting the lyrics to that song here at this time is a cynical poke at the Left Wing of DU by someone who thought that would be fun right about now.

TC

[Yollam]

18. It's a poke at the right wing of the party, not the left wing.

Cynical or not, it's not directed at DUers (unless the shoe happens to fit - I'm not the one to judge)

[AlienGirl]

27. Exactly so

Ochs was taking on those who wear the liberal label without living it.

Tucker

[DancingBear]

23. I didn't take it that way

and I'd have to say I'd fall into that Left Wing camp.

Actually, it just brought back really good memories of Ochs and those times when most of the college generation really cared.

[DancingBear]

15. That is kind of sad that no one knew the song

Please, folks, listen to the song.

And the one NYCGirl has posted.

And "When I'm Gone."

The anger against the OP is not justified in the least.

Phil Ochs was brilliant. One of the finest "protest singers" this country has ever produced.

edit: Listen to "Here's To The State Of Mississippi", and remember the time period in which it was written.

[NYCGirl]

31. Yollam, you also got me remembering Tom Paxton, too.

Just checked it out and he has a website! Used to love his music, and I guess I'm going to again.

http://www.tompaxton.com/index.shtml

Here's a newer one from him (you can find a free download there with the lyrics)

IN FLORIDA
By Tom Paxton


Folks in Florida cast their votes,
As all good citizens do.
In West Palm Beach, the ballots read,
'To vote for One, punch Two.
And once you've punched it, punch it again,
And give it another good push.
You thought you voted for Gore -- surprise!!
You cast your ballot for Bush.'

Chorus:
In Florida the sun is shining,
It's early bird dining,
And early to bed.
The Republicans
Said, 'Stop the counting.
Gore's total is mounting --
Let's quit while we're ahead.'

Katherine Harris hit the switch,
Saying, 'This vote's certified,'
Off the Democrats went to court;
'Unfair!' the Republicans cried.
A hundred million votes were cast --
Including yours and mine--
But in the end the only ones
That counted numbered nine. (To Chorus)

The boys and girls in black robes met
And held a tug of war.
And when they cast their votes at last
Bush won it, 5 to 4.
Five judges selected the president --
Five judges had their way --
And I expect they'll all retire
To Florida some day.

[DancingBear]

33. I am glad he is writing topical stuff again

For many years now he has been writing and performing children's music.

BTW, "The Compleat Tom Paxton' is out on a 2-CD set. That was always one of my favorite Paxton LP's.

[NYCGirl]

34. I'm definitely going to be checking him out again! NT

[The Magistrate]

32. Always A Pleasure, Mr Yollam, To See Mr. Ochs Recalled

He was always one of my favorite artists back then; much of his music is haunting and beautiful, and some, like this, just damned funny.

[pocket]

35. Jello Biafra does a great cover of this

with Mojo Nixon

[Fenris]

36. His lyrics are more applicable today.

;)

[flamingyouth]

37. Clearly

:yoiks:

[Fenris]

38. NAZI!

:D

[flamingyouth]

39. OLD PERSON!!!!

:rofl:

[Fenris]

40. I can't hear that far back, Sonny!

Speak up!

[flamingyouth]

41. Turn down the Byrds, you miscreant!!!

[Fenris]

42. I just an aging 21 year old folk hippy.

:cry:

[Yollam]

43. Here are Jello's Lyrics.

Love Me I'm a Liberal
I cried when they shot John Lennon
Tears ran down my spine
And I cried when I saw "JFK"
As if I'd lost a father of mine
But Malcom-X and Ice-T had it coming
They got what they asked for this time

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

I go to pro-choice rallies
Recycle my cans and jars
I'll honk if you love the Dead
Hope those funny Grunge bands become stars
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit to far

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

I cheered when Clinton was chosen
My faith in the system reborn
I'll do anything to save our schools
If my taxes aint too much more
And I love Blacks and Gays and Latinos
As long as they don't move next door

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

Rush Limbaugh and the L.A.P.D.
Should all hang thier heads in shame
I can't understand where they're at
Arsenio should set them straight
But if neighborhood watch doesn't know you
I hope the cops take your name

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

Yeah, I read the New Republican
Rolling Stone and Mother Jones too
If I vote it's a democrat
With a sensible economy view
But when it comes to terrorist Arabs
There is no one more red, white, and blue

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

Once I was young and had an attitude
Stickers covered the car I drove in
Even went on some direct actions
When there weren't rent-a-cops to be seen
Ah, but now I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in

Chorus:
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

51. The lyrics to this song are so out of context. Phil Ochs was a very

young and brilliant writer of lyrics and music at a very early stage of the VN era anti-war movement.

Other folk musicians said they wished they had 1/10 the talent that Phil Ochs had.

At that time, things were so different, "battle" lines were drawn in very different ways than they are nowadays. Often it was young vs old.

Your use of his song is really demeaning to the song, the composer, and both the liberal and progressive movement of that time as well as now.



"It's not enough to know the world is absurd and
restrict yourself merely to pointing out that
fact...It is wrong to expect a reward for your
struggles. The reward is the act of struggle
itself, not what you win. Even though you can't
expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you
must make the attempt. That's morality, that's
religion, that's art, that's life."

Phil Ochs 1965
Phil Ochs: 1940-1976

[wiley]

52. If those were liberal sentiments now

Most of White America would be Liberal. Not that liberals don't still have issues with race and NIMBY and religion. Thaat song describes a whole lot of nice white people I know in the South and the suburbs, liberals who wouldn't want to move into a "mixed" neighborhood because of the threat of diminished property values. Today, however, they're Republicans or Reagan Democrats - in polite society - and they don't vote Democratic.