New Track! When I’m Gone (Phil Ochs)

Often when people hear that we sing “protest music,” the first thing that comes to mind is the 1960s and 70s in the US, and the great wealth of protest song that was born out of that time. While much of what we sing actually comes from decades or centuries before that era, we certainly have grown up with and been influenced by those singers and how they crafted their poetry and music to share a message or worldview.

Woody Guthrie made observations and described the situations and people he encountered, leaving the listener to question the rightness or wrongness of what was happening. Malvina Reynolds wrote incisive songs about modern times that could be old or new. Pete Seeger could get anyone to sing, writing anthems to three major social movements, and introducing millions to both the music and values he loved. Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and others sang songs pointing out injustices and calling, often obliquely, for civil rights reform. Joan Baez, Mimi Fariña, Bob Dylan and many more contributed to the canon of protest music (though Dylan’s all stem from a relatively brief period of time, he is still very much thought of in those terms.)

One performer who doesn’t get quite the recognition that we think he deserves is Phil Ochs. An incredibly prolific writer (he wrote and recorded over 200 songs before his tragic death at only age 35) he didn’t consider himself a “folk” or “protest” singer, but said that he sang “topical songs.” This came through in his work: many of his lyrics are incredibly specific and pull no punches, cutting to the ugly truth of a situation and calling out the powerful for their misdeeds in no uncertain terms. His lyrics were sophisticated and clever, and he wasn’t afraid to leave behind the world of metaphor that many of his contemporaries lived in, and name names. Nor was he afraid to call out the complacent–his song Love Me, I’m a Liberal points a finger at the comfortable white middle class that is happy to support social justice… as long as they don’t have to change anything about their life, an observation that still rings true today.

However, many of these topical songs have a short shelf life, and Phil realized that. When I’m Gone is not explicitly a protest song, but is a moment of reflection: personal, political, and spiritual. Looking at the finality and inevitability of death, the song reflects a philosophy of existentialism: pondering how one’s life may have meaning, and each time returning to a life judged by one’s actions, but also by the pleasures taken. It is astonishing to realize that this was not a song he wrote just before his death, but 10 years before, at the age of 25.

Growing up, Jeremy was first introduced to Phil Ochs by his father through a CD called What’s That I Hear: Songs of Phil Ochs, where there was a version of this song by Eric Anderson. Along with many of the great tracks on that album, When I’m Gone stuck with him. In 2018, a pivotal moment occurred at the NERFA music conference, where we met Phil’s sister Sonny Ochs, who was also attending. Jeremy was thrilled to meet her, and he and Sonny ended up chatting in the hotel lobby. Towards the end of the conversation, Sonny, who had seen Windborne perform earlier in the weekend, suggested that we might like to sing one of Phil’s songs. She specifically suggested two songs: The Bells, Phil’s setting of an Edgar Allen Poe poem, and When I’m Gone.

We all fell in love with When I’m Gone, but it took a while for us to find our Windborne take on the song. We experimented with a lot of different time signatures, instrumentation, and harmonies, but what we eventually ended up with feels exactly right to us and is now one of our favorite arrangements. Each verse is harmonized differently to match the lyrics, and in concert it often evokes a moment of suspension after the final chord, where the audience is still holding their breath, not yet clapping, listening to the song even after it is gone. We were incredibly honored (and more than a little bit nervous) to debut the arrangement in a concert organized by Sonny in 2019, and it’s been a staple in our program ever since. We are so grateful to Sonny for her support and encouragement in our exploration of Phil’s music.

We hope this song brings you a moment of reflection, suspension, and inspiration as well.

When I’m Gone

There’s no place in this world where I’ll belong when I’m gone

And I won’t know the right from the wrong when I’m gone

You won’t find me singing on this song when I’m gone