Song of the Week: Changes, by Phil Ochs

In memory of my brother Bartholomew, May 11, 1979 August 8, 2003:

Changes, by Phil Ochs

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.

Your tears will be trembling, now we're somewhere else,
One last cup of wine we will pour
And I'll kiss you one more time, and leave you on
the rolling river shores of changes.

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.


Chords to the song courtesy of Heartwood Guitar Instruction. My guitar teacher taught me substitutes for F sharp Minor and B minor chords. If you want to know what they are, email me. (Trust me, they're not that bad.)



Here is a video clip of Phil Ochs himself playing the song.