The War is Over
(Phil Ochs)
Silent Soldier on a silver screen
Framed in fantasies and dragged in dream
Unpaid actors of the mystery
The mad director knows that freedom will not make you free
And what's this got to do with me
I declare the war is over
It's over, it's over
Drums are drizzling on a grain of sand
Fading rhythms of a fading land
Prove your courage in the proud parade
Trust your leaders where mistakes are almost never made
And they're afraid that I'm afraid
I'm afraid the war is over
It's over, it's over
Angry artists painting angry signs
Use their vision just to blind the blind
Poisoned players of a grizzly game
One is guilty and the other gets the point to blame
Pardon me if I refrain
I declare the war is over
It's over, it's over
So do your duty, boys, and join with pride
Serve your country in her suicide
Find the flags so you can wave goodbye
But just before the end even treason might be worth a try
This country is to young to die
I declare the war is over
It's over, it's over
One-legged veterans will greet the dawn
And they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn
And the gurgles only sit and greet
The gypsy fortune teller told me that we been deceived
You only are what you believe
I believe the war is over
It's over, it's over
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copyright Barricade Music
recorded by Phil Ochs on "Tape From California" (1968)
When this song was first published in 1968, it was pure dynamite because of
the line:
"But just before the end even treason might be worth a try"
There was a major scandal and the song was banned. When the war was finally
really over in '75, Ochs and others held a "The War Is Over" rally in
Central Park, but history had proceded and had left Ochs behind.
MJ
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!