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| "Power and the Glory" | |
|---|---|
| Song byPhil Ochs | |
| from the albumAll the News That's Fit to Sing | |
| Published | 1963 |
| Released | 1964 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 2:15 |
| Label | Elektra |
| Songwriter | Phil Ochs |
| Producer | Jac Holzman |
| "Power and the Glory" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Phil Ochs | ||||
| B-side | "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon" | |||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Fife and drum | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter | Phil Ochs | |||
| Producers | Phil Ochs andArthur Gorson | |||
| Phil Ochs singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Power and the Glory" (sometimes titled "The Power and the Glory") is an American patriotic song byPhil Ochs, aU.S.protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military and industrial establishment. Originally released on his 1964 debut album,All the News That's Fit to Sing, "Power and the Glory" is said to have contributed to Ochs' profound impact.
Singer/songwriter Phil Ochs is said to have "spent half his adult life dodgingFBI microphones hidden in his soup."[1] By 1963, Ochs was not well thought of by the U.S. government and was deemed one of the harshest critics of the American military and industrial establishment.[1] In that same year, Ochs began writing "Power and the Glory," a song that honors the way of life that America symbolized to the world.[1] While composing the song, Ochs told his sisterSonny that he was writing "the greatest song I'll ever write".[2]
The song has been described as an "anthem ... with lyrics that might have been written by the greatWoody Guthrie".[3] Said to be the American patriotic hymn best at combining the American dream with selfless Christian ideals[1] "Power and the Glory" consists of three verses, each followed by a chorus.[2] The first verse invites the listener to walk with the singer, and it describes some of the natural wonders of the United States.[4] The second verse names some of the states through which the listener and the singer would travel.[5] The third verse notes that the United States is "only as rich as the poorest of the poor" but also as "strong as our love for this land".[4] The chorus of "Power and the Glory" describes the United States as "a land full of power and glory":
Here's a land full of power and glory
Beauty that words cannot recall
Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom,
Her glory shall rest on us all.[5]
A fourth verse, not added to the final production release, but found in a bootleg demo recording and confirmed by Ochs' sister Sonny, contains a call to action:
Yet our land is still troubled by men who have to hate
They twist away our freedom and they twist away our fate
Fear is their weapon and treason is their cry.
We can stop them if we try.
"Power and the Glory" is said to have contributed to Ochs' profound impact.[1] "Power and the Glory" also has beencovered by many performers, includingTheodore Bikel,Anita Bryant,Ronnie Gilbert,Pete Seeger,The Limeliters,Clem Tholet, and the U.S. Army Soldiers Chorus.[6][7] Ochs, who was aleftist, was particularly amused by Bryant's cover because of herright-wing political views.[8] In 1974 Ochs re-recorded the song in a new arrangement, with afife and drum accompaniment, that was influenced by Bryant's version.[9] Ochs' 1974 version was released as asingle.[9] In 2018,Billy Bragg wrote that "Power and the Glory" "should be sung in schools across America".[10]
