Ochs, Phil - The Scorpian Departs But Never Returns Lyrics
Sailors climb the tree, up the terrible tree
Where are my shipmates have they sunk beneath the sea?
I do not know much, but I know this cannot be
It isn't really, it isn't really
Tell me it isn't really
Sounding bell is diving down the water green
Not a trace, not a toothbrush, not a cigarette was seen
Bubble ball is rising from a whisper or a scream
But I'm not screaming, no I'm not screaming
Tell me I'm not screaming
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same
I have been a good man, I've done nobody wrong
Have we left our ladies for the lyrics of a song?
That I'm not singing, I'm not singing
Tell me I'm not singing
The schooner ship is sliding across the kitchen sink
My son and my daughter they won't know what to think
The crew has turned to voting and the officers to drink
But I'm not drinking, no I'm not drinking
Tell me I'm not drinking
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same
The radio is begging them to come back to the shore
All will be forgiven, it'll be just like before
All you've ever wanted will be waiting by your door
We will forgive you, we will forgive you
Tell me we will forgive you
But no one gives an answer not even one goodbye
Oh, the silence of their sinking is all that they reply
Some have chosen to decay and other chose to die
But I'm not dying, no I'm not dying
Tell me I'm not dying
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Ochs, Phil - Floods Of Florence
- Ochs, Phil - Boy In Ohio
- Ochs, Phil - Gas Station Women
- Ochs, Phil - Chords Of Fame
- Ochs, Phil - Ten Cents A Coup
- Ochs, Phil - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart And Me
- Ochs, Phil - Basket In The Pool
- Ochs, Phil - No More Songs
- Ochs, Phil - The Trial
- Ochs, Phil - Do What I Have To Do
- Ochs, Phil - Ballad Of Billie Sol
- Ochs, Phil - Colored Town
- Ochs, Phil - My Kingdom For A Car
- Ochs, Phil - Jim Dean Of Indiana
- Ochs, Phil - One Way Ticket Home
- Ochs, Phil - Pretty Smart On My Part
- Ochs, Phil - The Doll House
- Ochs, Phil - I Kill Therefore I Am
Rand Lyrics
Last Posts
Beyonce Shakes the Internet with Surprise Super Bowl Tease and New Music Release
Beyoncé once again set the digital world abuzz with her latest musical surprise. In an unforgettable move during the Super Bowl, a Verizon commercial served...
Watch Usher’s Full Super Bowl 2024 Halftime Performance Usher, Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris,
At the 2024 Super Bowl, Usher redefined the halftime show with a dazzling, career-highlight performance that will be remembered for years to come. Taking the...
Usher Unveils ‘Coming Home’: A Journey Through Sound and Soul in His Latest Album
Spanning three decades in the music industry, Usher has consistently mesmerized fans with his soulful tunes and magnetic performances. However, his most recent project, Coming...
Ochs, Phil The Scorpian Departs But Never Returns Comments
Good old Phil, I remember when they killed him and faked it as suicide (1975). His death made me all the more determined to carry on the struggle which I have, always. Struggle and survive, people, don't ever give up or give in. www.murderbydecree.com .
Great song. One of the best melodies Phil wrote I think.
RIP USS. SCORPION
Such a beautiful song, I really think this is his best
I wonder what songs Phil Ochs would have written everything that happened since he checked out in 1976: 9/11 Truth, wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria, suspect "false flag" psy-op events, and the endless occupation of Palestine by a supremecist nation with a secret nuclear program that will not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. I guess we'll have to do it while we're here! Phil Ochs May 1973 Interview by Vic Sadot & Rich Lang (30:10) Truth Troubadour YouTube Channel. See also "Broadside Balladeer" tribute song to Phil! https://youtu.be/pHC78U8HOEk
Phil was definitely among the best of his generation with some of his songs having eternal validity. This Song, Scorpian, has relevant to the all sailors who set sail never to return,
I wish Phil was still around, but imagine if he was and saw how things are today.....perhaps its better that he missed how the revolution failed and things are worse than ever...
Kathy C He, as always, would have wanted to right the wrongs of today. And he would have done anything to make better times for now.
just think what he would say about Trump that would have been great
@Kakejolas How so? I don't know much about Phil Ochs in his later years.
@Michael Class Then read one of his biographies to learn more about him !
@Kakejolas I read his wikipedia and it just seems that he did some stuff in South America then fell into a bipolar induced depression and alcoholism then killed himself.
@Michael Class Indeed. And he even recorded two songs in Africa. Unfortunately, in 1973 he was mugged and almost strangled on the beach in Tanzania, which left him with a permanently damaged voice. Unable to perform, he slid into a deep depression and alcoholism, and hanged himself in his sisters' bathroom in 1976. Like I said, fans should really read his biography !
@Kakejolas He was disillusioned with both parties, but I can't ever see him as a right winger. He cared too much about ordinary people. And I have read his biography.
I, m with you Firebase why compare there's room for so many great artist I love Ochs and Dylan and many others
I wish people would stop comparing Ochs to Dylan -- they are in different genres with different talents and different purposes -- both great
Not on a long-term basis, anyway. He did a one-off pitch for the Denver Pay TV people, and Kansas City Bomber was originally supposed to be a film's title song.
Dylan was a real prick to Phil Ochs and was very condescending to him. Dylan couldn't hold a candle to Phil Ochs in the beauty, brilliance, or conviction of the music. Dylan was a fraud as a scribe for the turmoil of the 60's. Phil Ochs lived it and showed up when it was time to put his body on the line in demonstrations. Don't know if Dylan ever gives Ochs a passing thought but there is NO COMPARISON between Bob Dylan and the visionary minstrel that Phil Ochs was. Dylan couldn't lick Ochs' boot. There is at least one human out here who was watching and knows the truth about Bob Dylan. A coward and a counterfeit.
Dylan is folk, Phil is folk.I understand when people say artists shouldn't be compared because they are (radically) different, but even if you're being extremely pendantic they would both fall under the wide banner of folk or it's sub genres.
Nasty person,,,, Phil was magical, no need to have a pop at Bob Dylan he is also magical and long lived,
Slagging Dylan off is stupid, Bob and Phil magical.
There was a beautiful video of this song available on YouTube about 12-18 months ago. Could the person responsible for that video possibly upload it again? It was exceptional. Phil had so many great songs, what a talent, but this is one of my top ten favorites. PEACE. JK
+john kehl . I miss that excellent video as well. This is Phil's best song and one of the greatest songs of the 20th century.I listen to this-Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire" and Marvin Gaye's "Whats Going on ? every day for the past 45 years
+john kehl Did it ever happen? There IS a video someone made to go along with the narrative but it's not PHIL and i won't have the song by anyone else!!
+Peter Choyce The video I was referring to, at this point in time, was probably on YT four years ago. It WAS a recording of Phil's voice! Not a damn cover version! Believe me, I know the difference. I believe there is presently a B.S. cover version of this song viewable, but I wouldn't waste my time. B.T.W. My favorite of all of Phil's songs.
I am actively deepening my knowledge and appreciation of this great artist. I have listened to him now for 45 years.
@62grossman I agree
@hokulealinda Just watched the documentary today. It's great. Really is a tragedy Phil died so young. I'd have loved to see the songs he'd have written about the Bush administration.
Thank you so much for posting this. Finally, a documentary (Jan 2011) Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune.
Thank you so much for posting this. Play Phil Ochs, play on and on and on. Play him on the radio, the T.V., the Web, in the parks and the schools and the streets. I pray that men and women like him (i.e. THINKING men and women) will not be forgotten, and be not only remembered, but emulated. In conscious awareness lies our only hope for the future. Life Love Light Peace Brothers and Sisters