Phil Ochs - Ballad Of William Worthy Lyrics






Well, it's of a bold reporter whose story I will tell
He went down to the Cuban land, the nearest place to hell
He'd been there many times before, but now the law does say
The only way to Cuba is with the CIA

William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay

Five thousand dollars or a five year sentence may well be
For a man who had the nerve to think that travelin' is free
Oh why'd he waste his time to see a dictator's reign
When he could have seen democracy by travelin' on to Spain?

William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay

So, come all you good travelers and fellow-travelers, too
Yes, and travel all around the world, see every country through
I'd surely like to come along and see what may be new
But my passport's disappearing as I sing these words to you

Well, there really is no need to travel to these evil lands
Yes, and though the list grows larger you must try to understand
Try hard not to be surprised if someday you should hear
The whole world is off limits, visit Disneyland this year

William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay





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Phil Ochs Ballad Of William Worthy Comments
  1. L.... ....

    Thanks for the story at the end :)

  2. M.... R....

    Brilliant as usual! Travel to Cuba is again being restricted.

  3. K.... ....

    Up to now, June 4th 2019, it's again like those days, Phil Ochs describes in his song about Cuba! Meanwhile the so called president of the U.S. tries a curtsey in front of queen Elizabeth of Smal Britain! Meanwhile Julian Assange is ill treated in a british jail! Trump wants him, cause Assange opened again the world's eyes about the crimes of US-Imperialism! #FreeJulianAssange! See below the lyrics: Phil Ochs – "Ballad of William Worthy"
    «Well, it's of a bold reporter whose story I will tell
    He went down to the Cuban land, the nearest place to hell
    He'd been there many times before, but now the law does say
    The only way to Cuba is with the CIA

    William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
    Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
    But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
    You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay

    Five thousand dollars or a five year sentence may well be
    For a man who had the nerve to think that travelin' is free
    Oh why'd he waste his time to see a dictator's reign
    When he could have seen democracy by travelin' on to Spain?

    William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
    Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
    But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
    You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay

    So, come all you good travelers and fellow-travelers, too
    Yes, and travel all around the world, see every country through
    I'd surely like to come along and see what may be new
    But my passport's disappearing as I sing these words to you

    Well, there really is no need to travel to these evil lands
    Yes, and though the list grows larger you must try to understand
    Try hard not to be surprised if someday you should hear
    The whole world is off limits, visit Disneyland this year

    William Worthy isn't worthy to enter our door
    Went down to Cuba, he's not American anymore
    But somehow it is strange to hear the State Department say
    You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay«

    K.... ....

    Thanks for the lyrics. Phil could sure separate the wheat from the chaff.

  4. J.... A....

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeMvaTF1OJY&t=6m11s

  5. J.... ....

    I'll admit it, I'm here because of Jeremy Scahill...

  6. A.... ....

    "you are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay"

    A.... ....

    @ryan law phil saw the writing on the wall but atleast he didnt have to live to see the blueprints become flesh.
    “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” 
    ― Benito Mussolini

  7. R.... ....

    I'm embarrassed to say that I have only recently become familiar with the life and work of William Worthy. Nevertheless, I'm so glad I finally did. What a life. What a career. What an extraordinary man and story.

  8. d.... ....

    Deomocracy Now piece on this man. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/19/the_most_important_journalist_youve_never

  9. R.... M....

    "We spend the hour remembering the pioneering journalist William Worthy, who died earlier this month at the age of 92. During the height of the Cold War, Worthy defied the U.S. government by reporting from the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, Ira...n, North Vietnam and Algeria. He also worked closely with many African-American leaders, including A. Philip Randolph and Malcolm X. In the late 1950s, the State Department refused to renew his passport after he returned from a reporting trip into China. Despite not having a passport, Worthy traveled to Cuba in 1961 — two years after the Cuban Revolution — and interviewed Fidel Castro. He was arrested upon returning to the United States — not for traveling to Cuba but for entering the United States illegally — an American citizen without a passport. The ordeal became the subject of Phil Ochs’ song, "The Ballad of William Worthy." In 1981, Worthy traveled to Iran, two years after the revolution ousted the U.S.-backed Shah, resulting in a series of blockbuster exposés about U.S. actions in Iran.

    "For this generation of younger journalists who are coming of age in the era of the Edward Snowden documents, WikiLeaks, of the government surveillance on the metadata of journalists and many millions of people in this country and around the world, I would say that William Worthy is the single most important journalist that they’ve never heard of," said investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, who considered Worthy a mentor. "If Bill Worthy was a white journalist, and not been an African-American journalist, he would be much better known than he is right now." We air excerpts of our 1998 interview with Worthy and speak to Scahill, former Washington Post reporter Scott Armstrong, and Randy Goodman, a photojournalist who worked and traveled with Worthy throughout the 1980s."

    http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/19/the_most_important_journalist_youve_never

  10. h.... ....

    rest in power William Worthy

    h.... ....

    You too, Phil.

  11. M.... V....

    Rest in peace, William Worthy and Phil Ochs.

  12. T.... ....

    Thank you.