Phil Ochs - United Fruit Lyrics
And the fruit boats ride on the waves
And the crew will dream of returning
Back to the Florida waters
For the work of unloading onto the trains
With fruit from Venezuela, Brazil and Costa Rica
But the fruit from the island of Cuba
Is carried no more
And on the decks it will lay
Picked by the hands of the peons
At the lowest possible wages
While the profits are made by the strangers
From far away
While others will go to the mountain
And eat the fruit of the hillside
And learn the way of the rifle
Wait for the time
Allianza dollars are spent
To raise the towering buildings
For the weary bones of the workers
So they will be strong in the morning
To go back again
Oh the companies keep a sharp eye
And pay their respects to the army
To watch for the hot-blooded leaders
And be prepared for the junta to
Crush them like flies
So heavy the price that they pay
As daily the fruit it is stolen
Over the blue Caribbean
But the lengthening shadow of Cuba
Will hinder the way
And the fruit boats ride on the waves
And the crew will dream of returning
Back to the Florida waters
For the work of unloading onto the trains
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Phil Ochs - Floods Of Florence
- Phil Ochs - Boy In Ohio
- Phil Ochs - Gas Station Women
- Phil Ochs - Chords Of Fame
- Phil Ochs - Ten Cents A Coup
- Phil Ochs - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart And Me
- Phil Ochs - Basket In The Pool
- Phil Ochs - No More Songs
- Phil Ochs - The Trial
- Phil Ochs - Do What I Have To Do
- Phil Ochs - Ballad Of Billie Sol
- Phil Ochs - Colored Town
- Phil Ochs - My Kingdom For A Car
- Phil Ochs - Jim Dean Of Indiana
- Phil Ochs - One Way Ticket Home
- Phil Ochs - Pretty Smart On My Part
- Phil Ochs - The Doll House
- Phil Ochs - I Kill Therefore I Am
Rand Lyrics
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Phil Ochs United Fruit Comments
Strummer was the Ochs fan, even though Up In Heaven was about Jones' life and mostly written by him. He gave Jonesy the Ochs lyrics because of their fit. "Heaven" only knows where Strummer got/heard them. This song didn't get any airplay anywhere.
Thank you Clash for borrowing some extremely good quality.
Thanks for that information.
"Alliance for Progress", JFK's attempt at buying off the workers' of Latin America (To avoid Left-Wing revolutions) by repeating the Marshall Plan in the western hemisphere.
Thanks for posting Phil Ochs! This is one of his songs that I have been singing for years. Check out my tribute to Phil, my Broadside Balladeer playlist here, and my interview with Phil at w w w dot no more songs dot org Vic
@fanniterrette I'm not great at spanish, but it's probably just Aliiance dollars.
Anyone have insight into the expression "Allianza dollars"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_Progress
Where did you get this from? the version on sings for broadside is poorer quality
@DaysOfBrokenArrows The book "Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer" includes an interview with Mick Jones where he talks about writing "Up In Heaven." It makes sense, since the lyrics describe life in London's council estates (the U.K. equivalent of housing projects), and Jones is the only member of the band who lived in one.
True that Jones wrote this, but they were still working together at the time and I strongly suspect it was Strummer who was the one familiar with Phil Ochs and likely contributed the quote.
I'd assume Strummer was, seeing how much he loved Dylan and Woody Guthrie, but 'Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)' was written by Mick Jones.