"There but for Fortune" is a song by American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

ian Phil Ochs. Ochs wrote the song in 1963 and recorded it twice, for ''New Folks Volume 2'' ( Vanguard, 1964) and '' Phil Ochs in Concert'' ( Elektra, 1966).

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

also recorded "There but for Fortune" in 1964, and her version of the song became a chart hit.

The song

"There but for Fortune" consists of four verses, each one of which ends with the line "there but for fortune may go you or I". The first verse is about a prisoner. The second verse describes a hobo. The third verse is about a drunk who stumbles out of a bar. The final verse describes a country that has been bombed. One of Ochs' biographers wrote that, "of all the songs that Phil would ever write, none would show his humanity as brilliantly as the four brief verses of 'There but for Fortune'". The song's title was used as the name of the 1989 compilation album '' There but for Fortune'', which featured material taken from three albums Ochs recorded for Elektra Records between 1964 and 1966. ''Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune'' was also used as the title of Michael Schumacher's 1996 biography, as well as Kenneth Bowser's 2011 documentary on the singer's life.

Ochs recordings

Ochs recorded "There but for Fortune" twice. In 1964 he recorded it for the Vanguard compilation ''New Folks Volume 2''. The 1964 recording was reissued on the 2000

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

'' The Early Years''. In 1966, tapes were made of Ochs's concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Jordan Hall Jordan Hall is a 1,051-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall. It is the only conservatory building in the United States to be de ...

. They were released as '' Phil Ochs in Concert''. One of the songs on ''In Concert'' was "There but for Fortune". Ochs introduces the song by saying it was written for him by Joan Baez, an ironic reference to her hit single.

Baez cover

In October 1964, Baez recorded "There but for Fortune" for '' Joan Baez/5''. It was released in the U.S. as a single in June, 1965, with "Daddy, You Been on My Mind", a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

song, as the B-side. In July, it was released as a single in the U.K., where its B-side was "Plaisir D'Amour". The single became a Top Ten hit in the U.K., reaching #8. It was also nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for "Best Folk Recording". In the U.S. it peaked at #50 on the ''Billboard'' chart — a good showing, but not a hit. By coincidence, '' Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2'' became a #8 hit in the U.K. at the same time "There but for Fortune" did.

Baez-Ochs duet

The

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

ended on April 30, 1975, and a "War Is Over" rally was held in New York's

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on May 11. At the rally, Ochs and Baez sang a duet of "There but for Fortune".

Other cover versions

"There but for Fortune" has been covered by more than a dozen performers besides Baez, including

Chad and Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following y ...

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

, Cher, The Gretchen Phillips Experience,

Jim and Jean Jim and Jean, composed of Jim Glover (born 1942) and Jean Ray (1941–2007)

, The Mike Leander Orchestra, Vicky Leandro

(from the 1966 album "Songs und Folklore")

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and ...

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reper ...

, The Spokesmen,

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career o ...

, and Sammy Walker. Peter, Paul and Mary's cover features a bridge between the third and forth verses, containing references to hunger and children, written by Noel Paul Stookey. Also, a French version, "Où va la chance?", with lyrics adapted by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

, was originally performed by

and later covered by Isabelle Boulay.

References