Tune du Jour: “Draft Dodger Rag” – Phil Ochs
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Disappear Fear vs. Kind of Like Spitting vs. Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman
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Phil wrote some of the greatest topical political protest songs of all time. Most were blistering attacks on racist and/or wrongheaded political institutions. But it was also great fun when Phil used his priceless wit to enormous effect. “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends” and “Love Me, I’m a Liberal” come straight to mind, along with one of my all-time favorites, “Draft Dodger Rag”.
The Original
Phil Ochs:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Disappear Fear vs. Kind of Like Spitting vs. Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman
Disappear Fear:
Kind of Like Spitting:
Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Disappear Fear harmonize together beautifully. Wish I could have caught one of their shows. But I have to admit, the way they bastardized the pronunciation of “asthma” really pissed me off more than it should have.
Can’t complain about Kind of Like Spitting’s reverent and highly competent homage to Phil.
But, despite the hiccups, how can you not vote for Pete Seeger, a man who had the gravitas and certainly earned the right to sing a song of this sentiment? And he did add some pretty nice banjo licks to the tune as well.
Ochs wrote topical songs about the news of the day.
Sixty years on, some of the references are somewhat dated and/or obscure.
Today’s contestants made some slight changes to the lyrics.
Disappear Fear updated a reference to Chou En-lai, replacing it with Osama bin Laden.
The second act apparently never heard of former U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd, and were too busy to look it up. It’s rendered as “Senator Dodge”, despite being rhymed with “god” in the original.
Even Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman (Seeger’s former band mate with The Weavers) updated the Chou En-lai reference to Mao Tse-tung.
Very clever and funny song. I was nice to watch Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman tackle it live and navigate a few bumps. The banjo always provides a interesting difference in this style. Kind Of Like Spitting do a nice job. Nobody departed much from the original but Disappear Fear had a funky, jazzy pace, well blended vocals, a lot of space, just a pleasant surprise and damned near perfect.