There but for fortune

I woke up with this song in my head this morning. It’s my fault. I was watching a Phil Ochs documentary last night. And if you don’t know who he was, you owe it to yourself to find out and acquaint yourself with his music.

He was a folk singer in the traditional sense, meaning, his music was about politics and about people and about suffering with a call to fix what ails us. He was a true believer and his music reflects that.

This song in particular is not just haunting and beautifully sung (and covered by Joan Baez), but it’s also a song that reminds us to be compassionate. We are called to be compassionate not just for the guy sitting in jail, not just for the hobo, and not just for the drunk stumbling out the door, but for the countries currently at war. Always remember, there but for fortune, goes you or I.