Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue & Me (1986)

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Well, at night he sits alone and he's looking at the stars He listens to them playing guitars Him and Phil go back a long, long way They talked about marching and dying all in one day They play songs together, they sit up past the dawn Well, I wonder why this dream goes on [Verse 2] You know Bob was there last week as well Well, he's a quiet guy but he's got stories to tell Our hero sits and listens without asking why And teaches Bob A minor with a glint in his eye Well, Bob used it on "Hollis Brown," but that was some time ago When is this dream gonna stop? Heaven knows [Pre-Chorus] And then our hero picks up his guitar To play them the only tune he knows He played it to me once He said, "Wes, it's short, but this is how it goes" And then he sings One time [Chorus] He sings, this is the only thing that really matters Keeps me going, retains my sanity The nights I spend alone when there's just Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me And me [Verse 3] Stevie died and David died But only to the papers that live outside Last Thursday they were in the room where he sits The three of them making jokes about the meager obits And Steve and David smiled and they left quite soon He wonders about that dream As he looks at the stars and the moon [Verse 4] And sometimes he has a party for him and the crew They turn up on time just 'cause they always do And Phil plays "I Ain't Marching," it's his favorite song And Bob plays harmonica but he plays it all wrong And Steve harmonizes like he did with John Prine And David just sits and looks blue all the time [Pre-Chorus] Well, then the time comes round again They all sit and listen to our hero playing He says, "Ah, you've heard it all before" But they like it, so they shout "Encore" And then he sings It's a dream come true, last time [Chorus] This is the only thing that really matters Keeps me going, retains my sanity The nights I spend alone when there's just Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me And me Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and me