That Was The President

Words & Music:

Phil Ochs

 

This is a tribute to the fallen John F. Kennedy.

 

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Oh, the bullets of the false revenge have struck us once again,

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As the angry seas have struck upon the sand.

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And it seemed as though a friendless world had lost itself a friend,

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That was the President and that was the man.

 

Oh, I still can see him smiling there and waving at the crowd,

As he drove through the music of the band.

And never even knowin' no more time would be allowed,

Not for the President and not for the man.

 

Here's a memory to share, here's a memory to save,

Of the sudden early ending of command.

But a part of you, a part of me is buried in his grave.

That was the President and that was the man.

 

It's not only for the leader that the sorrow hit so hard,

There are greater things I'll never understand.

How a man so filled with life even death was caught off guard,

That was the President and that was the man.

 

Everything he might have done and all he could have been,

Was proven by the troubled traitor's hand.

For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men?

That was the President and that was the man.

 

Yes the glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain,

It's been carried over time and time again.

And to the list of honor you may add another name.

That was the President and that was the man.