Lyrics Phil Ochs – That Was The President

The bullets of the false revenge have struck us once again
As the angry seas have struck upon the sand
And it seemed as though a friendless world had lost itself a friend
That was the President and that was the man

I still can see him smiling there and waving at the crowd
As he drove through the music of the band
And never even knowing 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
Yet a part of you and 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 hits 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

Every thing he might have done and all he could have been
Was proven by the troubled traitors 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
That was the President and that was the man

Here is an older version of the song, supplied by Cody Gillespie-Lynch

On a South Pacific ocean, on a South Pacific shore
A legend was written on the sand
For a man of peace was born in the middle of a war
That was the president, and that was the man

With the wisdom of the old and the vision of the young
A challenge was given to the land
And our dreams of peace were spoken with a gifted, golden tongue
That was the president, and that was the man

When the freedom revolution gave a rumble and a roar
The world was shown on which side he would stand
For the first time in a hundred years he opened up the door
That was the president, and that was the man

When a hungry world was searching for a way to feed it’s own
The Peace Corps was offered as his plan
And now these seeds of knowledge go wherever winds have blown
That was the president, and that was the man

Everything he might’ve done and all he could’ve been
Was proven by the tainted traitor’s hand
For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men
That was the president, and that was the man

No end to all the sorrow and the hours we shall grieve
So deep was the fire of his brand
And still I can remember, and still I can’t believe
That was the president, and that was the man

Yes, the glory that was Lincoln’s never died when he was slain
That glory shown with Roosevelt again
And to this list of honor you may list another name
For these were the presidents, and these were the men