Party
Phil Ochs Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

The fire breathing Rebels arrive at the party early,
C D
Their khaki coats are hung in the closet near the fur.
C D G -Em
Asking handouts from the ladies, while they criticize the lords.
E D G Em
Boasting of the murder of the very hands that pour.
C D G Em
And the victims learn to giggle, for at least they are not bored.
Am D
And my shoulders had to shrug
Am
As I crawl beneath the rug
D G
And retune my piano.

The Hostess is enormous, she fills the room with perfume,
She meets the guests and smothers them with greetings.
And she asks "how are you" as she offers them a drink,
The Countess of the social grace, who never seems to blink.
And she promises to talk to you, if you promise not to think.
And my shoulders had to shrug, as I crawled beneath the rug
And retuned my piano.

The Beauty of the hour is blazing in the present,
She surrounds herself with those who would surrender.
Floating in the flattery she's a trophy-prize, caressed.
Protected by a pretty face, sometimes cursed, sometimes blessed.
And she's staring down their desires, while they're staring down her dress.
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

The egos shine like lightbulbs, so bright you cannot see them,
Blind each other blinder than a sandbox.
All the fury of an argument, holding back their yawns,
A challenge shakes the chandliers, the selfish swords are drawn.
To the loser go the hangups, to the victor go the hangers on.
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

They travel to the table, the host is served for supper,
And they pass each other for salt and pepper.
And the conversation sparkles as their wits are dipped in wine,
Dinosaurs on a diet, on each other they will dine.
Then they pick their teeth and they squelch a belch saying:
"Darling you tasted divine."
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

The Wallflower is waiting, she hides behind composure.
She'd love to dance and prays that no one asks her.
Then she steals a glance at lovers while her fingers tease her hair.
And she marvels at the confidence of those who hide their fears.
Then her eyes are closed as she rides away with a foreign legionaire.
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

Romeo is reeling, counting notches on his thighbone,
Searching for one hundred and eleven.
And he's charming as a child as he leads them to the web,
Seducing queens and gypsy girls in the boudoir of his head.
Then he wraps himself with a tablecloth and pretends he is a bed.
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

The party must be over, even the Losers are leaving.
But just one doubt is nagging at my caustic mind:
So I snuck up close behind me and I gave myself a kiss,
And I led myself to the mirror to expose what I had missed.




There I saw a laughing maniac who was writing songs like this.
And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.

Overall Meaning

Phil Ochs's song "The Party" is a searing commentary on the social elite of the time. The lyrics describe the guests at a party, their pretentiousness, and their lack of empathy for others. The first verse describes the arrival of the "fire breathing rebels" who criticize the lords while boasting about their murders. The victims are forced to giggle to avoid boredom. The song then goes on to describe the different guests at the party, including the hostess who is "enormous" and the beauty of the hour who is "blazing in the present." The lyrics criticize how these guests value appearance over substance and how they manipulate and exploit others.


The third verse focuses on Romeo, who is portrayed as a womanizer keeping count of his conquests. The final verse is a self-referential twist as Phil Ochs remembers that he too is a part of this elite society and how he often feels the need to hide himself away. The song ends with Ochs kissing himself in the mirror, a symbol of self-loathing and self-awareness.


Line by Line Meaning

The fire breathing Rebels arrive at the party early,
The rebellious guests arrive before anyone else.


Their khaki coats are hung in the closet near the fur.
They hang their coats in the closet beside the fur coats.


Asking handouts from the ladies, while they criticize the lords.
They ask the women for things, while at the same time criticizing the men.


Boasting of the murder of the very hands that pour.
They brag about killing the people who serve them.


And the victims learn to giggle, for at least they are not bored.
The servants learn to laugh, because it is better than being bored.


And my shoulders had to shrug As I crawl beneath the rug And retune my piano.
The singer feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


The Hostess is enormous, she fills the room with perfume,
The hostess is large and overpowers the room with her perfume.


She meets the guests and smothers them with greetings.
She greets the guests with too much enthusiasm.


And she asks "how are you" as she offers them a drink,
She asks the guests how they are feeling while offering them drinks.


The Countess of the social grace, who never seems to blink.
The hostess is a master of social grace and never blinks.


And she promises to talk to you, if you promise not to think.
She promises to talk to the guests, but only if they do not think too much.


And my shoulders had to shrug, as I crawled beneath the rug And retuned my piano.
The artist feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


The Beauty of the hour is blazing in the present,
The most beautiful person at the party is in the present moment.


She surrounds herself with those who would surrender.
She surrounds herself with people who are willing to give in to her.


Floating in the flattery she's a trophy-prize, caressed.
She is flattered and treated like a prize possession.


Protected by a pretty face, sometimes cursed, sometimes blessed.
Her beauty protects her, but also causes problems for her.


And she's staring down their desires, while they're staring down her dress.
She is ignoring their desires while they are staring at her chest.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The singer feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


The egos shine like lightbulbs, so bright you cannot see them,
The guests' egos are so bright that they are blinding.


Blind each other blinder than a sandbox.
They blind each other more than a child's sandbox.


All the fury of an argument, holding back their yawns,
They argue with each other, but are also struggling to stay awake.


A challenge shakes the chandliers, the selfish swords are drawn.
A challenge is made and the selfish guests become defensive.


To the loser go the hangups, to the victor go the hangers on.
The losers have to deal with their problems, while the winners are celebrated by others.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The artist feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


They travel to the table, the host is served for supper,
They move to the dining table and the host is served.


And they pass each other for salt and pepper.
They pass the salt and pepper to each other.


And the conversation sparkles as their wits are dipped in wine,
Their conversation becomes more interesting as they drink wine.


Dinosaurs on a diet, on each other they will dine.
They are like dinosaurs on a diet, eating each other.


Then they pick their teeth and they squelch a belch saying: "Darling you tasted divine."
They burp and compliment each other on the food.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The singer feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


The Wallflower is waiting, she hides behind composure.
The shy guest is waiting and tries to hide her nerves.


She'd love to dance and prays that no one asks her.
She wants to dance, but hopes no one will ask her to.


Then she steals a glance at lovers while her fingers tease her hair.
She looks at the couples while playing with her hair.


And she marvels at the confidence of those who hide their fears.
She admires the confidence of those who seem fearless.


Then her eyes are closed as she rides away with a foreign legionaire.
She closes her eyes and daydreams about a romantic adventure.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The artist feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


Romeo is reeling, counting notches on his thighbone,
One guest is like Romeo, counting his sexual conquests on his leg.


Searching for one hundred and eleven.
He is searching for more sexual conquests.


And he's charming as a child as he leads them to the web,
He is charming as he leads his targets to be seduced.


Seducing queens and gypsy girls in the boudoir of his head.
He fantasizes about seducing different types of women.


Then he wraps himself with a tablecloth and pretends he is a bed.
He does something strange, pretending to be a bed wrapped in a tablecloth.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The singer feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.


The party must be over, even the Losers are leaving.
The party is ending and even the unpopular guests are leaving.


But just one doubt is nagging at my caustic mind:
The artist has one question on his mind.


So I snuck up close behind me and I gave myself a kiss,
He imagines kissing himself.


And I led myself to the mirror to expose what I had missed.
He looks in the mirror to reflect on something he overlooked.


There I saw a laughing maniac who was writing songs like this.
He sees a crazed version of himself who writes music like this song.


And my shoulders had to shrug, etc.
The artist feels uncomfortable and out of place at the party and retreats to retune his piano.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PHIL OCHS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions