"When In Rome" by Phil Ochs

Posted by Ajax the Great (Pete Jackson)

Here is another great song that still remains relevant to this day, a fortiori in fact.  "When in Rome" by the late, great, topical folk singer Phil Ochs is a very epic song indeed.  It shows the rather uncanny parallels between the decline and fall of Ancient Rome and the decline and fall of contemporary America.  Eight verses long, it seems that we are now at verse 8.  An underrated song by an underrated artist.  

May he Rest in Power!

Trigger warning:  this song contains some rather disturbing topics indeed (slavery, genocide, war, violence).  Verse 5 sounds like it's about the Holocaust, for example.  Listener discretion advised.

(Lyrics can be found here on Genius, and here on Reddit as well.)