‘There But For Fortune’: the flop Joan Baez turned into a hit
For better or worse, most discussions around the legacy of Joan Baez usually extend from conversations about Bob Dylan. However, despite becoming somewhat eclipsed by her folk-rock counterpart, Baez has always been a force in her own right, not just musically but with activism and philanthropy, too. After all, few revolutionised the protest song and the concept of music for good as much as Baez did.
Although there are countless examples of this in action, one of the most notable that somehow almost always flew under the radar in broader discussions about Baez’s excellence is her trips to Hanoi in the 1970s. During this trip, Baez learned the true meaning of heartbreak and despair, and how music can be used as a tool for unity when things fall and shatter across the floor of civilisation.
Even when she revisited the same area years later, with a heart strengthened by the wistful hands of time, her opinion remained unchanged. Perhaps that’s because, from day one, it’s always been Baez’s lifeblood to fight tooth and nail to make the world a better place, or at the very least spark the kind of dialogue that leads to the necessary conversations to make others want to change the world, too.
At the same time, all of this worked as effectively as it did because Baez also had a deep-seated knowledge of the kind of musical approach that not only worked but evoked strong emotional reactions. From the start, people were drawn to her voice, and from there, she created delicate glistens of soundscapes that felt like neatly curated reflections of a world and a heart that beckoned for more beauty.
Perhaps this innate know-how is what also gave her the advantage when it came to delivering high-quality cover songs. During the 1960s counterculture scene, covering others’ songs was fairly commonplace as it not only showcased different facets of someone’s artistic expression but also made them feel more ingrained in the circle while giving them a higher chance of radio play.
In 1964, Baez sprinkled her magic over a song previously left by the wayside, breathing new life into Phil Ochs’ ‘There But for Fortune’, a song that would become her second hit after ‘We Shall Overcome’. It also enhanced Baez’s popularity upon release, particularly in the UK, surpassing the level of intrigue Ochs could merely dream of. The resurgence surprised Ochs, but not because it came from Baez—it surprised him because he never wrote it to be a hit. “‘There But for Fortune’ was a hit, but it certainly wasn’t written as one,” he explained. “Joan Baez just happened to pick it up, and it caught on.”
Aside from Baez’s undeniable ability to make any song sound even better, ‘There But for Fortune’ seemed made for her, embodying the kind of societally reflective tint that became her signature approach throughout her career. Although not typically a protest song, the lyrics navigate more ambiguous issues with societal violence during a time when the Vietnam War was beginning.
Evidently, therefore, as two figures who directly opposed the Vietnam War, such artistic choices fed into their growing personas as purveyors of rebellion and defiance. Baez never stopped fighting, especially when it came to the greater good, and this fervour always bled into her work, challenging others to re-evaluate the purpose of music and its place in political activism.
