https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT3h5XWFV_Y
How we did it?
Staying put in Tucson after my tour dates in Europe were postponed because of the pandemic, I poured my heart into recording a version of Phil Ochs‘ tragic and timely tale. Working in isolation each from our respective living rooms, the five collaborators (Marianne Dissard, Thøger Lund, Vicki Brown, and Marco Rosano in Tucson, Arizona, and Raphael Mann in Ramsgate, England) recorded their respective parts in the last days of March 2020.
But, as Tucson engineer Jim Waters began mixing the track, I read about another Navy ship whose crew was in danger…
Why this song now?
On March 30th, ignored by his superiors, a certain Captain Crozier had widely shared a desperate plea for help on behalf of his virus-stricken crew onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. In it, he wrote,“we are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors.”
Having dared to speak truth to his superiors, Captain Crozier was swiftly removed from his ship — he’s since also tested positive to the Covid-19 virus — but not before his confined crew gave him a moving farewell from the deck of their ship… Thus the USS Roosevelt legend was born. Crozier eventually did get an apology from (breaking news: now ex-) Navy Chief Modly who had both called Crozier „too naive or too stupid“ and chastised his crew for cheering their departing Captain.
What do you think?
I’ve never been much of a protest singer but I felt I had to record Scorpion as my response to this administration’s crimes against humanity. But what of these intuitions and creative impulses when world events not only prove you right but up the ante on our worst fears? Maybe these are the questions that haunted Phil Ochs fifty years ago. Questions that still to this day echo through his song.
I hope you like Scorpion. Please listen, download and share and let us know what you think. You can also help below if you’re able.
Thanks. Stay safe!
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