Some say Utah has caught the westbound
Some say that train never stops
it never pulls in at the station
they say the night Utah died
there was a huge freak thunderstorm
in the foothills of Nevada City
Some say they saw him ride out on a bolt of lightning
Utah was always ever the alchemist
he didn't die of congestive heart failure
his heart was too big for such trivial nonsense
There was room enough for all
in that great flophouse
of a heart that held the struggle forth
the Golden Voice of the Great Southwest spoke for all humanity.
No one went homeless in Utah's heart.
Ever the ecologist farmer,
when his heart failed he didn't ask for another
One heart was enough for him and the world
Utah has not left the stage
he is telling stories and unionizing the clouds in the skies above.
Go to sleep you weary hobos.
Can't you hear that whistle blowin'?
When the steel tracks hum like a wild harmonica
Utah is riding the ghost rails and
he is bound for glory on that Hallelujah Train.
Amen.
I don't recall when I first met Utah, but I was young, still in my teens, I loved folk music and met all kinds of musicians like Mike Seeger, Peggy Seeger and Ewan McColl, Ramblin' Jack Ellliot, new Lost City Ramblers, Hoyt Axton. we called him "Uter." Don't know why, but we'd always sing "Beans, Bacon and Gravy" with gusto whenever Uter came to town. I learned "Joe Hill" and "Bread and Roses" at his feet. In those days, I worked for Mimi Fariña, many the festivals at the Greek Theater, so it became a blur as to when I met who...but there was a lot of backstage down time....
I remember in the 1980s, when Kate Wolf couldn't fill the whole stage, Utah stepped in at the River Theater in Guerneville, Sonoma County. Utah told stories. We sang until we were hoarse and continued on in the diner next door.
It became a tradition for Utah to come to the River each year. I ran a reading series, The Russian River Writers' Guild at Garbo's Bar, and every year we commemorated the Spanish Civil War vetrans, Ed Balchowski and Utah would tell stories and sing. Ed was a one-armed pianist and Utah wasn't particularly good on the guitar but by God, they could hold a crowd at bay.
Sometimes Rosalie Sorrels and Bobbie Louise Hawkins would join Utah. We paid half the door. Lord knows it wasn't much, but Utah never turned down an offer to play or tell a story.
Last time I saw him was at the 2006 Kate Wolf Festival. We were all suffering from the 114* heat, sitting in the creek. Utah was looking florid and peaked, he said his heart wasn't good. I thought it was the heat. I had heat exhaustion. I didn't know he was playing his exit song for us all. God Bless You Bruce Duncan "U. Utah" Phillips. Heaven is a better place, now that you're there. Just lay off the Moose Turd Pie, will ya?
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