[1] Ochs was inspired to write "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" by the case of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death on March 13, 1964, outside her home in Queens, New York, while dozens of her neighbors reportedly ignored her cries for help.
[2] The song's refrain, and its title, came from a conversation Ochs had with an acquaintance: [It] came out of a chance remark, late at night at a coffeehouse.
[1]The lyrics of "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" condemn social apathy by relating different situations that should demand action on the part of the narrator, but in each case the narrator evades responsibility by giving a mundane excuse, and invariably concludes that "I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody outside of a small circle of friends".
[1] The five scenarios include a woman who's being stabbed outside the window, an automobile accident that has left a car hanging on a cliff, the terrible living conditions in the city's ghetto, a magazine publisher who's been fined for publishing pornography, and a friend who's been arrested for smoking marijuana and sentenced to thirty years in prison.
[5]In 2001, an author remarked that the recording "pitted a disturbing lyric about murder and social irresponsibility against a backing of insanely cheerful banjo and a honky-tonk piano".
[11] As the song's popularity grew, some radio station managers began to object to the lyrics of the fifth verse of "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", which said that "smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer".
[15] "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" has been covered by several performers, including Eugene Chadbourne, Dave Van Ronk and Kind Of Like Spitting.