The mention of marijuana in one verse was misinterpreted, and its release as a single failed to do anything on the charts as it was banned from radio play by many stations.

"The Party" savaged high-class snobs, with Ochs taking the role of a lounge pianist, observing the ridiculous nature of their gatherings.

"Pleasures of the Harbor", the title track, is a dirge to lonely sailors seeking human comfort and connection while in port.

consider to be an overblown film score-like orchestration (supposedly including a young Warren Zevon), a view which Ochs himself would later on come to share.

Its ten verses compare John F. Kennedy and Christ, and explore the "cycle of sacrifice" where we build up our leaders into heroes so that we can enjoy tearing them down.