[3][4] One of Ochs' biographers wrote that, "of all the songs that Phil would ever write, none would show his humanity as brilliantly as the four brief verses of 'There but for Fortune'".
[5] Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune was also used as the title of Michael Schumacher's 1996 biography, as well as Kenneth Bowser's 2011 documentary on the singer's life.
[8] Ochs introduces the song by saying it was written for him by Joan Baez, an ironic reference to her hit single.
[10] Monica Barbaro, portraying Baez in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, sings the song in a concert scene.
[17][18] "There but for Fortune" has been covered by more than a dozen performers besides Baez, including Chad and Jeremy, Eugene Chadbourne, Cher, The Gretchen Phillips Experience, Jim and Jean, The Mike Leander Orchestra, Vicky Leandros [1] (from the 1966 album "Songs und Folklore") The New Christy Minstrels, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Spokesmen, Françoise Hardy,[19] and Sammy Walker.
", with lyrics adapted by Eddy Marnay, was originally performed by Françoise Hardy[23] and later covered by Isabelle Boulay.