Tonight, one of the best songwriters of the past 50 years comes to the 20th Century in Oakley. Tom Paxton, one of the last of the '60s generation of folksinger/songwriters still performing and — more importantly — writing new songs, is here to do a concert benefiting Cincinnati's homeless and Ohio's rivers.

IF YOU GO

Who: Tom Paxton     When: 8 p.m. today     Where: 20th Century, Oakley Square; 731-8000     Tickets: $20 at the door

        It's part of a busy schedule for the 63-year-old grandfather of two, who recently appeared at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and, with fellow '60s survivor Judy Collins, at the New York State Fair.

        “I really need to be home more than I am, so I am really trying to cut it down,” he says of touring. “But I'm not succeeding very well.”

        The demand has remained for Mr. Paxton's music, a masterful mix of topicality, wit and timeless truths.

        A Tom Paxton song can be as simple as his lighthearted ode to a cheap buzz, “Bottle of Wine,” a No. 9 pop hit for the Fireballs in 1968.

        Or it can be as wistful as his end-of-the-affair ballad, “Last Thing on My Mind,” a 1968 country hit for Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner.

        Then there are his songs that helped define the '60s, alternately caustic and comic, including “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation” or “Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues.”

        He's kept it up, satirizing Washington's bailout of a certain auto maker in 1980's “I'm Changing My Name to Chrysler,” and voicing his opinion of the current administration in “Leave This Bush in Texas.”

        Despite their timely nature, even his older topical songs are anything but yesterday's news. They continue to be requested — and sung along with — in concert. Mr. Paxton isn't surprised at the long shelf life of his songs.

        “I think a good song is a good song,” he says. “When you think of songs of Woody Guthrie's, you'll still hear people singing a song about (1930s bank robber) Pretty Boy Floyd that he wrote. It's scarcely in the news, but the song is good, so singers sing it.

        “I think your only real obligation is to write these things as best you can. Make them the best songs you can, and they'll probably surprise you by how long they'll live.”

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