Phil Ochs Quotes

A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit.

America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.

In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.

One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies.

And if there's any hope for America, it lies in a revolution, and if there's any hope for a revolution in America, it lies in getting Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara.

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt.

The fortunes of the entire world may well ride on the ability of young Americans to face the responsibilities of an old America gone mad.

It's always the old to lead us to the war. It's always the young to fall.

Love is a rainbow curving down from the sky, falling crystals of color, shades of warm that never die.

The truest protest is beauty.

The final story, the final chapter of Western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles.

You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.

Evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders, but the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers, and world of hunger in vengeance will always remember.

Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why. But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.

It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.

God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. The more that you try to find success, the more that you will fail.

Show me the prison, Show me the jail, Show me the prisoner whose life has gone stale. And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why And there, but for fortune, go you or I.

Does defending liberalism leave you friendless and perhaps wondering about your breath?

Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.

Beneath the greatest love lies a hurricane of hate.

Leaving America is like losing twenty pounds and finding a new girlfriend.

When they show the destruction of society on color TV, I want to be able to look out over Los Angeles and make sure they get it right.

The only way to Cuba is with the CIA.

Some people never get their feet on the ground, They're either sitting in a chair or theyre laying down.

In the town of Bethlehem many years ago, a man got religion and he changed the status quo.

Well I've seen travel in many waysI've traveled in cars and old subwaysBut in Birmingham some people choseTo fly down the street from a fire hose.Doin' some hard travelin'...from hydrants of plenty.

Call it peace or call it treason / call it love or call it reason / but I ain't marching anymore

One legged veterans will greet the dawn, and they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn, and the gargoyles on sit and grieve.

If you ever get a war without blood and gore, well, I'll be the first to go.

I like Hitler, jolly jolly Hitler.

In the state of Mississippi, Many Years Ago, a boy of 14 years got a taste of Southern law.

She's staring down her desires, while they're staring down her dress.

Comfort his family with a telegram, we regret to inform you we lost a man, but we gave him the highest medal of the land.

Only as strong as our love for this land, only as tall as we stand.

The glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain.

I can spare a dime, brother, but in these morally inflationary times, a dime goes a lot farther if it's demanding work rather than adding to the indignity of relief.

Is there anybody here who thinks that following the orders takes away the blame Is there anybody here who wouldn't mind a murder by another name?

So good to be alive when the eulogies are read.

The only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.

The painter paints his brushes black, Through the canvas runs a crack, Portrait of the pain never answers back...

Show me a country where the bombs had to fallShow me the ruins of buildings so tallAnd I'll show you a young landWith many reasons whyThere but for fortune, go you or IYou or I.

And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm goneAnd I can't question how or when or why when I'm goneCan't live proud enough to die when I'm goneSo I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here.

Mother Goose is on the loose, stealing lines from Lenny Bruce.

The people who carried the burden, who marked in strange field in search of an answer, and ended their journeys an unwilling hero.

God isn't dead - he's just missing in action.

I wonder who I left behind on the other side of fame.

I'm gonna give all I've got to giveCross my heart, and I hope to live.

But our land is still troubled by men who have to hate. They twist away our freedom, and they twist away our fate. Fear is their weapon, and treason is their cry. We can stop them if we try.

You can do what's right, or you can do what you are told.

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make the attempt. That's morality, that's religion, that's art, that's life.