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

Phil Ochs

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Phil Ochs
Age: 35 †
Born: 1940
Born: December 19
Died: 1976
Died: April 9
Guitarist
Poet
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Songwriter
El Paso
Texas
Philip David Ochs
Mistake
Song
Cannot
Bullshit
Protest
Specific

More quotes by Phil Ochs

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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.
Phil Ochs
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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.
Phil Ochs
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Call it peace or call it treason / call it love or call it reason / but I ain't marching anymore
Phil Ochs
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Some people never get their feet on the ground, They're either sitting in a chair or theyre laying down.
Phil Ochs
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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?
Phil Ochs
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The people who carried the burden, who marked in strange field in search of an answer, and ended their journeys an unwilling hero.
Phil Ochs
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I like Hitler, jolly jolly Hitler.
Phil Ochs
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It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.
Phil Ochs
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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.
Phil Ochs
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God isn't dead - he's just missing in action.
Phil Ochs
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Love is a rainbow curving down from the sky, falling crystals of color, shades of warm that never die.
Phil Ochs
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America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.
Phil Ochs
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I write all my own songs and they are just simple melodies with a lot of lyrics. They usually have to do with current events and what is going on in the news. You can call them topical songs, songs about the news, and then developing into more philosophical songs later.
Phil Ochs
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Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.
Phil Ochs
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I'm gonna give all I've got to giveCross my heart, and I hope to live.
Phil Ochs
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Leaving America is like losing twenty pounds and finding a new girlfriend.
Phil Ochs
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In the state of Mississippi, Many Years Ago, a boy of 14 years got a taste of Southern law.
Phil Ochs
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There is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions, and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror available. Every newspaper headline is a potential song.
Phil Ochs
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In every political community there are varying shades of political opinion. One of the shadiest of these is the liberals. An outspoken group on many subjects. Ten degrees to the left of center in good times. Ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally. Here, then, is a lesson in safe logic.
Phil Ochs
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In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.
Phil Ochs