Quote

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
Song
Cannot
Bullshit
Protest
Specific
Mistake

More quotes by 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. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life.
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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In the courtroom, watch the balance of the scalesIf the price is right, there's time for more appealsThe strings are pulled, the switch is stayedThe finest lawyers fees are paidAnd a rich man never died upon the chair
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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America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.
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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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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The only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.
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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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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One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies.
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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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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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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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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I wonder who I left behind on the other side of fame.
Phil Ochs
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God isn't dead - he's just missing in action.
Phil Ochs
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Beneath the greatest love lies a hurricane of hate.
Phil Ochs