Quote

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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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
Men
Fortune
Life
Whose
Stale
Gone
Prisoner
Show
Jail
Shows
Tyranny
Young
Reason
Reasons
Many
Prison

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Call it peace or call it treason / call it love or call it reason / but I ain't marching anymore
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A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit.
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The only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.
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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.
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One legged veterans will greet the dawn, and they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn, and the gargoyles on sit and grieve.
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Does defending liberalism leave you friendless and perhaps wondering about your breath?
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Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.
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One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies.
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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
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I'm gonna give all I've got to giveCross my heart, and I hope to live.
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I like Hitler, jolly jolly Hitler.
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Love is a rainbow curving down from the sky, falling crystals of color, shades of warm that never die.
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America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I wonder who I left behind on the other side of fame.
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Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why. But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.
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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.
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