One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies.
Phil OchsAnd 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.
Phil OchsComfort his family with a telegram, we regret to inform you we lost a man, but we gave him the highest medal of the land.
Phil OchsOne legged veterans will greet the dawn, and they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn, and the gargoyles on sit and grieve.
Phil OchsShow 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 OchsEven though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt.
Phil OchsIt 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 OchsCall it peace or call it treason / call it love or call it reason / but I ain't marching anymore
Phil OchsIs 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 OchsIn the town of Bethlehem many years ago, a man got religion and he changed the status quo.
Phil OchsLove is a rainbow curving down from the sky, falling crystals of color, shades of warm that never die.
Phil OchsIt is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.
Phil OchsStep outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.
Phil OchsThere 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 OchsMaybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why. But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.
Phil OchsIn 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 OchsThe fortunes of the entire world may well ride on the ability of young Americans to face the responsibilities of an old America gone mad.
Phil OchsSome people never get their feet on the ground, They're either sitting in a chair or theyre laying down.
Phil OchsAmerica is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.
Phil OchsThe only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.
Phil OchsEvil 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.
Phil OchsThe people who carried the burden, who marked in strange field in search of an answer, and ended their journeys an unwilling hero.
Phil OchsWhen 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.
Phil OchsYou can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.
Phil Ochs