Phil Ochs quotes - page 2

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)
And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders but the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers and a world of hunger in vengeance will always remember So please be reassured, we seek no wider war, we seek no wider war. View quote
Phil Ochs
Here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Her glory shall rest on us all. View quote
Phil Ochs
Time takes her toll and the memory fades but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made. Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear As they wait for a new thrill parade. View quote
Phil Ochs
The American Politician has developed into the gutless master of procrastination with a maximum of non-committal statement and the barest minimum of action. This moral vacuum is exceeded only by the apathetic public who allows him to stay in power. View quote
Phil Ochs
Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of the poor Only as free as a padlocked prison door Only as strong as our love for this land Only as tall as we stand! View quote
Phil Ochs
Dump the reds in a pile, boys Dump the reds in a pile You'd better wipe off that smile, boys Better wipe off that smile We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck We'll find you a leader that you can't elect Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck 'Cause we're the cops of the world, boys We're the cops of the world. View quote
Phil Ochs
They say they can't believe it, it's a sacrilegious shame Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game? But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small. Tell me every detail, I've got to know it all, And do you have a picture of the pain? View quote
Phil Ochs
I for one don't even believe that he's president. View quote
Phil Ochs
I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for? View quote
Phil Ochs
Show me a prison, show me a jail Show me a pris'ner whose face has grown pale. (Phil Ochs)
Now they sing out his praises on every distant shore But so few remember what he was fightin' for. View quote
Phil Ochs
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody Outside of a small circle of friends. View quote
Phil Ochs
Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed. View quote
Phil Ochs
I must be home again soon. To face the unspoken unguarded thoughts of habitual hearts A vanguard of electricians a village full of tarts Who say you must protest you must protest It is your diamond duty... Ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty. View quote
Phil Ochs
Before the days of television and mass media, the folksinger was often a traveling newspaper spreading tales through music. View quote
Phil Ochs
Leave the old and dying America and use your creative energies to help form a new America, which would be de-militarized, more humanistic, where the police are less hostile and closer to the community, where the wealthy are not given unleashed power for the exploitation of the people. View quote
Phil Ochs
Images of innocence charge him go on But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn. View quote
Phil Ochs
In every American community there are varying shades of political opinion. View quote
Phil Ochs
Chosen for a challenge that is hopelessly hard And the only single sound is the sighing of the stars But to the silence and distance they are sworn. View quote
Phil Ochs
I watched my life fade-away in a flash A quarter of a century dash through closets full of candles with never a room For rapture through a kingdom had been captured. (Phil Ochs)
Show me a country where the bombs had to fall Show me the ruins of buildings so tall. View quote
Phil Ochs
And God help the critic of the dawn. View quote
Phil Ochs
The idea of Yippie was to be a form of theater politics. View quote
Phil Ochs
It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. View quote
Phil Ochs