Top 56 Quotes & Sayings by Phil Ochs

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make the attempt. That's morality, that's religion, that's art, that's life.

Does defending liberalism leave you friendless and perhaps wondering about your breath?

The final story, the final chapter of western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles.

And 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.

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.

When 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.

It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.

In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.

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.

Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.

God isn't dead - he's just missing in action.

Leaving America is like losing twenty pounds and finding a new girlfriend.

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.

God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. The more that you try to find success, the more that you will fail.

She's staring down her desires, while they're staring down her dress.

America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines.

So good to be alive when the eulogies are read.

Some people never get their feet on the ground, They're either sitting in a chair or theyre laying down.

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt.

The people who carried the burden, who marked in strange field in search of an answer, and ended their journeys an unwilling hero.

I like Hitler, jolly jolly Hitler.

Mother Goose is on the loose, stealing lines from Lenny Bruce.

One legged veterans will greet the dawn, and they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn, and the gargoyles on sit and grieve.

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.

Beneath the greatest love lies a hurricane of hate.

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?

The glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain.

And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm goneAnd I can't question how or when or why when I'm goneCan't live proud enough to die when I'm goneSo I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here.

The Yippie demonstrations were merely an attack of mental disobedience on an obediently insane society... and if you feel you have been living in an unreal world for the last couple of years, it is particularly because this power structure has refused to listen to reason... Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.

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

I wonder who I left behind on the other side of fame.

Evil 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.

The truest protest is beauty.

One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies.

You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.

The only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.

In the town of Bethlehem many years ago, a man got religion and he changed the status quo.

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.

Well I've seen travel in many waysI've traveled in cars and old subwaysBut in Birmingham some people choseTo fly down the street from a fire hose.Doin' some hard travelin'...from hydrants of plenty.

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.

Call it peace or call it treason / call it love or call it reason / but I ain't marching anymore

It's always the old to lead us to the war. It's always the young to fall.

I'm gonna give all I've got to giveCross my heart, and I hope to live.

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.

Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why. But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.

The painter paints his brushes black, Through the canvas runs a crack, Portrait of the pain never answers back...

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

So do your duty, boys, and join with prideServe your country in her suicideFind the flags so you can wave goodbyeBut just before the end even treason might be worth a tryThis country is too young to dieI declare the war is overIt's over, it's over.

If you ever get a war without blood and gore, well, I'll be the first to go.

Love is a rainbow curving down from the sky, falling crystals of color, shades of warm that never die.

In the state of Mississippi, Many Years Ago, a boy of 14 years got a taste of Southern law.

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.

Only as strong as our love for this land, only as tall as we stand.

The only way to Cuba is with the CIA.

Oh you tell me that there's danger to the land you call your own, And you watch them build the war machine right beside your home, And you tell me that you're ready to go marchin' to the war, I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?

Comfort his family with a telegram, we regret to inform you we lost a man, but we gave him the highest medal of the land.