Phil Ochs Quotes
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So dance dance dance Teach us to be true Come dance dance dance 'Cause we love you
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Leaving America is like losing twenty pounds and finding a new girlfriend.
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Does defending liberalism leave you friendless and perhaps wondering about your breath?
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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.
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Show me a country where the bombs had to fall Show me the ruins of buildings so tall And I'll show you a young land With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I You or I.
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Oh you tell me that there's danger to the land you call your ownAnd you watch them build the war machine right beside your homeAnd you tell me that you're ready to go marchin' to the warI know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?
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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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And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrendersbut the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embersand a world of hunger in vengeance will always rememberSo please be reassured, we seek no wider war,we seek no wider war.
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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.
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Show me a prison, show me a jail Show me a pris'ner whose face has grown pale And I'll show you a young man With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I.
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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.
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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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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.
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I was over there, entertaining the troops. I won't say which troops.
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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.
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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.
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Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody Outside of a small circle of friends.
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Show me an alley, show me a train Show me a hobo who sleeps out in the rain And I'll show you a young man With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I
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Images of innocence charge him go on But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn To a nightmare of knowledge he opens up the gate And a blinding revelation is laid upon his plate That beneath the greatest love is a hurricane of hate And God help the critic of the dawn.
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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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Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer,But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty yearsMaybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody whyBut demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.
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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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Dump the reds in a pile, boysDump the reds in a pileYou'd better wipe off that smile, boysBetter wipe off that smileWe'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreckWe'll find you a leader that you can't electThose treaties we signed were a pain in the neck'Cause we're the cops of the world, boysWe're the cops of the world.
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Here is a land full of power and gloryBeauty that words cannot recallOh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedomHer glory shall rest on us all.