36 quotes
And God help the critic of the dawn.
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)
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.
Interview with Michael Ross (1969)
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.
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)
There but for fortune, go you or I.
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.
The Broadside Tapes 1 (1960)
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.
The Complete Phil Ochs : Chords of Fame (1978)
I was over there, entertaining the troops. I won't say which troops.
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 Broadside Tapes 1 (1960)
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.
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here.
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.
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)
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.
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.
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?
So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)
Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high.
Pleasures of the Harbor (1967)