"That was really Phils strong point. The big rally. He was a topical singer. He sang a lot of songs about the news of the day. When he performed in that kind of venue, he was at his absolute best."
Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums.
"We got our heads bashed in Chicago; we saw students shot to death at Kent State; we had people stabbed to death at the Rolling Stones Altamont concert — what do we have to believe in anymore? Unfortunately, for Phil Ochs, he couldnt give an answer. He lost his faith."
"I for one dont even believe that hes president. In order to have a president you need to have an election, in order to have an election you have to have a choice, and if you remember back to the primaries there were people running against the war, Kennedy and McCarthy. They often got 85 to 90% of the votes, but when it came time for the parties, that was totally ignored, so in point of fact, there really was no election. For a man whos always wanted to be president, and now that hes president, hes not even president."
"Look outside the window, theres a woman being grabbed Theyve dragged her to the bushes and now shes being stabbed Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain But Monopoly is so much fun, Id hate to blow the game And Im sure it wouldnt interest anybody Outside of a small circle of friends."
"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."
"I can spare a dime, brother, but in these morally inflationary times, a dime goes a lot farther if its demanding work rather than adding to the indignity of relief."
"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. And, mostly because its now a matter of life and death, reassert an ecological balance with the environment, which means the people in the oil companies and the car companies and the space industry and all the other industries will have to be brought into account, so that there will be a new definition of government which has to be closer to the people and less close to special interests which are far more harmful than any revolutionaries."