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.
Phil Ochs

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

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.
Phil Ochs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.
Phil Ochs


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

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.
Phil Ochs