‘It’s not enough to be right. It’s not enough to be intelligent. Woodstock could have been roped off and everyone sent to the gas chambers. They will in fact kill you all without a second’s hesitation. Merle Haggard is a man who on the right-wing level has come to terms with Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and the others. I’ll do a Merle Haggard song, just as he did it. To show you what’s going on the other side of the world.’ – Phil Ochs Carnegie Hall 1968
‘A lot of people say my songs sound alike. What I’m trying to do is write one endless song called truth. Painting the world exactly how I see it without compromise; always questioning!’ Phil Ochs from ‘The Life of Phil Ochs’ by Michael Schumacher.
Phil foresaw the rise of the right-wing MAGA philosophy right back in the late sixties. It sure wasn’t peace and love. Merle Haggard represented the views of those early rednecks. Phil was trying to wake people up!