We feared that the music which had given us sustenance was in danger of spiritual starvation. We feared it losing its sense of purpose, we feared it falling into fattened hands, we feared it floundering in a mire of spectacle, finance, and vapid technical complexity. We would call forth in our minds the image of Paul Revere, riding through the American night, petitioning the people to wake up, to take up arms. We too would take up arms, the arms of our generation, the electric guitar and the microphone.

Smith has recorded a cover of Buddy Holly's classic "Words of Love" for the CD Rave On Buddy Holly a tribute album tied to Holly's seventy-fifth birthday year which was released June 28 2011. A box set of her work up to that time The Patti Smith Masters came out in 1996 and 2002 saw the release of Land (1975–2002) a two-CD compilation that includes a memorable cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry". In the winter of 2004/2005 Smith toured again with Nader in a series of rallies against the Iraq War and called for the impeachment of George W.

On November 17 2010 Patti Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. Called the "Godmother of Punk" her work was a fusion of rock and poetry.