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Billie Holiday

20 quotes

“[I]t takes a bad woman to be a good godmother.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark made to Rosemary Clooney, c. summer 1956, regarding Holiday's qualifications to serve as godmother to Clooney's second child, as quoted by Clooney in Whitney Balliett "Profiles: The Heart, The Head, and The Pipes…
“Who love my man, I'm a liar if I say I don't But I'll quit my man, I'm a liar if I say I wont.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've been your slave Ever since I've been your babe But before I be your dog I'll see you in your grave.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I ain't good looking And my hair ain't curls But my mother she give me something It's going to carry me through this world.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord I love my man, tell the world I do I love my man, tell the world I do But when he mistreats me Makes me feel so blue.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some men like me talkin' happy Some calls it snappy Some call me honey Others think I got money Some tell me baby you're built for speed Now if you put that all together Makes me everything a good man needs.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Them that's got shall get Them that's not shall lose So the Bible said and it still is news Mama may have, Papa may have But God bless the child that's got his own That's got his own.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, the strong gets more While the weak ones fade Empty pockets don't ever make the grade Mama may have, Papa may have But God bless the child that's got his own That's got his own.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Money, you've got lots of friends Crowding round the door When you're gone, spending ends They don't come no more Rich relations give Crust of bread and such You can help yourself But don't take too much.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can’t stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession, let alone two years or ten years. If you can, then it ain’t music, it’s close-order drill or exercise or yodeling or something, not music.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Imagine if the government chased sick people with diabetes, put a tax on insulin and drove it into the black market, told doctors they couldn’t treat them, and then caught them, prosecuted them for not paying their taxes, and then sent them to jail. If we did that, everyone would know we were crazy. Yet we do practically the same thing every day in the week to sick people hooked on drugs. The jails are full and the problem is getting worse every day.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what's more than enough.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've been told that nobody sings the word "hunger" like I do. Or the word "love.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave. Everything I am and everything I want out of life goes smack back to that.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you’re out of your mind. There are more kicks the fuck to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung. If you think you need stuff to play music or sing, you’re crazy. It can fix you so you can’t play nothing or sing nothing.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I've been.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In this country, don’t forget, a habit is no damn private hell. There’s no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country it’s the worst kind of hell for those who love you.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“... used to win all of Billy [Berg's]'s lindy contests. Maybe he couldn't cut the cats at the Savoy in , but he sure could dance. He was like me when I was a kid, in a way, wanting to make it as a dancer and not interested in singing. And he was a switch on me in another way. My singing voice is clear but my speaking voice is husky; Mel's speaking voice was clear but his singing voice sounded kind of cloudy and foggy. I tried to tell him he had something different in the way of sound and encouraged him to try singing. He never seemed to want to listen. Maybe a lot of other people told him the same thing, but anyway, I was pleased later to hear he was making it. I always liked his singing, too. No matter what he was doing, he wasn't imitating anybody and he had that beat.”
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source