Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Dreams
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“There are two ways to dream. You might dream that you are riding a Roll Royce and go back to bed to continue or wake up to work and achieve it.”
Anthony Ebehijele Okpere (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But it's good to dream. If you don't dream you die.”
Rachid Taha (1958–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lorde has had to create her own dream, which is a question of language. How do people—and perhaps particularly women—with queer, Black queer bodies talk about themselves if they are not part of the essential conversation of the American dream?”
Frieda Ekotto (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Becoming an actor has always been my dream. Ever since I was a little boy, my hero was Will Smith in Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Right now I'm studying acting with a coach and learning English. My dream is to become an actor and make people laugh.”
Khaby Lame (born 2000) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was always about the dream. So, I think for every single professional, every single kid in the townships or anywhere else, it should always be about the dream.”
Kamohelo Mokotjo (born 1991) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was always a dream and hopefully we can win it, that’s the bigger dream, but we must take it game by game.”
Franco Mostert (born 1990) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Olympics are what people dream of, and that wasn't my dream, I wanted to be a hairstylist and go to cosmetology school.”
Gwen Torrence (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's been my dream as a kid, still my dream consistently to play for South Africa. For me, it's the pinnacle and that's what I'll try and do as long as I can.”
Wiaan Mulder (born 1998) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I decided to see how far I could go in this, My dream was to take an amateur team and make it nationally famous. The deep dream of everybody is always to have a world champion, but I never really had any specific plans for professional boxing.”
Emanuel Steward (1944–2012) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ... and In This Corner", October 25 2012
“It was a special celebration because I got to play with an orchestra, which has always been a dream of mine. And I think, like, if you ask any artist, I feel like that’s in every artist’s dream or, like, to-do list. Like, to be able to play with an orchestra,”
Clara Benin (born 1994) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Passion, Persistence, and a Promising Era: Clara Benin Reflects on a Decade-Long Career in Music, Lance Joseph Martinez 7 March 2026.
“You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.”
C. S. Lewis (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.”
Vincent van Gogh (misattributed) first seen 1908 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As attributed in Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity (1997) by Jan Phillips, p. 176; in recent years this ultimately unsourced attribution has become widespread, but the very earliest such at…
“We are near awakening when we dream that we dream.”
Novalis (attributed) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Edgar Allan Poe, "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" (1844). Adapted from Sarah Austin, Fragments from German Prose Writers (1841)
“Of rhymes do I dream? ’Tis my love orders me Of love still to dream; swain devoted to be, ‘Thyself make thou happy. Rhymes leave now alone The rhyme I seek thou art. I love thee my own. What’s rhyme that thou turnest thy thoughts thitherward, Mere bramble on wall, hedging round our vineyard, I care not for words, for asseverations, My time if I pass in these sweet delusions.’”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love to his soul gave eyes; he knew things are not as they seem. The dream is his real life; the world around him is the dream.”
Michel de Montaigne (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“Those green-robed senators of mighty woods, Tall oaks, branch-charmed by the earnest stars, Dream, and so dream all night without a stir.”
John Keats (1795–1821) said by 1821 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“Seated one day at the organ, I was weary and ill at ease, And my fingers wandered idly Over the noisy keys. I do not know what I was playing, Or what I was dreaming then; But I struck one chord of music, Like the sound of a great Amen.”
Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sunshine dreaming upon Salmon’s height Is not so sweet and white As the most heretofore sin-spotted Soul That darts to its delight Straight from the absolution of a faithful fight.”
Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts. She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers, Dreaming 'bout the day when you wake up and find That what you're lookin' for has been here the whole time.If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, Been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me; You belong with me.”
Taylor Swift (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.”
George McGovern (1922–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O, the sea of lights for streaming When the thousand flags are furled— When the gleaming bay lies dreaming As it duplicates the world!You will come my dearest, truest! Come my sovereign queen often; My blue skies will then be bluest; My white rose be whitest then:Then the song! Ah, then the sabre Flashing up the walls of night! Hate of wrong and love of neighbor Rhymes of battle for the Right!”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A young Apollo, golden-haired, Stands dreaming on the verge of strife, Magnificently unprepared For the long littleness of life.”
Frances Cornford (1886–1960) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Youth", line 1; from Poems (Hampstead: Priory Press, 1910) p. 15; on Rupert Brooke
“Somehow, you need to cling to your optimism. Always look for the silver lining. Always look for the best in people. Try to see things through the eyes of a child. See the wonder in the simplest things. Never stop dreaming. Believe anything is possible.”
Richie Sambora (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You have been a very foolish boy, wasting your time dreaming of impossible things when you speak of Mr. Pontellier setting me free! I am no longer one of Mr. Pontelliere's possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose. If he were to say, 'here Robert, take her and be happy; she is yours,' I should laugh at you both”
Kate Chopin (1850–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ever of thee I'm fondly dreaming, Thy gentle voice my spirit can cheer.”
George Linley (1797–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ever of Thee, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“In the bathtub. My dad came in and said, "Guess who they want to play Harry Potter?" I think I said the name of another actor, because I was sure it wasn't me. Then he said, "No, it's you," and I started to cry with joy. That night, I woke up at 2 in the morning and woke up mom and dad and asked, "Am I dreaming? Will I really play Harry Potter?”
Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So I repeat that while theoretically and technically television may be feasible, yet commercially and financially, I consider it an impossibility; a development of which we need not waste little time in dreaming.”
Lee De Forest (1873–1961) first seen 1926 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1926, as quoted in
“The manufacturing of Fake News by the Deep State, circa 2017, is of a piece with the anatomy of the ramp-up to war in Iraq, in 2003. Except that back then, Republicans, joined by diabolical Democrats like Hillary Clinton, were the ones dreaming up Homer Simpson's Third Dimension.”
Ilana Mercer first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The War On Trump: A Guide For Conservatives, Libertarians & Liberals," The Liberty Conservative, June 17, 2017
“Part of making a poem is a process of day- dreaming.”
Robert Pinsky (born 1940) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Singing School -Learning to Write (and read) Poetry W W Norton, New York 2013
“I was hoping Could you be my inspiration Whatever should become In the candlelight? I was dreaming Was it my imagination? Tomorrow never comes In the candlelight”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truest worship is a life; All dreaming we resign; We lay our offerings at Thy feet, — Our lives, O God, are Thine!”
John Weiss (1818–1879) said by 1879 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 118.
“Here is where it -- you are alone in your head, you are all alone inside your brain. and that makes it impossible to believe that anything, everything and anyone that you own, love or hateis real. we will never know if we are living or dreaming.”
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free Lost upon the ocean he died there in the mist Dreaming of a kiss Bitter Green they called her walking in the sun Loving everyone that she met Bitter Green they called her waiting in the sun Waiting for someone to take her home”
Gordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My favorite activity is conscience dreaming.”
Jared Lee Loughner (born 1988) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: December 8, 2010, video posting —
“In conclusion, my ambition is for informing literate dreamers about a new currency... in a few days, you'll know I'm conscience dreaming.”
Jared Lee Loughner (born 1988) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: December 8, 2010, video posting —
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: November 8, 1838
“Democratic man, dreaming eternally of Utopias, is ever a prey to shibboleths.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They kissed each other again and fell asleep. The patch of light on the ceiling now seemed to be assuming the shape of a terrified eye, staring unblinkingly at the pale, slumbering couple, who now reeked of crime under their sheets, and were dreaming that they could see blood raining down in big drops and turning into gold coins as they landed on the floor.”
Émile Zola (1840–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 6 (tr. Brian Nelson, 2012)
“They constantly try to escape From the darkness outside and within By dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good. But the man that is shall shadow The man that pretends to be.”
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Clear and cool, clear and cool, By laughing shallow, and dreaming pool.”
Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) said by 1875 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life begins perpetually. Gathered together at last under the leadership of man, the student-teacher of the universe... unified, disciplined, armed with the secret powers of the atom, and with knowledge as yet beyond dreaming, Life, forever dying to be born afresh, forever young and eager, will presently stand upon this earth as upon a footstool, and stretch out its realm amidst the stars.”
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sleep, sleep, beauty bright, Dreaming o'er the joys of night. Sleep, sleep: in thy sleep Little sorrows sit and weep.”
William Blake (1757–1827) said by 1827 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This living hand, now warm and capable Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold And in the icy silence of the tomb, So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood So in my veins red life might stream again, And thou be conscience-calm'd — see here it is — I hold it towards you.”
John Keats (1795–1821) first seen 1819 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This living hand" (1819)
“The superiority of the dreamer is that dreaming is much more practical than living, and that the dreamer extracts from life a much vaster and varied pleasure than the action man. In better and more direct words, the dreamer is the real action man.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Destiny gave me only two things: a few accounting books and the gift of dreaming.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O beauty of the midnight skies! O mystery of each distant star ! O dreaming hours, whose magic lies In rest and calm, with Day afar! Thanks for the higher moods that wake Our thoughtful and immortal part !— Out on our life, could we not make A spiritual temple of the heart ?”
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) said by 1838 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Dreaming is no other than groaning, while sleep our surgeon hath us in cure.”
Thomas Nashe (1567–1601) said by 1601 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What, in substance, both the Esquimaux wizards and the Louisiana swamp-priests had chanted to their kindred idols was something very like this: the word-divisions being guessed at from traditional breaks in the phrase as chanted aloud: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." ... "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." .”
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.”