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. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“When you are happy it is harder to write [songs].”
Gloria Estefan (born 1957) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Gayle King XM satellite radio program (October 23, 2006)
“When I did "Unwrapped" -- that's one of my favorite albums I've ever done in my life -- I love it when someone listens to the whole album. But I would rather them be able to buy some songs that they like, [rather] than not buy the album at all . . . . You can't fight technology. You can't fight, you know, the consumer.”
Gloria Estefan (born 1957) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: thestrippodcast.com (September 9, 2006)
“I wrote these two songs ["Coming Out of the Dark" and "Always Tomorrow"] as a celebration of hope. And, I want to send it out to all of those people who are suffering through this terrible disaster [Hurricane Katrina], and please know that you are not alone -- and you will not be.”
Gloria Estefan (born 1957) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Larry King Live television program (September 9, 2005)
“I write songs about things that I'm simultaneously trying to not think about.”
Warren Zevon (1947–2003) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "My Lunch with Warren Zevon" by David Bowman,Salon.com (17 March 2000)
“I wrote my songs despite the fact that I was a drunk, not because of it.”
Warren Zevon (1947–2003) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Warren Zevon: Singer-songwriter author of 'Werewolves of London'" by Spencer Leigh, The Independent (9 September 2003)
“I collaborate with my wife on the songs, and every aspect of it, really— composing, and arranging, and recording, all that business. We have a rhythm and a way of working it. It's kind of like borrowing the same ten bucks from somebody over and over again. But when you live together, it makes it a lot easier, the pay back.”
Tom Waits (born 1949) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interviewed on Fresh Air, 2002-05-21.
“Songs are really just very interesting things to be doing with the air.”
“I haven't heard them [n.d.r. he's talking about some Spanish popular folk songs] and probably never shall because I no longer go to the places where one could hear them, for I have got into my head that I should maintain a certain presence and air for dignity.. ..that a man should have, and you can imagine that I'm not very happy about it.”
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) first seen 1787 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: letter 206, c. 1787; in Goya, A life in Letters, edited and introduced by Sarah Simmons; transl. Philip Troutman, London, Pimlico, 2004
“The skin of all of us is responsive to gypsy songs and military marches.”
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Slonimsky's Book of Musical Anecdotes (2002) by Nicolas Slonimsky, p. 33
“When John Lennon sings, "Oh, my love/For the first time in my life/My eyes are wide open" — these songs have an intimacy for me that's not just between people, I realize now, not just sexual intimacy. A spiritual intimacy.”
“In our modern world nothing may be taken for granted-not even the spring songs that herald the return of the birds.”
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vanishing Americans (1959) in Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment
“I used to wish that I could write songs, like the others—and I've tried, but I just can't. I can get the words all right, but whenever I think of a tune the others always say it sounds like such-a-thing, and when they point it out, I see what they mean.”
Ringo Starr (born 1940) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Beatles Anthology (2000), p. 96
“It's [Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You"] been one of my favorite songs for my entire life.”
Jane Monheit (born 1977) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: CNN.com (July 29, 2001)
“Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy.”
Isaac Watts (1674–1748) said by 1748 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The devil nevetf" enters the house wherein songs in praise of Hari are always sung. (1043)”
Ramakrishna (1836–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I was writing songs or performing or producing or dabbling in movies or even putting my career on hold to go to art school, I was just following my muse. A woman who did that then was criticized for having no direction. Today they call it versatility.”
Jackie DeShannon (born 1941) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Biography magazine (April 2002)
“Q: Are you worried that if you start living it up you'll stop writing good songs?”
Chris Martin (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you say of the making of ballads and songs that it is woman's work You forget all the fighting poets that have been in every land.”
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Within your magic web of hair, lies furled The fire and splendour of the ancient world; The dire gold of the comet's wind-blown hair; The songs that turned to gold the evening air When all the stars of heaven sang for joy.”
Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Are you home from the sea, my soul balladeerYou've been away roaming far away from here weathered a storm, your heart unafraidcrossed every ocean in the boat that you made.... You're a light in the dark, a beacon of hopeand strong as a sea boat, strong as a rope.And the vagabond wind, whispers over the bayand the songs and the laughter, are carried away in the sky.”
Mark Knopfler (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This little Collection differs, it is believed, from others in the attempt made to include in it all the best original lyrical pieces and songs in our language, by writers not living, and none besides the best. The Editor will regard as his fittest readers those who love poetry so well, that he can offer them nothing not already known and valued.”
Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics (1861) Preface.
“They bring back light on their faces; But they cannot bring back to me What the lilies say to the roses, Or the songs of the butterflies be.”
Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897) said by 1897 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Songs can be Trojan horses, taking charged ideas and sneaking past the ego's defenses and into the open mind.”
John Mayer (born 1977) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Esquire magazine (November 1, 2004)
“We write songs about wrong cause its hard to see right”
Common (rapper) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What's left is only bittersweet For the rest of my life, admitting the best is behind me Now I'm drunk and afraid Wishing the world would go away What's the point of singing songs If they'll never even hear you?”
Sufjan Stevens (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let there be songs to fill the air.”
Robert Hunter (1941–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I write the songs first and in most cases teach myself the technique second.”
Joe Satriani (born 1956) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in BAM Magazine (6 April 1990).
“They say that no one's gonna play this on the radio They said the melancholy blues were dead and gone But only songs like these Played in minor keys Keep those memories holding on.”
Billy Joel (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It’s very uncomfortable to hear them used when I don’t agree with what’s being said. But I recognize that those songs have entered into a bigger life, a life all their own. They belong to the audience. How they’re used isn’t always something I can control.”
Tom Petty (1950–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No more songs tonight, I'm drivin' to the break of day. No more words tonight, We've got enough to throw away.”
Tom Petty (1950–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on this idea. ...Not only common people make this mistake, but even many who think they are wise.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hitler's aim was to attract attention to himself. ...[H]e personally arranged all the lighting effects and spotlights, as well as his entry into a hall with fanfares. He trained crowds to salute with the right arm, taught them his songs, and transformed the audience from an apathetic mass into active collaborators in his festivities.”
Emil Ludwig (1881–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I co-wrote all the songs on my album, and co-produced a lot of them as well, So being involved in the creative aspect and not just singing is so important to me because, above everything, I love to create and I love to express myself.”
Skye Sweetnam (born 1988) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The dullest was struck by the contrast between the harsh, taciturn, gloomy commander, and the pirate whose laugh was gusty and ready, who roared ribald songs in a dozen languages, guzzled ale like a toper, and—apparently—had no thought for the morrow.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Coming, as I do, from mountain folk on one side and sea followers on the other, there are few old songs of the hills or the sea with which I am not familiar.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a letter to Robert W. Gordon (February 4, 1925)
“We have all the elements of being the worst band in the world: a bass player who’s got some slap-bass shit, heavy riff guitars, a DJ scratching on the songs, a crazy drummer, and a singer who’s in touch with his feminine side. Even our band name is the worst name ever: it evokes imagery of ‘Incubus’ in death-metal writing, with bullet belts across our chests.”
Brandon Boyd (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Songs of liberation echo from the dust.”
Brandon Boyd (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't intend to write depressing songs and I'd probably rather write happy ones”
Elliott Smith (1969–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hark! Hark! my soul, angelic songs are swelling O’er earth’s green fields and ocean’s wave-beat shore; How sweet the truth those blessed strains are telling Of that new life when sin shall be no more!”
Frederick William Faber (1814–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No, because it's not like they're the only songs we have. They're like children; you shouldn't really have a favourite. Unless one of your kids develops into a pervert.”
Pete Doherty (born 1979) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: February 2005, Guitar and Bass, on whether publishing Babyshambles songs online would cause legal problems when they were released on an album.
“My idea of paradise is that period just before the sun rises and I’m at home painting or writing songs and everything is flowing. I pray that the sun won’t rise so I can paint and write for ever. That’s my ideal time.”
Pete Doherty (born 1979) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mail On Sunday, September 2008
“There's a man who came to stay The boy he replaced, disappeared without a trace. Stole all my songs and my style away No-one would say what they wanted to say So he was king for a day. If you sail into the sun Beware the eyes of green And if the whole world tells you 'you are the one' I defy you not to believe them, my son...”
Pete Doherty (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Songs are like flowers / they come up spontaneously / they are like dreams / and we only have to / write them quickly / because then they fade away / and we will not remember them"'”
Vasco Rossi (born 1952) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (from Una canzone per te, 1983)
“For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay — Except the dream that's almost dead today.”
Langston Hughes (1901–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everything is going wrong All my songs are coming true ~ Mistress”
Steve Kilbey (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I just have to feel it first. It can't be cerebral at all. I'm big on lyrics, a big lyric person, especially the kind of singing I do. It's hard to sound not cheesy sometimes with the voice I have with English songs.”
Josh Groban (born 1981) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inside Connection, February 2004
“The songs of the dead are the lamentations of the living.”
Christopher Paolini (born 1983) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And Love, our light at night and shade at noon, Lulls us to rest with songs, and turns away All shafts of shelterless tumultuous day.”
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Spartans meanwhile, man to man, and with their war songs in the ranks, exhorted each brave comrade to remember what he had learned before; well aware that the long training of action was of more use for saving lives than any brief verbal exhortation, though ever so well delivered.”
Thucydides (461–395 BC) said by 395 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I became aware that in Hank's recorded songs were the archetype rules of poetic songwriting. The architectural forms are like marble pillars and they had to be there. Even his words - all of the syllables are divided up so they make perfect mathematical sense. You can learn a lot about the structure of songwriting by listening to his records.”
Hank Williams (1923–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One (2004)