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

English Italiano Polski עברית Français Português فارسی Español 中文 Русский Deutsch العربية हिन्दी 日本語 Ελληνικά Latina

Music

Love Friendship Happiness Hope Fear Courage Death Life Time War Peace Freedom Truth Wisdom Knowledge Science Art Music Nature Money Work Power God Beauty Laughter Family Success and failure Change Dreams Books and reading

“I've sung some songs that were lame, I've slept with girls on the game.”
Robbie Williams (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now no one will listen to songs. The prophesied days have begun. Latest poem of mine, the world has lost its wonder, Don't break my heart, don't ring out.”
Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) first seen 1921 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Now no one will listen to songs..." from Plantain (1921), translated by Richard McKane
“I am not one of those who left the land to the mercy of its enemies. Their flattery leaves me cold, my songs are not for them to praise.”
Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I am not one of those who left the land..." (1922), translated in Poems of Akhmatova (1973) by Stanley Kunitz and Max Hayward
“Fred Astaire is the best singer of songs the movie world ever knew. His phrasing has individual sophistication that is utterly charming. Presumably the runner-up would be Bing Crosby, a wonderful fellow, though he doesn't have the unstressed elegance of Astaire.”
Fred Astaire (1899–1987) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oscar Levant in Levant, Oscar. The Memoirs of an Amnesiac. New York: Putnam, 1965. (M).
“The rest of the band [Soundgarden] thought it was silly of the press to concentrate on the beefcake when I was writing songs, singing, and playing guitar for the band. Even now, some people will stick a paragraph about my hair in the body of a review.”
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m completely self-taught on guitar- limited me in some ways but very helpful in others. My only goal to playing was to write songs.”
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No favorites. I think of them [my songs] as children with strengths, weaknesses & secrets that reveal themselves over time.”
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My first memory of Nirvana was getting a cassette of demos, which ended up becoming Bleach. Everybody's response was that this was an amazing band and these were amazing songs. It was another indication that the Northwest had something special that you couldn't argue with.”
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Request Magazine: Many of your songs, including new ones like "Black Hole 5un" and "Fourth of July," trade in dark, apocalyptic imagery. Does any of that flair for the dramatic come from your having grown Catholic?”
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I could write songs as bad as Wham's if I really felt the urge to, but what's the point? (The Hit magazine 1985)”
Robert Smith (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the quiet silent seconds I turned off the light switch And I came down to meet you in the half light the moon left. While a cluster of night jars sang some songs out of tune, A mantle of bright light shone down from a room.”
Elton John (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You may not believe it, But I don't believe in miracles anymore. And when I think about it, I don't believe I ever did for sure. All the things I've said in songs, All the purple prose you bought from me. Reality's just black and white. The sentimental things I'd write Never meant that much to me.”
Elton John (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Birds' songs express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally. The trees, the water, and the air don't ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy them. By destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993), p. 131
“I hear all sorts of things slung at us, one of my favorites being the "boy-band" accusation. I'm like, 'Boy band? I'm fat! If we were a boy band, I'd look good, I'd dance and I'd be charming - so what the fuck are you talking about?' I write songs, that's all I do.”
Patrick Stump (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Interviewer says "Yeah, and I watched that but I actually was kind of like, terrified by the intensity of your fans and I was wondering if the intensity of your fans ever kind of scares you? I hear that they have a bunch of rules for what dances to do during certain songs…I was like ‘Oh God’.”
Jack Terricloth (1970–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No matter how long you play rock and roll, songs might change just as long as the balls are there, the rock balls. And that's what's important to us”
Bon Scott (1946–1980) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Record Review, 1979.
“We've got so many ideas for songs and good riffs, and the more we work, the more we tour, we're getting more ideas, just more. It's just gonna get better and better. I can't see an end to it. It's like infinity rock and roll.”
Bon Scott (1946–1980) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Australian Music to the World interview at Symphony Hall, Atlanta, August 1978.
“The Zoroastrians were a colony from Northern India. They had been together for a time with the people whose sacred songs have been preserved to us in the Veda. A schism took place, and the Zoroastrians migrated westward to Arachosia and Persia.”
Max Müller (1823–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A few musical notes can morph into countless new songs, and a small set of vocabulary can create a congeries of poems. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.”
Newton Lee wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Honolulu, Hawaii:] (At a luau) [A] unique native stunt though the Hawaiian food we were made to eat was too revolting for words....One got rather tired of the native songs & longed for some of our tunes. (14 April 1920)”
Edward VIII (1894–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My songs bring images to the listener's mind. The object is to transport my listeners to another place, some place sacred and spiritual that will make them glad they took the ride.”
Bradley Joseph (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So anyway, the show starts, and it's the Army band, and it's all those American "ra ra" songs, you know that whole "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free." And they eat that shit up!”
Kathy Griffin (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am proud to be part of today's Bollywood. I love dancing and lip synching to our songs.”
Preity Zinta (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I should've died a hundred thousand times,Teetering stoned off the side of a building.Nobody loved me and nobody even triedYou can't hang on to something that won't stop moving.Singing and dancing to them nighttime songs.”
Ryan Adams (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hey guys, why don't we try one of my songs?”
Dave Grohl (born 1969) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Give the Drummer Some," www.fooarchive.com (1995)
“[to] think, in a certain way, of the power and severity of Romanesque paintings.. .Go to the beach and make graphic signs in the sand, draw by pissing on the dry ground, design in space by recording the songs of the birds, the sounds of water and wind.. ..and the chant of insects.”
Joan Miró (1893–1983) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Working notes of Miro, 1940 – 1941'; as quoted in: Calder Miró, ed. Elizabeth Hutton Turner / Oliver Wick; Philip Wilson Publishers, London 2004, p. 69
“I knew that I must paint not what I saw, but only what was in me, in my soul. Figuratively speaking, it was like this: In my heart I felt as if there were an organ, which I had to sound. And nature, which I saw before me, only prompted me. And that was a key that unlocked this organ and made it sound.. .They are songs without words.”
Alexej von Jawlensky (1864–1941) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: from: 'Lebenserinnerungen', 1938
“It's fun hitting on the drums and singing songs.”
Rachel Trachtenburg (born 1993) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“While yonder, wild and blue, the wild blue yonder looms. Till we are wracked with rheum, by roads, by songs entombed.”
Joanna Newsom (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Remember the day The scarred and the broken The words left unspoken The songs left unsung Remember to pray For comfort and healing For wisdom in leading 'Til the journey is done And remember the way And we looked past what divides us To find the light inside us And let that light shine.”
Steven Curtis Chapman (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think we're all a bunch of weirdos on a quest to belong. The songs are echolocation up in impregnable fog. That's why it's odd to see a pile of imperfections and flaws ascend a pedestal to patronize the rest of the cogs.”
Aesop Rock (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My social and political interests are part of my career. I cannot separate them. My songs reflect the human condition. The role of art isn't just to show life as it is, but to show life as it should be.”
Harry Belafonte (1927–2023) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pass The Torch: Harry Belafonte" at DVRepublic (2005)
“Whereas "false stories" can be told anywhere and at any time, myths must not be recited except during a period of sacred time (usually in autumn or winter, and only at night).... This custom has survived even among peoples who have passed beyond the archaic stage of culture. Among the Turco-Mongols and the Tibetans the epic songs of the Gesar cycle can be recited only at night and in winter.”
Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know there are people in the world who have worse problems than falling in love and having it blow up in your face, but I didn't want to just wake up drinking, and crying, and listening to the Shangri-Las, and go to sleep, and wake up drinking, and listening to the Shangri-Las. So I turned it into songs, and that's how I got through it.”
Amy Winehouse (1983–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why do beautiful songs make you sad?" "Because they aren't true." "Never?" "Nothing is beautiful and true." (p. 43)”
Jonathan Safran Foer (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well As for now I'm gonna hear the saddest songs And sit alone and wonder How you're making out But as for me, I wish that I was anywhere with anyone Making out.”
Chris Carrabba (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like I say, the way I write songs is, you know, inspirational. I have to wait for it to happen. And when it happens I get lines, and I just write them down, you know. I'm not sort of a Tin Pan Alley sort of songwriter. I just sort of write down what I get - without censoring or questioning what it is and what it means, you know. Like later on I look at what it means, but not at the time.”
Van Morrison (born 1945) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nights in Copenhagen with Van Morrison" (1985) interview by Al Jones
“The odd time something happens and you go into some kind of enchantment (on stage). But you have to work very hard to get that. Most of the time you're just playing and singing the songs, and there's no guarantee that you are going to get anywhere....”
Van Morrison (born 1945) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography (2003) by Clinton Heylin
“After the [[w:Wannsee Conference|[Wannsee] conference]], Heydrich, Müller and myself sat cozily around the fireplace. We had drinks. We had brandy. We sang songs. After a while, we got up on chairs and drank a toast. Then we got up on the tables and went round and round. On the chairs. On the tables. Then we sat around peacefully, giving ourselves a rest after so many exhausting hours.”
Adolf Eichmann (1906–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by Alan Rosenthal, "Eichmann, Revisited" in The Jerusalem Post (20 April 2011).
“Songs and minstrels. And the hymns of angels, Will raise from the graves, They will entreat from the beginning. They will entreat together publicly, On so great a destiny. Those whom the sea has destroyed Will make a great shout, At the time when cometh He, that will separate them.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thrown like a star in my vast sleep I open my eyes to take a peep To find that I was by the sea Gazing with tranquillity. 'Twas then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man Came singing songs of love...”
Donovan (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Histories of ages past Unenlightened shadows cast. Down through all eternity The crying of humanity. 'Tis then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man Comes singing songs of love...”
Donovan (born 1946) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a performance during "Beatle Week" in Liverpool (27 August 2006), Donovan sang lyrics he declared that George Harrison had improvised for "Hurdy Gurdy Man":
“No matter how many times people try to pick my lyrics apart … nobody will really understand what these songs truly mean to me because I would rather not get into it.”
Bert McCracken (born 1982) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jonathon Moran, Lawrie Masterson, Brett Debritz (May 13, 2007) "Inside Entertainment", Sunday Mail, News Limited, p. 2.
“I'll never be bothered if I don't have a hit because you look at the songs that are hits and they're none of my favourites. Just the fact that we do have fans waiting here, that's exciting enough.”
Bert McCracken (born 1982) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stephen Downie (May 20, 2005) "Second coming", The Courier-Mail, News Limited, p. 51.
“I always loved the original Oliver! film, especially the songs, so to be playing the role alongside Ron Moody, who played Fagin in the original version, feels like a dream. But every day of the past year has felt so fantastic, so brilliant, it seems unreal.”
Joseph McManners (born 1992) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O harmony! thou tenderest nurse of pain, If that thy note's sweet magic e'er can heal Griefs which the patient spirit oft may feel, Oh! let me listen to thy songs again; Till memory her fairest tints shall bring; Hope wake with brighter eye, and listening seem With smiles to think on some delightful dream.”
William Lisle Bowles (1762–1850) said by 1850 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Music", in Poetical Works, vol. 1 (1855)
“O singers, resinous and soft your songs Above the sacred whisper of the pines, Give virgin lips to cornfield concubines, Bring dreams of Christ to dusky cane-lipped throngs.”
Jean Toomer (1894–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And as I played, a child came thro' the gate, A boy who looked at me without a word, As tho' he saw stretch far behind my head Long lines of radiant angels, row on row. That day we spoke a little, timidly, And after that I never heard the voice That sang so many songs for love of me.”
Sara Teasdale (1884–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You sang far better than you knew; the songs That for your listeners’ hungry hearts sufficed Still live,—but more than this to you belongs: You sang a race from wood and stone to Christ.”
James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was on a TV show. There was this poor guy taking a rich guy through a hotel to experience the losses of the less fortunate than him. The rich guy is just complaining because he just wants to get out and the poor guy is saying you have to wait till tomorrow to get out. That's one of our least serious songs but it still has meaning to it.”
Daniel Johns (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source