All dope can do for you is kill you... the long hard way. And it can kill the people you love right along with you.
If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.
If I don't have friends, then I ain't got nothing.
I never hurt nobody but myself and that's nobody's business but my own.
I never had a chance to play with dolls like other kids. I started working when I was six years old.
I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know.
Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain.
A kiss that is never tasted, is forever and ever wasted.
You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling.
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.
Dope never helped anybody sing better or play music better or do anything better. All dope can do for you is kill you - and kill you the long, slow, hard way.
There's no damn business like show business - you have to smile to keep from throwing up.
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.
Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on.
Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose.