“I almost wish I could be more exciting, that I could match what is happening out there to me.”

I feel so blessed to just have done what I had done. To be able to just use what God has given me is a blessing. You know, never mind the Grammys, never mind the records, never mind all of that. Just to be able to sing.

If I should die this very day, Don’t cry…cause on Earth We wasn’t meant to stay.

I’m a person who has life and wants to live, and always have.

My mother taught me that when you stand in the truth and someone tells a lie about you, don’t fight it.

I wish to you, joy and happiness. But above all this, I wish you love

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.

I was aware of people staring at me. No one moved. They seemed almost in trance. I just stared at the clock in the center of the church. When I finished, everyone clapped and started crying.

God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?

I finally faced the fact that it isn’t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.

I think over the years, being a mother, I’ve matured in so many ways.

I’ve turned down a lot of arena dates because I’ve done the big-arena thing. Now, I want to do something where people can feel me and I can feel them.

I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy.

Never let your heart take precedence over reason, otherwise you will have problems.

Being around people like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack, all these greats, I was taught to listen and observe.

If you say my eyes are beautiful, it’s because they are looking at you.

No one makes me do anything I don’t want to do.

Stardom is a crazy thought. If that’s what my path is, then that’s where I’m excited to be headed towards.

It’s amazing how people can get so excited about a rocket to the moon and not give a damn about smog, oil leaks, the devastation of the environment with pesticides, hunger, disease.

Life is about the pursuit of excellence. That pursuit is probably more exciting to me now more than ever.

A well-managed factory is boring. Nothing exciting happens in it because the crises have been anticipated and have been converted into routine.

I was already writing poetry, so I transitioned from writing poetry a cappella to writing over beats, and I.

And so began one of the most exciting periods of my life, the time of discovery.

I’ve had an exciting time; I married for love and got a little money along with it.

The kindred blood which flows in the veins of American citizens, the mingled blood which they have shed in defense of their sacred rights, consecrate their Union, and excite horror at the idea of their becoming aliens, rivals, enemies.