Lust may be in the heart, though it be not seen by others; as guests may be in the house, though they look not out at the windows.
BILLIE HOLIDAYMom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three.
More Billie Holiday Quotes
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When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
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If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you’re out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung.
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Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose.
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The blues to me is like being very sad, very sick, going to church, being very happy … it’s sort of a mixed up thing. You just have to feel it.
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God has blessed you when he lets you believe in somebody.
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The only reason they’re out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
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Singing songs like ‘The Man I Love’ or ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck.
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I’m always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I’ve been.
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The difficult I’ll do right now. The impossible will take a little while.
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People don’t understand the kind of fight it takes to record what you want to record the way you want to record it.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
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.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
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.
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When you sing, always tell the truth.
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A kiss that is never tasted, is forever and ever wasted.
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One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
I don’t think I ever sing the same way twice. The blues is sort of a mixed-up thing. You just have to feel it. Anything I do sing is part of my life.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.
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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.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
Them that’s got shall get, Them that’s not shall lose. So the Bible says, And it still is news. Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child that’s got his own.
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If I don’t have friends, then I ain’t nothing.
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There’s no damn business like show business – you have to smile to keep from throwing up.
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And when you’re poor, you grow up fast.
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I joined Count Basie’s band to make a little money and to see the world. For two years I didn’t see anything but the inside of a Blue Goose bus, and I never got to send home a quarter.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
I can only sing songs my way. I don’t know any other way.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
I’ve been told that nobody sings the word ‘hunger’ like I do.
BILLIE HOLIDAY