“I hated singing. I wanted to be an actress. But I don’t think I’d have made it any other way.”

Why is it people who want the truth never believe it when they hear it?

A large part of me is pure nebbish – plain, dull, uninteresting. There’s a more flamboyant part, too. Obviously.

I arrived in Hollywood without having my nose fixed, my teeth capped, or my name changed. That is very gratifying to me.

I also have intense relationships with furniture… probably because we practically had none when I was growing up.

You don’t ask a man, ‘Do you want to be in control [of your job]?’ You assume he wants control. Why would a woman be any different?

Thank God there were a couple of people in my life who said, “Go on, go on – you can do it!

I’ve considered having my nose fixed. But I didn’t trust anyone enough. If I could do it myself with a mirror.

Why am I so famous? What am I doing right? What are the others doing wrong?

I’m not weird, just different from people who aren’t different.

I just don’t want to be hampered by my own limitations.

progress, whatever your definition of it, is not inevitable.

It’s very often the artist who gives a voice to the voiceless by speaking up when no one else will.

The audience is the best judge of anything. They cannot be lied to. Truth brings them closer. A moment that lags – they’re gonna cough.

A human being is only interesting if he’s in contact with himself. I learned you have to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should do it. You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it.

I don’t enjoy public performances and being up on a stage. I don’t enjoy the glamour. Like tonight, I am up on stage and my feet hurt.

When I was working a lot, I felt guilty as a parent. I couldn’t pick up my son every day from school, bake him cookies and that kind of thing.

Everything I write is personal, really. Even when I’m sarcastic, it’s quite personal. And on this record, from the production to the singing to the performances, I got it really honest.

I wouldn’t make it through the day without singing. It is my solace and my meditation and my release. It lets me know how I’m processing things, what I’m processing, if I’m out of touch in some area.

Why that would be like challenging Bing Crosby to a singing contest,wouldn’t it

When you hear Doc Watson singing Amazing Grace, something else enters the room.

I was very sick, with chills and sweats, but against my better judgement I let them talk me into singing. Of course I gave the performance everything

I miss singing. I did Broadway forever.

One day, the producer’s wife said, “Well, it’s kind of odd that you’re singing from Mary’s perspective, being the guy. Why don’t you do Joseph?

I love music, and I love singing.