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.
BILLIE HOLIDAYI never hurt nobody but myself and that’s nobody’s business but my own.
More Billie Holiday Quotes
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I can’t stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession. If you can, then it ain’t music, it’s close order drill, or exercise or yodeling or something, not music.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
I can’t stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession, let alone two years or ten years.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
They think they can make fuel from horse manure – now, I don’t know if your car will be able to get 30 miles to the gallon, but it’s sure gonna put a stop to siphoning.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
God bless the child that’s got his own.
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You can’t copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you’re working without any real feeling.
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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.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
The only reason they’re out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
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.
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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 -
When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
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 HOLIDAY -
I never sing a song the same way twice.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
I can only sing songs my way. I don’t know any other way.
BILLIE HOLIDAY