In this country kings or dukes don’t amount to nothing. The greatest man around then was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he was the President; so I started calling Lester the President. It got shortened to Pres.
BILLIE HOLIDAYWhen Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
More Billie Holiday Quotes
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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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If nobody can learn from the past, then there’s no point in raking it up.
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Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose.
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When you sing, always tell the truth.
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When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
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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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The only reason they’re out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
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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.
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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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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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Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what’s more than enough.
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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.
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I’ve been told that nobody sings the word ‘hunger’ like I do.
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And when you’re poor, you grow up fast.
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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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New Orleans is the only city in the world you go in to buy a pair of nylon stockings they want to know your head size.
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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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Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain.
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If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.
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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.
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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.
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I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That’s all I know.
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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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One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.
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Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on.
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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