All dope can do for you is kill you… the long hard way. And it can kill the people you love right along with you.
BILLIE HOLIDAYThe only reason they’re out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
More Billie Holiday Quotes
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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’ve been told that nobody sings the word ‘hunger’ like I do.
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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.
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I can only sing songs my way. I don’t know any other way.
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The difficult I’ll do right now. The impossible will take a little while.
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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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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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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.
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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.
BILLIE HOLIDAY -
When you sing, always tell the truth.
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The whole basis of my singing is feeling. Unless I feel something, I can’t sing.
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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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Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on.
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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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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