One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.
BILLIE HOLIDAYIn 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.
More Billie Holiday Quotes
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I’m always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I’ve been.
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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 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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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 nobody can learn from the past, then there’s no point in raking it up.
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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.
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Sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose.
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Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain.
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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.
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I try to improvise like Les Young, Louis Armstrong or someone else I admire. What comes out is what I feel.
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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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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.
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God has blessed you when he lets you believe in somebody.
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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.
BILLIE HOLIDAY






