When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
BILLIE HOLIDAYWhen Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
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.
BILLIE HOLIDAYGod bless the child that’s got his own.
BILLIE HOLIDAYOne day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.
BILLIE HOLIDAYSometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose.
BILLIE HOLIDAYIn 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 HOLIDAYSinging 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 HOLIDAYThey 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 HOLIDAYA kiss that is never tasted, is forever and ever wasted.
BILLIE HOLIDAYIf nobody can learn from the past, then there’s no point in raking it up.
BILLIE HOLIDAYYou’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 HOLIDAYThe only reason they’re out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
BILLIE HOLIDAYI’m always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I’ve been.
BILLIE HOLIDAYDope never helped anybody sing better or play music better or do anything better. All dope can do for you is kill you – and kill you the long, slow, hard way.
BILLIE HOLIDAYI 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 HOLIDAYAll 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 HOLIDAY