Billie Holiday

One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.

No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.

Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three.

I never had a chance to play with dolls like other kids. I started working when I was six years old.

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.

You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling.

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.

Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on.

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.

Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain.

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.

There's no damn business like show business - you have to smile to keep from throwing up.