Guitarists From The United States

"So keep the fire burning tonight, See just what comes into sight. Don't take forever, Take it through the night. And believe the sun will rise with the dawn. That's all you need to go on. But for tonight, Just keep the fire burning bright."

"Does anything last forever? I don't know Maybe we're near the end. (So darlin' tell me) So darlin', oh How can we go on together? Now that we've grown apart, oh no. Well, the only way to start Is heart to heart."

"Live long enough, you're bound to find Moonshine'll make a man go blind. Never can tell what the brew will do, But there's times you wind up feelin' so fine. Some women seem to have a knack; They'll turn you on and leave you flat. Never can tell who's playin' for keeps So tell me what's holding you back I know your heart can take it."

"If time has taught me anything You've got to learn to be the ball And I can't keep from laughing at it all Oh, I'm going nowI'm going all the way Sooner or later gotta love somebody I don't care how long it takes Like a shot to the heart I've got news for you I may not look so smart But I'm nobody's fool."

"Been working so hard, I'm punching my card. Eight hours, for what? Oh, tell me what I got. I've got this feeling That time's just holding me down. I'll hit the ceiling, Or else I'll tear up this town.So now I gotta cut loose, Footloose. Kick off the Sunday shoes. Please, Louise, Pull me off of my knees. Jack, get back, Come on before we crack. Lose your blues, Everybody cut footloose."

"You think that maybe it's over. Only if you want it to be. Are you gonna wait for a sign, your miracle? Stand up and fight.(This is it) Make no mistake where you are. (This is it) Your back's to the corner. (This is it) Don't be a fool anymore. (This is it) The waiting is over."

"She had a place in his life, He never made her think twice. As he rises to her apology, Anybody else would surely know. He's watching her go.But what a fool believes He sees No wise man has the power To reason away. What seems to be Is always better than nothing, And nothing at all."

"People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one. And we've only just begun, Think I'm gonna have a son. He will be like she and me, as free as a dove, Conceived in love. Sun is gonna shine above.And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you, honey. And everything will bring a chain of love. And in the morning, when I rise, You bring a tear of joy to my eyes, And tell me everything is gonna be alright."

"Your mama don't dance And your daddy don't rock and roll. Your mama don't dance And your daddy don't rock and roll. When evening rolls around And it's time to go to town, Where do you go To rock and roll?"

"I wanna sing you a love song. I wanna rock you in my arms all night long. I wanna get to know you. I wanna show you the peaceful feelin' of my home."

"Now I know my life has given me more than memories. Day by day We can see In every moment there's a reason to carry on.Sweet love's showing us a heavenly light, I've never seen such a beautiful sight. See love glowing on us every night. I know forever we'll be doing it."

"So help me if you can, I've got to get Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one. You'd be surprised, there's so much to be done. Count all the bees in the hive, Chase all the clouds from the sky Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh."

"There’s great wisdom in transitional realms between wakefulness and sleep. Right before you fall asleep, what thoughts and ideas come to you? How do you feel when you wake from a dream? [...] Keeping a dream journal might be of use. Place a pen and paper next to the bed, and as soon as you wake up, begin writing immediately with as much detail as possible before doing anything else."

"If you’re holding a center puzzle piece in your hand and staring at an empty tabletop, it’s difficult to determine where to place it. If all of the puzzle is complete except for that one piece, then you know exactly where it goes. The same is generally true of art. The more of the work you can see, the easier it becomes to gracefully place the final details clearly where they belong."

"I guess edgy things tend to get my attention."

"Living life as an artist is a practice. You can engage in the practice or not. It makes no sense to say you're not good at it. It's like saying, "I'm not good at being a monk." You either live as a monk or not. We tend to think of the artist's work as the output. The artist's real work is a way of being in the world."

"Wrestling's real, and the world is fake."

"Making art is a mystical process — a lot of people who are artists don't understand it themselves. Especially the young ones. They feel different, but they don't know what it is. They feel more. Everything hurts. Everything. They're supersensitive. They see things that other people don't see."

"The Beatles are proof of the existence of God."

"If several directions seem captivating, consider crafting more than one experiment at a time. Working on several often brings about a healthy sense of detachment."

""I believe the universe wants to give, and if we ask very clearly what it is that we want, I believe that we receive exactly what we want"."

""My favorite time of day is the one I feel the most powerful in and that's random"."

""So I'm thankful for this unusual turbulent and emotional time that we're going through because I think a lot of people are going to come out very different"."

""I think most people manifest everything that happens in their life"."

"Interview: Linda Perry by Katherine Yeske Taylor,25 April 2021 Retrieved 23/11/2023"

"I'd rather be a hypocrite than the same person forever."

"There is something freeing in seeing yourself in a new context. People have no preconceived notion of who you are, and there is relief in knowing that you can re-create yourself. When you’re entrenched in a community of people who know you, it’s scary to proclaim wanting to be different and wanting to experiment. We went to the other side of the world to make our own sound. Usually this is a methodology you employ as a restart later in your career. We did it right up front. We traveled to a foreign country for our first record. We had to uproot ourselves, not because we were deep into career ruts, or didn’t want to give credit to the places we had come from, but because we had no desire to sound like or emulate anything that had come before.It was an extreme way to start, but I learned later on how hard it can become to unsettle yourself, to trip yourself up, and I think that’s a good place to write from. It’s important to undermine yourself and create a level of difficulty so the work doesn’t come too easily. The more comfortable you get, the more money you earn, the more successful you are, the harder it is to create situations where you have to prove yourself and make yourself not just want it, but need it. The stakes should always feel high."

"If you can't lose the weight, then you're just fat But if you lose too much, then you're on crack You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't So, you might as well just do whatever you want So, make lots of noise (Hey), kiss lots of boys (Yeah)"

"Grew up in the sticks where there ain't no light But the stars were big and bright If they told me no I would always wonder why But I tried to be good And keep my head down But there was too much sky around And my daddy said Keep lookin' up"

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel There is a light inside of me Tried not to show it To make you feel good Pretended I couldn't"

"Get a little drunk, get a little loud Stupid me and my rebel mouth Ain't all wrong but I ain't alright Don't see the world in black and white And I ain't good at being careful I just say what's on my mind Like my idea of heaven Is to burn one with John Prine"

"Bursting with empathy I'm feeling everything The weight of the world on my shoulders Hope my tears don't freak you out They're just kinda coming out It's the music in me and all of the colors"

"Don't sit and wait. Don't sit and dream. Put on a smile, go find a scene. I'm sure you'd meet someone who would really love you. Don't sit and hope. Don't sit and pine. If you've been hurt make up your mind. I'm sure you'd find someone who would really love you."

"Street boy, you've been out too long. Street boy, ain't you got enough sense to go home? Street boy, you're gonna end up alone. You need some love and understanding, not that dead end life you're planning, street boy."

"Now you sit there thinking. Feeling insecure. The mocking court gesture claims there is no proven cure. Go back to your chamber, your eyes upon the wall. 'Cos you got no one to listen, you got no one to call. And you think I'm curious. Drifting, drowning in a purple sea of doubt you wanna hear she loves you but the words don't fit the mouth. You're a loser, a rebel-a-cause-without. But don't think me callous."

"Sugar Man, won't you hurry 'cause I'm tired of these scenes. For a blue coin, won't you bring back all those colors to my dreams? Silver magic ships, you carry jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane. Sugar Man met a false friend on a lonely dusty road. Lost my heart. When I found it it had turned to dead black coal."

"I wonder how many times you've been had. And I wonder how many plans have gone bad. I wonder how many times you had sex? And I wonder do you know who'll be next? I wonder. I wonder. Wonder, I do. I wonder about the love you can't find. And I wonder about the loneliness that's mine. I wonder how much going have you got? And I wonder about your friends that are not. I wonder. I wonder. Wonder I do."

"Just a song we shared, I'll hear brings memories back, when you were here of your smile, your easy laughter, of your kiss. Those moments after. I think of you and think of you and think of you."

"The Mayor hides the crime rate. Council woman hesitates. Public gets irate but forgets the vote date. Weatherman complaining "Predicted sun. It's raining." Everyone's protesting. Boyfriend keeps suggesting you're not like all of the rest. Garbage ain't collected. Women ain't protected. Politicians using people they're abusing. The mafia's getting bigger, like pollution in the river and you tell me that this is where it's at."

"But thanks for your time. Then you can thank me for mine. And after that's said, forget it. Don't be inane, there's no one to blame: no reason why you should stay here and lie to me. Don't say any more, just walk out the door, I'll get along fine. You'll see."

"Was it a huntsman or a player that made you pay the cost that now assumes relaxed positions And prostitutes your loss? Were you tortured by your own thirst in those pleasures that you seek that made you Tom the Curious; that makes you James the Weak? And you claim you've got something going, something you call unique, but I've seen your self-pity showing as the tears rolled down your cheeks."

"Woman, please be gone. You've stayed here much too long. Don't you wish that you could cry? Don't you wish I would die? Seamy seesaw kids. Child-women on the skids. The dust will choke you blind. The lust will choke your mind. I kiss the floor, one kick, no more. The pig and hose have set me free. I've tasted Hate Street's hanging tree. I've tasted Hate Street's hanging tree."

"Born in the troubled city in rock and roll USA in the shadow of the tallest building, I vowed I would break away. Listened to the Sunday actors but all they would ever say: That you can't get away from it. No you can't get away. No you can't get away from it. No you can't get away."

"I've played every kind of gig there is to play now. I've played faggot bars, hooker bars, motor cycle funerals, in opera houses, concert halls, halfway houses. Well, I found that in all these places that I've played all the people that I've played for are the same people. So if you'll listen, maybe you'll see someone you know in this song. A most disgusting song."

"'Cause I lost my job two weeks before Christmas. And I talked to Jesus at the sewer and the Pope said it was none of his God-damned business. While the rain drank champagne, my Estonian archangel came and got me wasted. 'Cause the sweetest kiss I ever got is the one I've never tasted. Oh, but they'll take their bonus pay to Molly McDonald. Neon lady, beauty is that which obeys, is bought or borrowed."

"And I'll forget about the girl that said no. Then I'll tell who I want where to go. And I'll forget about your lies and deceit and your attempts to be so discreet. Maybe today, yeah, I'll slip away. And you can keep your symbols of success. Then I'll pursue my own happiness. And you can keep your clocks and routines. Then I'll go mend all my shattered dreams. Maybe today, yeah, I'll slip away."

"My pocket don't drive me fast, my mother treats me slow, my statue's got a concrete heart but you're the coldest bitch I know. In the factory that you call your mind: graveyard thoughts of stone. A master thief, I wouldn't enter there, you've nothing I would care to own (so help me)."

"And you measure for wealth by the things you can hold and you measure for love by the sweet things you're told and you live in the past of a dream that you're in and your selfishness is your cardinal sin. And you want to be held with highest regard. It delights you so much if he's trying so hard. And you're trying to conceal your ordinary way with a smile or a shrug or some stolen cliché. But don't you understand? And don't you look about? I'm trying to take nothing from you so why should you act so put out, for me?"

"Going down a dirty inner city side road, I plotted. Madness passed me by, she smiled Hi. I nodded. Looked up as the sky began to cry; she shot it. Met a girl from Dearborn early six o'clock this morn: a cold fact. Asked about her bag. "Suburbia's such a drag, won't go back, 'cause Papa don't allow no new ideas here, and now he sees the news, but the picture's not too clear.""

"The moon is hanging in the purple sky. The baby's sleeping while its mother sighs. Talking about the rich folks: rich folks have the same jokes and they park in basic places. The priest is preaching from a shallow grave. He counts his money then he paints you saved. Talking to the young folks: young folks share the same jokes but they'd meet in older places."