"You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word “Negro” is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown. My father was a darker brown. My mother an olive-yellow."

"O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath — America will be!"

"Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers, The mountains and the endless plain — All, all the stretch of these great green states — And make America again!"

"Sure, call me any ugly name you choose — The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!"

"For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay — Except the dream that's almost dead today."

"O, let America be America again — The land that never has been yet — And yet must be — the land where every man is free."

"What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over — like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.Or does it explode?"

"I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek — And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak."

"Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be."

"Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed — Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above."

"If I were marooned on a desert island...I would miss...Jackie Ormes's cute drawings"

"I did not read any Langston Hughes until I was an adult, but I remember being carried away by him and Gwendolyn Brooks."

"I swear to the Lord I still can't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me."

"Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it."

"O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe."

"I was so sick last night I Didn't hardly know my mind. So sick last night I Didn't know my mind. I drunk some bad licker that Almost made me blind."

"I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers."

"The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead."

"I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers."

"They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed — I, too, am America."

"The night is beautiful, So are the faces of my people."

"Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black young lover To a cross roads tree."

"I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong."

"Love is a naked shadow On a gnarled and naked tree."

"While over Alabama earth These words are gently spoken: Serve — and hate will die unborn. Love — and chains are broken."

"Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly."

"I'll never forget the way you feel right now — Oh no — no way — I would do anything for love But I won't do that."

"But it was long ago and it was far away, Oh god, it seems so very far. And if life is just a highway Then the soul is just a car.And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are."

"For the good of believing in a life after birth For the good of your body so bright For the good of the search for some heaven on earth For the good of one hell of a night, for the good of one hell of a night."

"The icy cold will cut us like a knife in the dark And we may lose everything in the wind But the Northern Lights are burning And they're giving off sparks."

"I know that I'm gonna be like this forever I'm never gonna be what I should And you think that I'll be bad for just a little while But I know that I'll be bad for good."

"And we’ll never be as young as we are right now"

"The sea is whipping the sky The sky is whipping the sea You can hide away forever from the storm But you'll never hide away from me."

"I know just how to fake it And I know just how to scheme I know just when to face the truth And then I know just when to dream. And I know just where to touch you And I know just what to prove I know when to pull you closer And I know when to let you loose. And I know the night is fading And I know the time's gonna fly And I'm never gonna tell you everything I gotta tell you But I know I've got to give it a try. And I know the roads to riches And I know the ways to fame I know all the rules and then I know how to break'em And then I always know the name of the game But I don't know how to leave you And I'll never let you fall And I don't know how you do it Making love out of nothing at all."

"Every time I see you, all the rays of the sun Are streaming through the waves in your hair And every star in the sky is taking aim at your eyes Like a spotlight."

"Once upon a time I was falling in love But now I'm only falling apart There's nothing I can do A total eclipse of the heart Once upon a time there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark Nothing I can say A total eclipse of the heart."

"Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by. Turn around Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes. Turn around bright eyes. Every now and then I fall apart."

"I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks. I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight Forever's gonna start tonight."

"You can take the darkness from the deep of the night And turn it to a beacon burning endlessly bright I gotta follow it 'cause everything I know Well, it's nothing 'till I give it to you."

"So now I'm praying for the end of time To hurry up and arrive Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you I don't think that I can really survive. I'll never break my promise or forget my vow But God only knows what I can do right now. I'm praying for the end of time It's all that I can do Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!"

"Ain't no doubt about it We were doubly blessed Cause we were barely seventeen And we were barely dressed."

"Stop right there! I gotta know right now! Before we go any further — Do you love me? Will you love me forever?"

"Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night I can see paradise by the dashboard light."

"I'm never gonna make it without you Do you really wanna see me crawl ? And I'm never gonna make it like you do Making love out of nothing at all."

"I never had a girl Looking any better than you did And all the kids at school They were wishing they were me that night."

"It never felt so good, it never felt so right And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife."

"Baby, baby let me sleep on it Let me sleep on it And I'll give you my answer in the morning..."

"Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun All torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell And the last thing I see is my heart, Still beating, Breaking out of my body And flying away Like a bat out of Hell."

"I've been called over the top. How silly. If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side."

"The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling Way down in the valley tonight. There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye And a blade shining oh so bright. There's evil in the air And there's thunder in the sky And a killer's on the bloodshot streets."