Songwriters From The United States

"You can give your confession tomorrow, if you find a priest dumb enough to believe, because it only hurts when I breathe."

"A thousand eyes are gazing down like bullet holes shot into the roof, as I lie here scratching for a grain of truth."

"Every word I never spoke dies like a spark smothered in smoke pulled from the glow of a shitty cigarette."

"Friday was the crucifixion Saturday, cremation under glass. The resurrection was on Sunday, no.. correction make it Monday; cause Monday's when they come to take the trash."

"I've been down so long that coming up is giving me the bends."

"I'm sipping on an oxygen cocktail with an ambulance chaser."

"I'm a raging success as a failure."

"A record should be like a bus ticket to somewhere, but you're not sure where that somewhere is going to be. (It) shouldn't just give you thirteen variations on the same four elements, like McDonald's, or something. 'You liked that one? Well here's the same thing, except with extra cheese.'"

"Another perfect catastrophe is just waiting to happen, watching for the moment to transpire. Another perfect catastrophe is just dying to go down. It's only looking for the perfect place and time."

"I was in Brooklyn and it was freezing cold. I was living in a room with no windows and paying too much in rent. I envisioned sitting under a palm tree. I followed my nose from there."

"It's a bit like being a mad scientist. You mix a bit of this with some of that. You're never sure what's going to happen. But I'd rather blow up the laboratory than keep reinventing the wheel."

"People are very much victims of their lack of education. This of course makes them a lot easier to control. It works the same way there as it does (in America). I wouldn't say that surprised me."

"When it all comes down I hope it doesn't land on you When the truth is found I hope it will be true to you. All I'm sayin' is have a nice day I hope it doesn't rain on your parade An' when it all comes down I hope it doesn't land on you."

"I believe in Jesus An' what the Bible said An' I am fairly certain He had himself a heavy head.He scared the lyin' people So bad, they hung him dead An' they never even listened To what he really said."

"Well, I never been to Spain But I kinda like the music Say the ladies are insane there And they sure know how to use it They don't abuse it, never gonna lose it I can't refuse it."

"Joy to the world All the boys and girls, now, Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me"

"So hold my hand, I'm going down fast, And if I return, I'll never more be blue It's not the leaving of all I love that makes me cry But my darling, when I think of you."

"Jeremiah was a bull frog Was a good friend of mine I never understood a single word he said But I helped him a-drink his wine And he always had some mighty fine wine."

"Well, I never been to Heaven But I been to Oklahoma Well, they tell me I was born there But I really don't remember In Oklahoma, not Arizona What does it matter, what does it matter?"

"I'm a high night flier and a rainbow rider And a straight-shooting son of a gun."

"And when I first saw you I first loved you With a song that I sang to the fire in your eyes But somebody told you that it wouldn't be easy And you carried that lie for the devil to sing Some sail rivers deep and muddy some sail rivers clear and cold But the river that I'm sailin' goes to sea And sometimes I do grow weary sometimes I feel old And sometimes I wonder if you think of me"

"And I dream in the morning that she brings me water And I dream in the evening that she brings me wine Just a poor man's daughter from Puerta Piñasco South of the border, in old Mexico."

"Well you could have been lonely every night now, Could have cried a whole lot more, been a little bit blue Oh, you could have been lonely, for your one and only, You could have loved me as much as I love you."

"The dealer for a nickel Lord, will sell you lots of sweet dreams Ah, but the pusher ruin your body Lord, he'll leave your, he'll leave your mind to scream."

"And we could have been sweethearts, forever and ever, Could have loved a whole lot more, been a little more true."

"You know, I've seen a lot of people walkin' 'round With tombstones in their eyes But the pusher don't care Ah, if you live or if you die"

"God damn, The Pusher God damn, I say The Pusher I said God damn, God damn The Pusher man."

"And I don't give a damn about a greenback dollar Spend it fast as I can for a wailin' song and a good guitar The only things that I understand, oh yeah."

"When I was a little baby, my mama she said "Son. Travel where you will and grow to be a man And sing what must be sung, poor boy Sing what must be sung.""

"Strongest of Oak is the gallows Tighest of knots is the noose Why oh why did I kill that man Now I'll never get loose"

"Some people say I'm a no count, others say I'm no good But I'm just a natural born travelin' man Doin' what I think I should, oh yeah Doin' what I think I should."

"I've been very fortunate to work with a studio like Disney that really values music. And that attitude starts at the top, and I want to thank Jeffrey Katzenberg and Roy Disney and Michael Eisner for making my work possible. "Aladdin" was a major transition for me from my longtime collaborator and friend Howard Ashman to a new role and new songwriting partner in Tim Rice. As always I was blessed with great support from my music team: Danny Troob and David Friedman, from Chris Montan and Andy Hill, Bruce Botnick, Michael Farrow and Kathy Bennett. From Peter Schneider, John Musker, Ron Clements, Amy Pell and Don Ernst. I owe a debt of thanks to all of them and to the brilliant animators, musicians, singers and actors who made "Aladdin" so spectacular and magical. Scott Shukat, my family, my wife Janis, and Anna and Nora, my love and thanks. And to the members of the Academy, thank you very, very much."

"Well, a lot of time and effort and collaboration went into the score of "Pocahontas." I have a lot of people to thank and not a lot of time to thank them. So I want to thank my music team. My orchestrator Danny Troob, synth[?] arranger Martin Erskine, my music editor Kathy Bennett, engineer John Richards. My thanks to Chris Montan, Tod Cooper, our directors Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg, our producers, Jim Pentecost, my Disney family past and present. Time doesn't permit me to say all their names but I particularly want to thank Peter Schneider and Tom Schumacher and all the brilliant singers, musicians and technicians whose talents made "Pocahontas" sing. And thank you, Academy members."

"I've rode o'er hot, dry deserts And over mountains tall I believed in the bad land sayin' "A good gun never falls""

"Well, thank you, Vanessa Williams, and thank you, Judy Kuhn, for your wonderful performances of the song, and Robbie Buchanan for a wonderful production of the single -- for arrangement of the single and Keith Sonnet for production. Stephen... (Stephen Schwartz: We want to express our appreciation to members of the Academy. Our deep gratitude to our colleagues at Disney, past and present. And I want to acknowledge my personal debt to the Native American poets and wisdom keepers who inspired my work on this project, most particularly in the case of this song, Chief Seattle. Thank you very much.)"

"(Howard Ashman:I won't do fish jokes, just say a couple thank yous. At Disney to Jeff Katzenberg, Peter Schneider. To Sam Wright, who sang the song, all the words. Mostly though to John Musker and Ron Clements whose movie "Little Mermaid" really is. At William Morris there's Don Aslan, Mike Peretzian and my beloved Esther Sherman. And at home there's my mom, there's my sister, there's Nancy, and Bill. I feel really lucky. Thank you.) Thanks to the musical team that worked on the songs: Robby Merkin, Thomas Pasatieri, and J.A.C. ["Jack"] Redford in particular. Thank you. And thank you to the Academy."

"On behalf of all the composers I want to thank Debbie Allen for that [referring to the production number]. That was just great. I'd like to thank the members of the Academy, in particular the members of the Music Branch, for this honor. At Disney I want to thank Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy Disney, Peter Schneider, our producer Don Hahn, our directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, and our brilliant animators. And I can't say enough about my music team. My orchestrator Danny Troob, conductor David Friedman, recording engineers John Richards, Michael Farrow, Bruce Botnick. Many thanks to the Disney music department, Chris Montan, Andy Hill. My music editor Kathy Bennett. My love and thanks to Janis, Anna and Nora. My mom and dad. My manager Scott Shukat. And most of all, I thank my late partner and friend, Howard Ashman. Howard, I wish you could have seen the finished product. I wish you could have heard the completed score. I know you would have been proud. Thank you."

"On behalf of Howard, I know if he were here he would want to thank Angela Lansbury for her incomparable performance of the song in the movie as "Mrs. Potts," and also Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson for their performance. Also thanks to Walter A. and Robbie Buchanan for their work on the single. And accepting for Howard will be Bill Lauch. (Bill Lauch: Thanks, Alan. Howard and I shared a home and a life together and I'm very happy and very proud to accept this for him. But it is bittersweet. This is the first Academy Award given to someone we've lost to AIDS. In working on "Beauty and the Beast" Howard faced incredible personal challenges but always gave his best. And what made that possible was an atmosphere of understanding, love and support. That's something everyone facing AIDS not only needs, but deserves. There's an inscription at Howard's grave in Baltimore. It reads, "O, that he had one more song to sing." We'll never hear that song, but I'm deeply grateful for this tribute you've given to what he left behind. For Howard, I thank you.)"

"First of all I'd like to thank my collaborator Howard Ashman who encouraged me to take the opportunity to compose my first film score with "The Little Mermaid." Thank you for your support, Howard. I'd like to thank all the people at Disney: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy Disney, Peter Schneider and Maureen Donley. Our outstanding directors: John Musker, Ron Clements. And thanks to a great music department: my orchestrator Thomas Pasatieri, conductor J.A.C. ["Jack"] Redford, music editor Kathy Bennett, recording engineer John Richards, supervisors Chris Montan and Andy Hill. Special thanks to my manager Scott Shukat and my wife Janis. And Academy members, thank you."

"(Tim Rice: Thank you very much. I'd like to thank everybody in the Academy who voted for me, especially Alan. And I'd like to pay tribute to two great lyricists. One, of course, is Howard Ashman. I'm extremely lucky to be standing in his shoes. I know he'd be here today if he were still alive. And the other is the great Sammy Cahn, who is my inspiration for many years. And it's great to be working with Alan, and my thanks to everybody at Disney.) A couple of thanks. Thanks to Lea Salonga and Brad Kane, and thanks to Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. And of course Walter Afanasieff and Robert Buchanan, for creating a beautiful record. And thank you, Chris Montan, for never giving up on this song. Thank you."

"Having a tradition is a great thing to work within, and maybe today [it] is the only way to land musically dramatic work."

"You know I've smoked a lot of grass O' Lord, I've popped a lot of pills But I never touched nothin' That my spirit could kill."

"Collaboration is being open to each other's ideas and benefiting from each other's perspectives in an open way. Collaboration is all about rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and helping each other to constantly improve a piece. And, it's also about spurring each other on to doing great, hard work — it's easier to do it in a collaboration than on your own."

"Ole Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise, If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes. We held our fire 'til we seed their faces well, Then we opened up our squirrel guns an' really gave 'em ...well! Yeah, they ran through the briars an' they ran through the brambles An' they ran through the bushes where the rabbits couldn't go. They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico."

"We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down, So we grabbed an alligator an' we fought another round. We filled his head with cannon balls an' powdered his behind, An' when they touched the powder off, the 'gator lost his mind."

"Along about eighteen and twenty-five I left Tennessee very much alive I never would have got through the Arkansas mud If I hadn't been a-ridin on the Tennessee stud."

"The Tennessee stud was long and lean The color of the sun and his eyes were green. He had the nerve and he had the blood And there never was a hoss like the Tennessee stud."

"I found that girl with the golden hair And she was ridin' on a Tennessee mare."

"Stirrup to stirrup and side by side We crossed the mountains and the valleys wide. We came to Big Muddy and we forded the flood On the Tennessee mare and the Tennessee stud."

"In 1814 we took a little trip Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip. We took a little bacon an' we took a little beans And we caught the bloody British at the town of New Orleans. We fired our guns an' the British kept a'comin'. There wasn't nigh as many as there was awhile ago. We fired once more an' they begin to runnin' Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico."