Women Singers From The United States

"Believing in the one thing That has gotten us this far — That's what love is for To help us through it That's what love is for Nothing else can do it Melt our defenses Bring us back to our senses Give us strength to try once more Baby, that's what love is for."

"Sometimes I see you And you don't know why I'm there And I'm washed away by emotions I hold deep down inside Getting stronger with time It's living through the fire And holding on we find That's what love is for …"

"Round off the edges Talk us down from the ledges Give us strength to try once more Baby, that's what love is for That's what love is for"

"True love is frozen in time I'll be your champion and you'll be mine I will remember you So please remember I will remember you"

"From a distance you look like my friend Even though we are at war From a distance I just cannot comprehend What all this war is for."

"From a distance there is harmony And it echoes through the land And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves It's the heart of every man (Every man). It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves This is the song of every man."

"From a distance we are instruments Marching in a common band Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace They're the songs of every man."

"I've never had any other loving heartfelt desire. From the minute I heard music I knew why I was born. To make music to play to listen to music, and for some reason I have been lucky enough to llive this beautiful life as a musicisan. I don't know. I love all things "nature". I'm an animal lover, but I don't have the smarts to be a vet, or the heart to have been a vet cause I cry over any wounded animal. … I might have been maybe a zoo keeper helping feed the animals. Feeding or petting the big cats or whatever. I don't know what else I would have done, because I love music too much. For anyone who has that calling and is trying also to make a living at it, it is really hard. Getting gigs and getting listened to. Getting respect, it's hard. Its what bonds us all because we have been so rejected and dejected. Yet we know in our hearts why we are here."

"From a distance, there is harmony And it echoes through the land It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace It's the voice of every man."

"It’s an increasingly rare case for a solo artist to see exponential success from back to back decades, and Whitney Houston was certainly that exception."

""I finally faced the fact that it isn’t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.”"

"I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe."

"Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do. It's my decision. So the biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy. And that's how I have to deal with it."

"“I broke my heart for every gain, to taste the sweet I faced the pain.”"

"You've got to know who you are before you step into this business, because if you're trying to find it, you'll probably wind up being somebody else, that you probably don't even like."

"You can fool people. You can fool anybody any time of the day, but you can't fool yourself. At night, when you go home, you've got to be straight up with you."

"I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside."

"Success doesn't change you; fame does."

"As the first Black woman to fill a football stadium. That is a wish of mine. It hasn't been done. Janis Joplin did it for the White girls. I want to do it for the Blacks."

"I didn't have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always. From the start. I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life."

"If you are unhappy with anything — your mother, your father, your husband, your wife, your job, your boss, your car — whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out."

"I will never give in to old age until I become old. And I am not old yet!"

"Well, it was a church person in the early days, Mahalia Jackson. And Rosetta Tharpe. These spiritual, very strong voices. I only knew that they were figures in the black race, recognizable and respected. But I must admit, I've always covered the songs of males. I haven't followed up on women or listened to that much women's music."

"My work is noisy, but my life is quiet. I need nature and solitude — they nurture me. My idea of a vacation is reading a book on the terrace while my boyfriend cooks us dinner."

"I like me very much. When I look in the mirror and my skin glows back at me, I think, "Wow, that sure is pretty." I have a simple, childlike view of life, and I want to keep it. That's why I never got into that Beverly Hills world. So many pretentious people. They just aren't real."

"She's a good-hearted woman in love with a good-timin' man. She loves him in spite of his ways she don't understand. With teardrops and laughter they pass through this world hand in hand, A good-hearted woman, lovin' a good-timin' man."

"Standing up there next to her was the hottest place in the universe."

"Ike was often unpredictable in his actions and reactions, while Tina Turner only very rarely lost her composure even in her hardest times. For the band and all the other employees, she was always something like a haven of tranquility in the big thunderstorm."

"In the beginning, we all depend on attention and affection of our mother or other caring people. Without love and care, we cannot survive. Without loving action, we miss the meaning of life."

"People often ask me when am I gonna slow down. You know what I tell 'em? I'm just gettin' started."

"What is life without a dream to hold? Take my hand and never let me go!"

"I have to admit, I learned a lot from her and the way she saw music. She would say something like, "Oh, don't play that chord that sounds like running water." Or, "That is too blue. Give me more green." My first thought as a music snob was, "Oh come on! I have to figure out what green or water means? Take some time and learn what a chord is!" That was my big mistake! It took me a few years to realize that if I could realize what she was saying by learning to speak her language, she was always right! She was always right and in a way taught me so much. Her musical instincts are absolutely impeccable. People like to say, "Oh yeah, she's got the great legs. She's got a great voice. She's a great singer and dancer. She is a great personality." They talk about the hair and everything else. Those are all true but the thing I have the most respect for is as a band leader and a record producer. Very rarely did she take a credit as a record producer but, I swear, she knew everything everybody was playing and she knew how to make it better! [...] I was so lucky to be around one of the major musical forces of the late 20th century! She truly is amazing!"

"Beyond the power – you find the flower. Beyond the bound – you find new ground."

"There are two sides to everybody, A good side and a bad, A side to make you happy, A side to make you mad."

"A church house, gin house, A school house, outhouse On highway number nineteen, The people keep the city clean."

"Some of us are livin' in an earthly heaven, Lord, some of us are livin' in hell. Yeah, we're livin' in hell, Right here."

"We never, ever, do nothin' nice and easy. We always do it nice and rough."

"Sometimes I'm tossed and driven, Lord, Sometimes I don't know where to go. My mother and father won't own me, So I'll try to make heaven my home."

"King of the jungle, The lion he roars, But the lioness calmly Soothes his soul."

"I like reading the comments on my online accounts as much as anyone. But I also know there is a lot of toxicity online, and many people aren’t as kind to others in the virtual world as my fans are to me. Commonplace distortions in the online world — with manipulated images and selective sharing that shows people enjoying a seemingly carefree, “perfect” life — are an unhealthy influence on the mind, especially young minds. From the priorities I see being valued online today, and in the media in general, it’s no wonder that many people think that aspiring to be a billionaire is the most important thing in the world. It’s no wonder people feel increasingly divided and lonely. In reality, what we need most right now are legions of billionaires of the heart, multitudes of masters of the mind, and models of peace, equality, and unity in diversity. That, in my opinion, is what upcoming generations need to see. I hope that, somehow, in the near future, the various technological poisons that society is facing can be turned into healing medicine. At the moment, the best solution is to simply spend less time on our phones, tablets, and computers and more time with each other, with real human beings, face-to-face, heart-to-heart. When I’m at home with Erwin, we make it a point not to get distracted by phones at mealtimes. Not that screens and devices are the only culprits. I often find it hard to tear myself away from the book I’m reading — I know you can relate if you love to read as much as I do. But I resist, because no novel can compare to sharing time with my dear partner. I know that the last thing anyone ever wants to do is think about death, but as someone who has faced my own mortality time and again, I am all too aware that life is short and can end at any moment. Being always aware of the limited time we have here on Earth, and making the most of it, for the good of all, is also a part of my spiritual practice."

"We must do our part to prevent barriers from rising between one human heart and another. We must curb the trend of neighbors no longer knowing each other, while they seek a sense of shared identity with people elsewhere, perhaps even in other countries, separating themselves along racial, religious, or national lines. This fracturing of society is unsustainable. We all have a number of aspects to our identities. My identity has included many ingredients in this lifetime, including: daughter, sister, Baptist, singer, American, mother, Buddhist, actress, Swiss, spouse, and more. But the most important, core identity that I share with you and every other person on the planet is this: human. I believe that only by awakening to this shared identity can we save ourselves, individually and collectively, from the problems we face around the world. We must urgently work together to find solutions that can transform the global poisons of systemic racism and homophobia, climate crisis, pandemics, loss of the Amazon jungle, factory farming of animals, fossil fuel consumption, nuclear weapons, plastic pollution, and more. The universal solution to all of the problems confronting humanity is for us to unite as one global team, honoring our truest roots as members of the same circle of life. Uniting in this spirit is my hope and prayer for future generations."

"The good, the bad, the ugly, and the pretty, it all adds up to me. I honor my journey, all of it. Changing the past would mean changing me. And I like me, just the way I am. Why would I want to change anything? Depending on who asks the question, I occasionally throw a curveball with a deeper, more philosophical answer, along these lines: I’ve already changed my past, by turning poison into medicine, and by raising my life condition, which transforms my perception of the past. Our perception determines the way events affect us. So, when we change the way a past event affects us, we effectively change the past. In other words, since past, present, and future are seamlessly connected, a change in the present moment has the power to affect a change in everything throughout all directions of space and time. Every now and then, when I share this answer, I’m told that I sound like a Jedi master from Star Wars, so I don’t share it often. But I hope you enjoy hearing it."

"My Buddhist faith has been the foundation of my personal path toward revolution. But you don’t have to be a Buddhist to benefit from these principles. In fact, you don’t have to be a Buddhist to be a Buddha. As Daisaku Ikeda says, "When we realize that our lives are one with the great and eternal life of the universe, we are the Buddha. The purpose of Buddhism is to enable all people to come to this realization." This mind-set is open to everyone, regardless of religion or cultural background. The Lotus Sutra’s ancient wisdom belongs to all humanity, proclaiming that each person equally possesses the Buddha nature, with infinite potential and inherent dignity, lighting the way to true independence and absolute happiness for everyone."

"I had witnessed the circle of life and death in nature, where plants and animals came and went in their own time. And I had heard about deaths in our community, young and old people, dying in all sorts of circumstances. But this time it was very personal. After Margaret died, there was a lot of talk about God's will. Our community was deeply Baptist, after all, and that was a natural response to the sudden tragedy that killed her and a few other young people, including my half sister Evelyn (my mother's child from a previous relationship). Thinking about the mysteries of life and death, I didn’t have a problem with the concept of an underlying universal force. But the idea of a bearded old white man in space, monitoring activities here on Earth, felt unrelatable and just plain unreal. I couldn't verbalize my own vision of God then, as the vocabulary hadn't come to me yet. But from the youngest age I can recall, I knew I could experience "Godliness" in Mother Nature. Something told me I had a piece of God in my heart, even if the traditional beliefs of my family and the way they practiced religion weren't right for me. I wished they practiced what they preached and lived more positive lives."

"The challenges we face in life can come from outside ourselves, or they can come from within. I know from personal experience that there are sometimes negative voices in your head, and they can be dangerous. These voices may say you’re too old, too young, too gay, too straight, too thin, too fat, too this, too that. The voices may tell you it’s too late for your dreams, or that no one will love you. They may tell you all sorts of lies to keep you trapped in unhealthy cycles of self-doubt. Maybe you've allowed your negative voices to undermine your self-esteem, to hinder your work, or to keep you locked in unhealthy relationships. If so, it's time to tell those voices you've heard their propaganda, and you're not going to take it anymore. Dismiss them, and you will be the only one holding the pen as you write the story of your life."

"On an even deeper level, the reason I happily and gratefully accept everything I went through in the past is because I believe every detail of my life is both my karma and my mission. We are all born with a mission, a purpose, that only we can fulfill. When you live with a joyful sense of purpose, when you infuse your life with a greater purpose beyond your individual self, every aspect of your karma can become a brilliant facet of your mission. You can transform sorrow and adversity of any sort into joy, stability, health, and prosperity. By changing poison into medicine and accomplishing your inner revolution, you can use every experience of karma to encourage others who suffer from the same problems that you overcame. You can become an ambassador of hope, an essential and radiant treasure of humanity, in which you recognize that all who have ever lived are members of your extended family. As you continue to spread light in this way, actively doing good in the world, that energy will come back to you in abundant positivity. When you refuse to perpetuate any bad that has been done to you, you can free yourself from the chains of negativity."

"Imagination, visualizing, and dreaming big, combined with hard work, determination, and faith, are what got me where I wanted to go, and they can do the same for you. If you ever find your resolve melting away, tell yourself, “This time I’ll do it! This time I’ll win!” As long as you keep moving forward, despite any disappointments and setbacks, you will be on the path to victory. I’ve observed people who veered from the path of self-improvement, having been swayed by short-term outlooks, failures, or by the opinions of others. In every case, their life condition suffered. Thankfully, I’ve known many more people who strived to improve themselves and work for the greater good. Invariably, their lives became more fulfilling. It boils down to a matter of choices—making thoughtful decisions toward improvement, for yourself and for others—and the intention behind those choices. At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought. Remember that cultivating the deepest dimension of yourself, your inward journey, is always the most direct path to happiness. So, let’s rev up our humanity, and rev up our lives. Think of the rev in the word revolution as meaning you have the opportunity to accelerate the speed of your human revolution and rev it up. I know you’ll be happy you did."

"It hurts to have to remember those times, but at a certain stage forgiveness takes over. Forgiving means not to hold on. You let it go, because it only hurts you. Not forgiving, you suffer, 'cause you think about it over and over again. And for what? I had an abusive life, there's no other way to tell the story, it's a reality, it's a truth. That's what you've got. So you have to accept it."

"Spirituality isn’t tied to any one religion or philosophy. It isn’t the property of a priesthood or clergy. Spirituality is a personal awakening and relationship with our Mother Earth and the universe that increases openness and positivity. My awakening began five decades ago through my practice and study of Buddhist teachings. Sharing the story of this most precious part of my life with you is a long-cherished dream. This book carries my personal guidance on how to create lasting happiness. It explains spiritual truths I’ve learned on my unlikely path to joy, from childhood to today."

"Each of us is born, I believe, with a unique mission, a purpose in life that only we can fulfill. We are linked by a shared responsibility: to help our human family grow kinder and happier. I first learned about the workings of the universe from my daily experiences growing up in Nutbush, Tennessee, a small rural town. I loved spending time outside, running through the fields, looking up at the heavenly bodies in the sky, spending time with animals—domestic and wild ones—and listening to the sounds of nature. Even as a little girl, I sensed an unseen universal force as I walked through the wide-open pastures each day. Communing with nature taught me to trust my intuition, which always seemed to know the way home when I was lost, the best branch on a tree for swinging, or where a treacherous rock was hidden in a stream. I learned to listen to my heart, which taught me that you and I are connected to each other and everything else on this planet. We are joined together by the mysterious nature of life itself, the fundamental creative energy of the universe. In this complicated world of ours, where contradictions abound, we find breathtaking beauty in the most unlikely places. The brightest rainbows appear after the heaviest of storm clouds. Magnificent butterflies emerge from the drabbest cocoons. And the most beautiful lotus flowers bloom from the deepest and thickest mud. Why do you suppose life works this way? Perhaps those rainbows, butterflies, and lotus flowers are meant to remind us that our world is a mystical work of art—a universal canvas upon which we all paint our stories, day by day, through the brushstrokes of our thoughts, words, and deeds."