Tom Petty

"I think for it to be unhip to be idealistic is weird, you know? I mean, even all the best rebels to me had some sense of hope in them."

"I don't understand the ones that have no sense of hope and invest in hate. That's not gonna work out, you know? It's a waste of your time!"

"You don't hear any more of, 'Hey, we did something creative and we turned a profit, how about that?' Everywhere we look, we want to make the most money possible. This is a dangerous, corrupt notion. That's where you see the advent of programming on the radio, and radio research, all these silly things. That has made pop music what it is today. Everything — morals, truth — is all going out the window in favor of profit."

"I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. You know, I saw a billboard in New York I wish I had photographed. It was for the TNN network. It said three words against a patriotic background of red, white and blue — BIGGER, YOUNGER, RICHER. Now, I find that fascinating: 'Bigger, younger, richer.' This whole idea of being wealthy has gone too far. I never ride in a limousine, you know. I feel gross if I get in a limousine. One good thing about the sixties was it sort of was the opposite back then. You looked silly trying to appear rich."

"It's funny how the music industry is enraged about the Internet and the way things are copied without being paid for. But you know why people steal the music? Because they can't afford the music. I'm not condoning downloading music for free. I don't think that's really fair, but I understand it. If you brought CD prices back down to $8.98, you would solve a lot of the industry's problems."

"An act like ours wouldn't even be around today if someone hadn't brought us along and let us make mistakes and grow at our own pace. Today it seems that if you don't have a hit — or even if you do — they have no use for you the next time."

"I'm frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it's not meant for me. Personally, I'm way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect. I'm much too smart to think that jewelry or how cool I am is really going to change much about my personality. If you're dumb enough that it entertains you, have a great time. But I am seeking more than that."

"I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that an artist has to take some moral responsibility for what he or she is putting out there. And I think a lot of these young kids are going to have to learn the hard way before they realize that you can actually do some damage if you're being careless or frivolous in what you're saying."

"I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever. If you want to talk about something that is all about money, just watch the television. It's damn dangerous. TV does not care about you or what happens to you. It's downright bad for your health now, and that's not a far-out concept. I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health. The music business looks like, you know, innocent schoolboys compared to the TV business. They care about nothing but profit."

"Artists aren't necessarily business people. And they aren't necessarily aware of all the things that go on in their names. Some just want to make some music, but there is a lot of greed among artists as well. Whether or not we know it, we are all to blame. I think it's time — starting with the artist — to try to be a little more responsible and aware of what goes on in our name."

"I feel sorry for kids these days. They get so much homework. Remember the days when we put a belt around our two books and carried them home? Now they're dragging a suitcase. They have school all day, then homework from six until eleven. There's no time left to be creative. The hardest part for me is when my thirteen-year-old is complaining about the workload. I agree with him. I'm supposed to be responsible and support the teacher. But it's like, "You're right, son. This is bullshit.""

"If we're born in God's image, then God knows how we can fuck up. And he knows that you really didn't mean it."

"It’s very uncomfortable to hear them used when I don’t agree with what’s being said. But I recognize that those songs have entered into a bigger life, a life all their own. They belong to the audience. How they’re used isn’t always something I can control."

"It's alright if you love me, It's alright if you don't. I'm not afraid of you runnin' away, Honey I get the feeling you won't."

"There is no sense in pretending, Your eyes give you away. Something inside you is feeling like I do, We've said all there is to say."

"Well she was an American girl, raised on promises. She couldn't help thinkin' that there was a little more to life somewhere else. After all, it was a great big world with lots of places to run to. Yeah, and if she had to die tryin', she had one little promise she was gonna keep."

"And for one desperate moment There he crept back in her memory. God it's so painful, something that's so close Is still so far out of reach."

"Little miss queen of hearts you're a strange thing. Why you wanna stay so vague? I'm wandering through this mess you've made To see what I can save."

"I need to know(I need to know) I need to know(I need to know) If you think you're gonna leave, Then you better say so."

"She's gonna listen to her heart. It's gonna tell her what to do. She might need a lot of loving, But she don't need you."

"Restless sleep, twisted dreams Moving targets, silent screams. Restless city, restless street Restless you, restless me."

"My baby is a rock n' roller."

"Somewhere, somehow somebody Must have kicked you around some. Tell me why you wanna lay there And revel in your abandon. Listen it don't make no difference to me baby, Everybody's had to fight to be free. You see you don't have to live like a refugee"

"You know, sometimes, I don't know why, But this old town just seems so hopeless. I ain't really sure, but it seems I remember the good times Were just a little bit more in focus."

"It just seems so useless to have to work so hard, And nothin' ever really seems to come from it."

"I just catch myself wonderin', waitin', worryin' bout some silly little things that don't add up to nothin'."

"And I'd show you stars you never could see Baby, it couldn't have been that easy to forget about me."

"Baby, even the losers get lucky sometimes. Even the losers keep a little bit of pride. They get lucky sometimes."

"I was talkin' with a friend of mine, Said a woman done hurt his pride. Told him that she loved him so, then Turned around and let him go. Then he said "you'd better watch your step" Or you're gonna get hurt yourself. Someone's gonna tell you lies Cut you down to size..."

"Louisiana rain now is falling just like tears. Running down my face washing out the years. Louisiana rain is soaking through my shoes. I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge."

"Oh baby, don't it feel like heaven right now, Don't it feel like something from a dream."

"The waiting is the hardest part. Every day you see one more card. You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part."

"She's a woman in love And he's gonna break her heart to pieces. She don't want to see. She's a woman in love, but it's not me."

"Somewhere deep in the middle of the night, Lovers hold each other tight. Whisper in their anxious ears, Words of love that disappear."

"I'm an insider, I been burned by the fire. And I've had to live with some hard promises. I've crawled through the briars, I'm an insider."

"Good love is hard to find. You got lucky, babe. You got lucky, babe, when I found you."

"Well I fought for you; I fought too hard. To do it all again babe, It's gone too far."

"I don't believe the good times are over. I don't believe the thrill is all gone. Real love is a man's salvation; The weak ones fall, the strong carry on."

"Honey don't walk out, I'm too drunk to follow. You know you won't feel this way tomorrow. Well, maybe I'm a little rough around the edges, Inside a little hollow. I get faced with some things sometimes That are so hard to swallow."

"I was born a rebel Down in Dixie on a Sunday morning. Yeah, with one foot in the grave, And one foot on the pedal. I was born a rebel."

"I don't feel you anymore. You darken my door. Whatever you're looking for. Hey don't come around here no more."

"There's a southern accent, where I come from. The young 'uns call it country, the Yankees call it dumb."

"For just a minute there I was dreaming. For just a minute it was all so real. For just a minute she was standing there, with me."

"Yeah and it's over before you know it. It all goes by so fast. Yeah, the bad nights last forever, And the good nights don't ever seem to last"

"Wherever you are tonight, I wish you the best of everything, in the world. And I hope you found Whatever you were looking for."

"Take back your insurance, Baby nothin's guaranteed."

"There were times apart, there were times together. I was pledged to her for worse or better. When it mattered most I let her down. That's the way it goes, it'll all work out."

"'Cause it can feel like perfection, But never all the time. And you don't wanna be alone again. Oh my, my."

"And no I can't find no reason to explain the way that I feel. I remember things being more clearer, at one time things were more real."

"Young people are very cynical now, you know? Very cynical! They've been taught cynicism, they've been — they've been bred cynicism. So, I think it's important to give them hope and realism in the same package, you know? You can be realistic but there should be — there should be hope in it. Because hope's what we're about. If we don't have hope then we don't go on."