But I was singing loud, and most singers weren't singing loud.

I am the innovator. I am the originator. I am the emancipator. I am the architect of rock 'n' roll!

A-bop-bop-a-loom-op-a-lop-bop-boom.

Greed has taken the whole universe, and nobody is worried about their soul.

And I'd like to give my love to everybody, and let them know that the grass may look greener on the other side, but believe me, it's just as hard to cut.

I think God made a woman to be strong and not to be trampled under the feet of men. I've always felt this way because my mother was a very strong woman, without a husband.

A lot of people call me the architect of rock & roll. I don't call myself that, but I believe it's true.

Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.

I did what I felt, and I felt what I did, at all costs.

God would be a very selfish god if he gave all the soul to one race. ... When one sings from the heart and it reaches another heart, that's soul.

I think people who don't believe in God are crazy. How can you say there is no God when you hear the birds singing these beautiful songs you didn't make?

Knowledge is a wealth that cannot be stolen it will grow when you try to give it away.

Friendship, neglected, is like a flower deprived of water and sunlight.

In essence the renaissance is simply the green end of one of civilization's hardest winters.

What will happen can't be stopped. Aim for Grace.

I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.

Any story is better with a little love in it, right?

My songs grow on people - like warts.

That's probably good, all things being equal, for emerging markets, not bad, even though it may not be great for all their currencies.

You can't be evangelical and associate yourself with Jesus and what he says about the poor and just have no other domestic concerns than tax cuts for wealthy people.

The way I'm going now is to focus on peace, to create peace. As Sister Corita said, "I don't go to anti-war rallies. I go to peace rallies."