On stage I make love to twenty five thousand people; and then I go home alone.

You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow.

To be true to myself, to be the person that was on the inside of me, and not play games. That's what I'm trying to do mostly in the whole world, is not bullshit myself and not bullshit anybody else.

The more you live, the less you die.

I just want to feel as much as I can, it's what soul is all about.

Singing, it's like it's like loving somebody, it's a supreme emotional and physical experience.

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.

Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz - My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Freedom is just another word for when you have NOTHING left to lose.

I got treated very badly in Texas. They don't treat beatniks too good in Texas. Port Arthur people thought I was a beatnik, though they'd never seen one and neither had I.

When you hold somebody, you gotta hold them like it's the last minute of your life.

Life without Music would be a Mistake. Life without Books would be Catastrophic!

Swimmin in the money come and find me, NEMO.

What is our family? We touch our full hearts and see ourselves reflected whole in each other's eyes.

I'm a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity.

Poems don't have to rhyme... Poems are about beauty and emotion; in other words poems are about feelings.

I am an educator who thinks globally.

My dad was very fun and very adventurous, and from a formative age I learned to value men who would do things on a whim.

We will work on inclusive governance for inclusive growth

'One new perception, one fresh thought, one act of surrender, one change of heart, one leap of faith, can change your life forever.'

HAPPINESS is not a destiny, it's a choice.