The trouble with doing nothing is that you can never take any time off.

Ragtime was my lullaby.

Never play anything that don't sound right. You might not make any money, but at least you won't get hostile with yourself.

Slow motion gets you there faster.

I know Mother named me after a railroad man, but it's too late now, I'm afraid. Much, much too late.

In Hollywood, the rainbow hits the ground for composers.

Traveling with a big band is like being an inmate in a traveling zoo.

I don't think I'll ever be president of anything.

I'm singing the music publisher's theme song - it ain't a commercial.

You sittin' here chained to your rockin' chair.

And there is no use whatever, gentlemen, trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.

I've never seen anyone get so excited over books before. You'd think they were diamonds.

Marriage orients men and women toward the future, asking them not just to commit to each other but to plan, to earn, to save, and to devote themselves to advancing their children's prospects.

Academics act like they are important, but when something is academic it is meaningless. People say, 'It's academic, now let's get work done.

There is a measure in everything. There are fixed limits beyond which and short of which right cannot find a resting place.

What people need to know is that if you don't eat what you want, then you'll just continue to eat, because you're not fulfilled.

Intentions are nice, but ultimately intentions don't really matter because they only exist inside you.

States with high and rising tax burdens are more likely to suffer economic decline; those with low and falling tax burdens are more likely to enjoy strong economic growth.

An earthly kingdom cannot exist without inequality of persons. Some must be free, some serfs, some rulers, some subjects.

You're in my heart, you're in my soul. You'll be my breath, should I grow old.