Keith Richards Quotes
- All Quotes
-
Songwriting's a weird game. I never intended to become one - I fell into this by mistake, and I can't get out of it. It fascinates me. I like to point out the rawer points of life.
-
One minute I'm standing at Ronnie Scott's getting a standing ovation and the next minute, I'm on a marble slab...
-
I've never had inner turmoil about all this. You find a lot of people these days who cannot stand to be alone. You could lock me up in solitary for weeks on end, and I'd keep myself amused.
-
There's just certain styles of playing that you do play in your own way. Maybe it's in the way your fingers bend, for all I know. And so whenever you pick up the guitar it's not so much the sound of the instrument itself, it's like the ting that you add onto it-the attitude.
-
What interested me about Chuck Berry was the way he could step out of the rhythm part with such ease, throwing in a nice, simple riff, and then drop straight into the feel of it again. We used to play a lot more rhythm stuff. We'd do away with the differences between lead and rhythm guitar. You can't go into a shop and ask for a "lead guitar". You're a guitar player, and you play a guitar.
-
We age not by holding on to youth, but by letting ourselves grow and embracing whatever youthful parts remain.
-
I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police.
-
Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.
-
It's basically against the whole idea of what always made rock&roll music interesting to me. I thought it was an unassailable outlet for some pure and natural expressions of rebellion. It was one channel you could take without havin' to kiss ass, you know? And right now it just seems like they're on a big daisy chain, each kissin' each other's asses.
-
But I'm not here just to make records and money. I'm here to say something and to touch other people, sometimes in a cry of desperation: "Do you know this feeling?
-
If you are going to get wasted, then get wasted elegantly.
-
My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow.
-
If you're gonna get wasted, get wasted elegantly.
-
Why would you want to be anything else if you're Mick Jagger?
-
I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment...it's not what the Stones is about, is it? I don't want to step out on stage with someone wearing a fucking coronet and sporting the old ermine. I told Mick, It's a fucking paltry honour.
-
Some of my most outrageous nights- I can only believe actually happened because of corroborating evidence. No wonder I'm famous for partying! The ultimate party- if it's any good- you can't remember it.
-
I like it here in Austin. Anybody got a room?
-
The electric guitar was vital in helping what I've achieved where would I be without it? Playing awfully quietly, for a start.
-
When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.
-
Love has sold more songs than you've had hot dinners.
-
The idea of retiring is like killing yourself. It's almost like Hari Kari. I intend to live to a 100 and go down in history.
-
Guitar is easy, all it takes is 5 fingers, 6 strings and 1 a**hole...
-
The rock's easy, but the roll is another thing.
-
Most guys I know are assholes. I have some great asshole friends, but that's not the point. Friendship has got nothing to do with that. It's can you hang, can you talk about this without any feeling of distance between you? Friendship is the diminishing of distance between people. That's what friendship is, and to me it's one of the most important things in the world.