Elvis Costello Quotes
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People speak with enormous pomposity and arrogance about music.
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You think you're alone until you realize you're in it. Now fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit.
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The cost of living in sin would make a poor man out of Paul Getty.
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Was it a millionaire who said, "Imagine no possessions"?
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What do we care, if the world is a joke? We'll give it a big kiss, we'll give it a poke. Death wears a big hat cause he's a big bloke.
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I really thought twice about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when that came in. I always was of a mind that it's an inherently stupid idea to put something like that in a glass case.
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I'm not going to get too sentimental, like those other sticker valentines, 'cause I don't know if you are loving some body. I only know it isn't mine.
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Nonsense prevails, modesty fails Grace and virtue turn into stupidity While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts They still think they're the gods of antiquity If something you missed didn't even exist It was just an ideal is it such a surprise?
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My dad had a steady job with a really major dance band from '54 till '68, and then quit because he wanted to play different music. He wanted to sing about peace. He believed in these things.
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My grandfather and my father disagreed about music, not least of all because my dad wanted to improvise. It wasn't just that he wanted to play different music; it was just that he came off the dots.
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It's what's on the record not what labels on it. You know, that's like getting a box of cornflakes and eating the cardboard.
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I could promise that I'll always be true to you, but we may not live to be so old.
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Patsy Cline belongs shoulder-to-shoulder with Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
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There are a lot of things that you can like at a distance without spending a huge amount of time pondering. It's not so complicated.
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History repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same defeats.
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Morrissey writes wonderful song titles, but sadly he often forgets to write the song.
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I wish you luck with a capital F.
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Now I just don't know who to tell to go to hell Who put the old devil in the distorted angel?
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The theme of exile is attractive to me, because it's sort of like the family business. Not just music, but travel.
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Serious music usually doesn't pay.
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If I am frightened then I can hide it If I am crying, I'll call it laughter If I am haunted, I'll call it my imaginary friend If I am bleeding I'll call it wine But if you leave me then I am broken And if I'm broken then only death remains.
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The truth can't hurt you, it's just like the dark. It scares you witless, but in time you see things clear and stark.
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When they finally put you in the ground, I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down.
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I love you more than anything in this world. I don't expect that will last.