Elvis Costello Quotes
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Commercial radio is owned by one or two corporations now, and they're not in the music business. They're in the advertising business.... So let's not kid ourselves. If you want to hear music, go buy a guitar.
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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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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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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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The cost of living in sin would make a poor man out of Paul Getty.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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I wish you luck with a capital F.
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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 could promise that I'll always be true to you, but we may not live to be so old.
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History repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same defeats.
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Was it a millionaire who said, "Imagine no possessions"?
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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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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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I'm goin' to take a little trip, down paradise's endless shores. They say that travel broadens the mind, till you can't get your head out of doors.
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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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There are a few things that I regret, but nothing that I need to forget.
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It's the damage that we do and never know. It's the words that we don't say that scare me so.
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Serious music usually doesn't pay.
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Morrissey writes wonderful song titles, but sadly he often forgets to write the song.