Billy Joel quotes:

I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.

The whole world loves American movies, blue jeans, jazz and rock and roll. It is probably a better way to get to know our country than by what politicians or airline commercials represent.

Artists - musicians, painters, writers, poets - always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.

I did write a letter to the archdiocese who'd banned the song, Only the Good Die Young, asking them to ban my next record.

Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.

I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.

Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?

I would not leave you in your times of trouble. We never could have come this far. I took the good times, I'll take the bad times, I'll take you just the way you are.

If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings.

A typical day in the life of a heavy metal musician consists of a round of golf and an AA meeting.

I have been both praised and criticized. The criticism stung, but the praise sometimes bothered me even more. To have received such praise and honors has always been puzzling to me.

I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary.

I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.

Artist - musicians, painters, writers, poets, always seem to have had the most accurate perception of what is really going on around them, not the official version or the popular perception of contemporary life.

I think historically America has been pretty tolerant. It seems when there's a mass influx from one place, that's when it becomes problematic for Americans.

When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.

In an age of incompetence, I've been able to last in this crazy business. I actually know how to play my ax and write a song. That's my job.

Say goodbye to the oldies, but goodies, because the good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.

You're having a hard time and lately you don't feel so good; You're getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood. It's alright, it's alright; Sometimes that's what it takes. You're only human, you're allowed to make your share of mistakes.

Why do musicians give so much time to charitable causes? The most humanitarian cause that we can give our time to is the creation and performance of music itself.

You want to give people a reason to hate my guts more? I'm making more money.

Most people are satisfied with the junk food being sold as music.

The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.

So I would choose to be with you,That's if the choice were mine to make,But you can make decisions too,And you can have this heart to break

I've crashed my car three times.

More than art, more than literature, music is universally accessible.

When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.

You're not the only one who's made mistakes, but they're the only things that you can truly call your own.

And it was darkSo dark at nightAnd we held on to each otherLike brother to brotherWe promised our mothers we'd writeAnd we would all go down together

Black and white is how it should be, but shades of grey are the colors I see.

She'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding.

I look in the mirror and think, 'I don't look like a rock star.' I talked about this with Bono and we looked at each other and decided we look like a pair of bricklayers.

I believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own.

I have long admired Steinway pianos for their qualities of tone, clarity, pitch consistency, touch responsiveness, and superior craftsmanship.

Only the good die young.

Remember how I found you there alone in your electric chair, I told you dirty jokes until you smiled.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.

If I traveled all my life And I never get to stop and settle down Long as I have you by my side There's a roof above and good walls all around You're my castle, you're my cabin and my instant pleasure dome I need you in my house 'cause you're my home.

Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm - walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers.

It's a little intimidating to walk into a studio and know that you're going to sing a duet with Barbra Streisand.

It was so easy living day by day Out of touch with the rhythm and blues But now I need a little give and take The New York Times, The Daily News.

I've written a bunch of stuff that no one's ever heard, and I don't know if they ever will. I'm just doing it for my own edification.

I started taking piano lessons when I was about four years old. My parents were both musicians. So I took piano lessons. I didn't like the lessons very much, but I was enchanted by music. Music always transported me somewhere. Singing made feel good and being able to play the piano made me feel good.

I definitely prefer being a lover than a fighter.

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints - the sinners are much more fun.

Hot funk, cold punk, even if it's old junk, it's still rock and roll to me.

There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin.

People pay a lot of money to go see shows now, they don't wanna know about your technical problems, or if you're not feeling good, they don't wanna know we have a glitch. It's their night, you better do something to earn that money.

Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. They were all phenomenal. Mozart wrote some 40 symphonies, and they were all phenomenal. That doesn't mean Beethoven was a lesser writer, it's just some guys are capable of more productivity, some guys take more time.

I've come to realize that life is not a musical comedy, it's a Greek tragedy.

Some folks like to get away Take a holiday from the neighborhood. Hop a flight to Miami Beach Or to Hollywood But I'm talking a Greyhound On the Hudson River Line. I'm in a New York state of mind.

You can walk away from your mistakes You can turn your back on what you do Just a little smile is all it takes And you can have your cake and eat it too. Loneliness will get to you somehow But ev'rybody loves you now.

There was only really one accident that was kinda bad but it was nothing to do with booze, just bad luck... I was having a hard time a couple of years ago... I'm a good driver, I just had bad luck.

What will it take for you to believe in me, the way that I believe in you?

I said I love you and that's forever And this I promise from the heart I could not love you any better I love you just the way you are.

I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.

Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.

There's nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex.

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania.

There's always a place for the angry young man with his fist in the air and his head in the sand. He's never been able to learn from mistakes, he can't understand why his heart always breaks.

And so my child and I came to this place to meet him eye to eye and face to face. He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced. We never knew what friends we had, until we came to Leningrad.

I don't belong in limos or private jets or on stage with people cheering me but that's what's kept me grounded because I know it's not right.

Videos destroyed the vitality of rock and roll. Before that, music said, "Listen to me." Now it says, "Look at me."

Call you up in the middle of the night. It's awful hard trying to make love long distance, but I really need stimulation.

They're sharing a drink they call lonliness, but it's better than drinking alone.

Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts.

In every heart there is a room, A sanctuary safe and strong, To heal the wounds from lovers past, Until a new one comes along

Someday we'll all be gone, but lullabies go on and on / They never die, that's how you and I will be

you may be right, I may be crazy, but it just might be a lunatic you're looking for

Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn't try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are.

No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.

Oh, she takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She's ahead of her time. Oh, and she never gives out. And she never gives in. She just changes her mind.

Some people stay away from the door for the chance of it opening up.

There's a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something.

I'm sure you have some cosmic rationale, but here you are with your faith and your Peter Pan advice.

You can speak your mind But not on my time.

She's got a way about her, And everywhere she goes, a million dreams of love surround her, everywhere.

I keep telling people: Don't make me the poster boy for AA because I don't know a lot about sobriety, but I do know a lot about drinking.

We would all go down... together...

And in the eveningAfter the fire and the lightOne thing is certain: Nothing can hold back the lightTime is relentlessAnd as the past disappearsWe're on the verge of all things new

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.

She always says I'm the best friend that she's ever had... how do you hang up on someone who needs you that bad? ~From 'Laura' on The Nylon Curtain

If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there.

We didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo we didn't light itBut we tried to fight it

...And you're the only one who knows.

I sold my house to Jerry Seinfeld.

Ain't no rainbows shining on me, shades of gray are the colors I see.

I watched the mighty skyline fall

Slow down you're doing fine You can't be everything you want to be before your time.

There will be other words some other day; that is the story of my life.

I took a fresh pack of Luckies, a mint called Sen-Sen, my old man's Trojans.

You can pay Uncle Sam with all your overtime, is that all you get for your money?

I compare songwriting to childbirth. How many kids can you have before your uterus explodes?

Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true. When will you realize... Vienna waits for you.

Know what you love and do what you love. If you don't do what you love, you're just wasting your time.

I see the winos talking to themselves and I can understand.

Working too hard can give you a heart-attack.

I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.

I'm writing for the sake of writing music. Whether it gets heard or not isn't an issue for me. It keeps my own juices going and my mind active.

I never stopped writing music, I just stopped writing songs. I've been writing music continually ever since the last album of original tunes, "River Of Dreams" in '93.

In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard.

I don't care what consequence it brings, I have been a fool for lesser things.

Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand.

When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory.

It's really hard to make a living as a musician. It's almost impossible.

We all end in the ocean. We all start in the streams. We're all carried along, by the river of dreams.

Do what you love, and you'll always love what you do

You should never argue with a crazy mind, you ought to know my now.

The joy of life is made up of obscure and seemingly mundane victories that give us our own small satisfactions.

We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one

Take risks. Take chances. Don't be afraid. You gotta go into life brave.

Don't go changing to try and please me You never let me down before Don't imagine you're too familiar And I don't see you anymore I would not leave you in times of trouble We never could have come this far I took the good times, I'll take the bad times I'll take you just the way you are Don't go trying some new fashion Don't change the color of your hair. . . . I could not love you any better I love you just the way you are

I'm a statistic in a system that a civil servant dominates.

For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.

It's OK if you mess up. You should give yourself a break.

Call me a joker, call me a fool, right at this moment I'm totally cool.

I have a theory that the only original things we ever do are mistakes.

You've got to be hard, like the rock in that old rock & roll.

You'll learn more from your accidents than anything that you could ever learn at school.