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

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.

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

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

You sittin' here chained to your rockin' chair.

Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that.

You’re insane, ” I told him, and stood up to dress.He hugged me from behind, pressing hard against me, rubbing his smooth chest along my back. He spoke into my ear, “Insane for you, my love.

Some people never learn, no matter how much their heads hurt in the morning.

A big talent steals, a small talent borrows.

I never think that anything I'm writing is bluntly political in any way. I'm not going for commentary.

Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great inferences into it.

The yielding of the weak is the concession to fear.

Books are the best friends you can have; they inform you, and entertain you, and they don't talk back.

I always love China, especially the old China.

If you wanted to teach a baby a lesson, would you cut its head off?