Quotes By Patti Smith

I dreamed of having a book of my own, of writing one that I could put on a shelf.

Sure I destroyed my guitar at every concert, but it was okay, because I'd always get a shiny new one the very next day.

Rock n' roll is dream soup, what's your brand?

I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was always financial strife.

I loved books; I read my childhood away. I was more interested in my interior world.

As an artist, I used to think that my responsibility was to do good work. But I had to learn from the '70s on that being a public figure presents another aspect of responsibility.

When I was younger, I felt it was my duty to wake people up. I thought poetry was asleep. I thought rock 'n' roll was asleep.

From very early on in my childhood - four, five years old - I felt alien to the human race. I felt very comfortable with thinking I was from another planet, because I felt disconnected - I was very tall and skinny, and I didn't look like anybody else, I didn't even look like any member of my family.

Good news doesn't necessarily have to be a positive thing. Bringing good news is imparting hope to one's fellow man.

The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times.

As far as I'm concerned, being any gender is a drag.

I want to be around a really long time. I want to be a thorn in the side of everything as long as possible.

I wrote every day. I don't think I could have written 'Just Kids' had I not spent all of the 80s developing my craft as a writer.

If I have any regrets, I could say that I'm sorry I wasn't a better writer or a better singer.

I know I'm a strong performer. I'm not an evolved musician.

Mohammed personally mapped out seven heavens. If he got to seven, you know there's more.

Besides me wanting to be an artist, I wanted to be a movie star.

Artists are traditionally resistant to labels.

Usually when I go to a place for the first time, unless there's something historical or spectacular that nature has to offer, the first thing I like to do is see what's on the minds of the people.

In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.

I like gettin' old.

Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the handwriting and then the look of the handwriting.

I'm an intuitive musician. I have no real technical skills. I can only play six chords on the guitar.

Americans just don't know what being a movie star's all about.

In the period where I had to live the life of a citizen - a life where, like everybody else, I did tons of laundry and cleaned toilet bowls, changed hundreds of diapers and nursed children - I learned a lot.

I had to learn, really, how to rein in my energies and discipline myself. And I found it very very useful. I rebelled against it at first, but it's a good thing to have.

People have the power to redeem the work of fools.

Horses pretty much broke as a record in England.

A lot of my audience are in their 50s. But they want me to pretend to continue to be pretending.

What I really like is an intelligent review. It doesn't have to be positive. A review that has some kind of insight, and sometimes people say something that's startling or is so poignant.