Been Quotes

It's important to debunk the myths of Africa being this benighted continent civilized only when white people arrived. In fact, Africans had been creators of culture for thousands of years before. These were very intelligent, subtle and sophisticated people, with organized societies and great art.

Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character had abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and courage which it contained.

There are things that directors know about me that people shouldn't know. But everyone's really different. I've worked with women who I've never wanted to tell anything about myself to, and I've worked with guys who have been pouring wells of emotion. So emotional availability is not a gender-specific thing.

It's been quite a roller coaster ride, but I've grown and learned a lot about myself. The greatest thing is being able to interact with fans and touch people's lives... for that I give thanks.

In this industry, there are only two ways up the ladder. Rung by rung or claw your way to the top. It's sure been tough on my nails.

While I've spent a lot of quality time with my children, perhaps it's not been enough.

It's an interesting combination: Having a great fear of being alone, and having a desperate need for solitude and the solitary experience. That's always been a tug of war for me.

It's true, there's a lot of melancholy in my music. I don't know why, I'm not a melancholy person. I've always been drawn to it. Ever since I was a kid, if I had an album I would play the ballads on repeat.

The vampires have always been metaphors for me. They've always been vehicles through which I can express things I have felt very, very deeply.

As a child I was the best tree climber in our neighbourhood, I was like a little monkey. I've never been afraid of hurting myself or a little physical discomfort.

The power of daring anything their fancy suggest, as always been conceded to the painter and the poet.

Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.

I've been very competitive by nature from a young age, whether it was eating a bowl of pasta faster than somebody else, or always wanting to be the first one in line.

There's been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that's simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we've won when I score 10.

I've been blessed in so many ways.

Music has always been my back door to life. It is important for people to find something that excites them. I like the concept that if you do what excites you, you will be rewarded generously, whatever form reward takes, which is not necessarily money.

I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

To withdraw myself from myself has ever been my sole, my entire, my sincere motive in scribbling at all.

I have suffered from being misunderstood, but I would have suffered a hell of a lot more if I had been understood.

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles.

Sometimes, reading a blog, which I do infrequently, I see that generations of Americans have been wilfully crippled, and can no longer spell or write a sentence.

People are lucky and unlucky not according to what they get absolutely, but according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect.

The world's great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men.

It has been said that the love of money is the root of all evil. The want of money is so quite as truly.

Everything that has ever been called folk art has always reflected domination.

Every minute you are thinking of evil, you might have been thinking of good instead. Refuse to pander to a morbid interest in your own misdeeds. Pick yourself up, be sorry, shake yourself, and go on again.

I watched Titanic when I got back home from the hospital, and cried. I knew that my IQ had been damaged.

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

I didn't find Jesus. He's been there the whole time.