Tom Petty Quotations | Page 2

If you don't run, you rust.

Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some. Tell me, why you want to lay there, revel in your abandon?

You believe what you want to believe. You see, you don't have to live like a refugee.

At twilight time the smog makes a rainbow.

But not me, baby, I've got you to save me.

There's a freeway running through the yard.

The poison came in liquid, she was naked all the time.

Whatever you're looking for, don't come around here no more.

Good loving is hard to find, you got lucky babe, when I found you.

You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down.

Time to move on, time to get going. What lies ahead I have no way of knowing. But under my feet, baby, grass is growing.

He [George Harrison] told me he really, really admired John [Lennon]. He probably wanted John's acceptance pretty bad, you know?

No matter how long you play the guitar, there's always something else to learn.

You get in there, you get the job done and you get the hell out.

At the end of the day, you're just phonograph records.

If you listen long enough you can hear my skin grow tough love is painful to the touch must be made of stronger stuff.

In a world that keeps on pushing me around, I'm gonna stand my ground, and I won't back down...

We haven't always been boy scouts, but we never lost sight of the music, Let me remind you that this ain't the end.

So I started out for God knows where. I guess I'll know when I get there.

I can't crawl any further. You never crawled for me.

Oh yeah, alright, take it easy baby, make it last all night. She was an American Girl.

There was rock and roll across the dial, when I think of her it makes me smile.

Gonna wind it up on my guitar. Gonna make that silver sing.

Every verse a diamond, every chorus gold, the sound was my salvation. It was only everything, before money became king.

Gypsies at home watching Jerry Falwell on TV, might mean something to you, it ain't nothing to me.

Honey, don't walk out, I'm too drunk to follow.

Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks. Some doors are opened, some roads are blocked. Sundowns are golden, then fade away. And if I never do nothing, I'll get you back someday.

Take back your insurance, baby, nothing is guaranteed. Take back your acid rain, let your TV bleed.

If you stretch your imagination, I'll tell you all a tale, about a time when everything wasn't up for sale.

I'm tired of screwing up. I'm tired of being down. I'm tired of myself. I'm tired of bein' down.

I don't understand the ones that have no sense of hope and invest in hate. That's not gonna work out, you know? It's a waste of your time!

A rebel without a clue.

Any time you're making a living at what you love to do, you're blessed.

Bring me a girl, they're always the best. You put 'em on stage, and you have 'em undress.

She grew up hard and she grew up fast, in the age of television.

My mama was a rocker way back in fifty-three, buys them old records that they sell on TV.

We could move catalog, if he'd only die quicker.

Most magic is a trick, an illusion. But [when The Beatles played the Ed Sullivan Show], this was real. Man oh man, was it real.

How 'bout a cheer for all those bad girls? And all those boys that play that rock and roll? They love it like you love Jesus, It does the same thing to their souls.

I'll stand my ground and I won't back down...

You belong among the wildflowers You belong in a boat out at sea You belong with your love on your arm You belong somewhere you feel free

Well, I started out down a dirty road Started out all alone And the sun went down as I crossed the hill And the town lit up, the world got still I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings Coming down is the hardest thing Well, the good ol' days may not return And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings Coming down is the hardest thing Well, some say life will beat you down Break your heart, steal your crown So I've started out for God knows where I guess I'll know when I get there I'm learning to fly around the clouds But what goes up must come down

Yeah, the world would swing if I were king. Can I help it if I still dream time to time?

You're dealing in magic-it's this intangible thing that has to happen. And to seek it out too much might not be a good idea. Because, you know, it's very shy, too. But once you've got the essence of them, you can work songs and improve them. You see if there's a better word, or a better change.

Sometimes life, will get you down, break your heart, steal your crown.

George Harrison was the kind of guy who wasn’t going to leave until he hugged you for five minutes and told you how much he loved you.

I'm barely prolific and incredibly lazy.

I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health.

Artists aren't necessarily business people. And they aren't necessarily aware of all the things that go on in their names. Some just want to make some music, but there is a lot of greed among artists as well. Whether or not we know it, we are all to blame. I think it's time - starting with the artist - to try to be a little more responsible and aware of what goes on in our name.

I never could have dreamed that her heart was so wicked, but I keep coming back because it's so hard to kick it.

I got my own way of praying.

I think for it to be hip to be idealistic is weird, you know? I mean, even all the best rebels to me, had some sense of hope in them.

I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings. Coming down is the hardest thing.

Even the losers get lucky sometimes!

That's stupid. You couldn't pay me to go. I'm not oversimplifying it. That's what's going on. I don't think it would be any fun without the drugs. It's a drug party.

I ain't really sure, but it seems I remember the good times

You need eagles wings to get over things that make no sense in this world.

It's always been great to be onstage. It's really effortless up there. It's not a lot of work.

I'm certainly not a Robin Hood, I'm not that way. I don't want to come through, burn everybody for $200 a ticket and then they can't afford to come see me again. Plus, I just don't think it's right. I don't think we need that much money. I just do what seems like the logical thing to do.

Yeah and it's over before you know it It all goes by so fast Yeah the bad nights take forever And the good nights don't ever seem to last

I like a good beer. Of course, I'll drink a bad one too. Let no person thirst for lack of real ale! Thank god for long-necked bottles, the angel's remedy.

She's a good girl, crazy about Elvis, loves horses, and her boyfriend, too.

The music has to be affordable. It's the common man that keeps it going, and if you price it out of his realm, it becomes a thing of the elite.

When you kill somebody's little sister with a missile, he's going to hate you forever. And the next generation will hate you even more.

As we celebrate mediocrity, all the boys upstairs want to see. How much you'll pay for what you used to get for free.

Excuse me if I have/some place in my mind/where I go time to time.

I've learned one thing, and that's to quit worrying about stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible here, relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember the time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So stay out late. Go out with your friends on a Tuesday when you have a paper due on Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does...

Some grow young, some grow cold...

'Free Fallin'' is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it.

And the days went by like paper in the wind. Everything changed, then changed again. It's hard to find a friend. It's hard to find a friend.

If you're not getting older, you're dead.

God, it's so painful when something that's so close is still so far out of reach.

Music really isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s all about people relating to each other and doing something that’s really from the soul. It must come from the soul.

Running down a dream... working on a mystery... going wherever it leads...

You believe what you want to believe

Buy me a drink, sing me a song; take me as I come, cause I can't stay long.

I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that an artist has to take some moral responsibility for what he or she is putting out there.

You were the one who made things different, you were the one who took me in. You were the one thing I could count on, above all, you were my friend.

Songwriting ability is a gift. After a while, you come to realize, "I've really been blessed. I can write these things and it makes me happy, and it makes millions of people happy." It's an obligation, it's bigger than you. It's the only true magic I know. It's not pulling a rabbit out of a hat; it's real. It's your soul floating out to theirs.

You belong somewhere you feel free.

The waiting is the hardest part, every day you get one more yard. You take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is hardest part.