Tom petty quotes

I always tell my kids, "Find something that you love and within that you'll find some job that you can do and you'll always be happy. You'll go to a job that you want to go to."

I would never put my songs in a commercial.

Last dance with Mary Jane One more time to kill the pain I feel summer creepin' in and I'm Tired of this town again

I'm so tired of being tired. Sure as night will follow day most things I worry about will never happen anyway.

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

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. And I think a lot of these young kids are going to have to learn the hard way before they realize that you can actually do some damage if you're being careless or frivolous in what you're saying.

I'm more interested in what I'm going to leave behind me than in making a big hit record. I've refined what I do for a long time. If getting better at it means it goes over the heads of those who only wanted to party, then so be it.

I got my own way of praying.

I'm barely prolific and incredibly lazy.

When I met Elvis, we didn't really have a conversation. I was introduced by my uncle, and he sort of grunted my way. What stays with me is the whole scene. I had never seen a real mob scene before. I was really young and impressionable. Elvis really did look - he looked sort of not real, as if he were glowing.

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

I've always had a great love for the blues.

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.

Redemption comes to those who wait, forgiveness is the key.

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

There's a freeway running through the yard.

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

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

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

How about a cheer for all those bad girls! And all those boys that play that rock 'n' roll! They love it like you love Jesus.

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.

I remember things being more clearer, at one time things were more real.

Go after what you really love and find a way to make that work for you, and then you'll be a happy person.

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

You believe what you want to believe

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.

If you look around at America, that's one of its biggest problems is you have corporations that can never be pleased at a profit.

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.

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

When I decided to be a musician I reckoned that that was going to be the way of less profit, less money. I was sort of giving up the idea of making a lot of money. It was what I loved to do. I would have done it anyway. If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.

I love the music. I'm never, ever tired of playing it.

Lord, please watch over all these lost children born to chase the hurricane.

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.

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.

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

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

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

The waiting is the hardest part.

I like making money like anybody else, and I'm paid well, but I think there is a point at which you can out-price your audience or your base.

I'm always having fun. Playing is fun. Music is fun.

I don't treat the band like I'm above them or that they're a hired hand for me. We've never worked that way. So I'm a team player. I would be very uncomfortable having to do this alone.

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 think it's important to always offer something new.

Where the sky begins, the horizon ends, despite the best intentions.

There goes your freedom of choice, there goes the last human voice.

I'm not interested in the TV much. I quit watching the news a couple years ago and my outlook on life has gotten a whole lot better.

A rebel without a clue.

I always liked the idea of the guitar - because cowboys played the guitar.

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

What I've learned about marriage: You need to have each other's back; you have to be a kind of team going through life.

Let's get to the point Let's roll another joint

'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.

I'm not trying to be cool. I have a problem with lights. I have one eye that's become super-sensitive to lighting, so I do wear sunglasses quite a bit.

I have never been comfortable being the front man.

You spend your life dreaming, running 'round in a trance, You hang out forever and still miss the dance, And if you get lucky, you might find someone, To help you get over the pain that will come.

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

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

My sister got lucky, married a yuppie, and took him for all he was worth. Now she's a swinger dating a singer, I can't decide which is worse.

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've got a room at the top of the world tonight. I can see everything tonight.

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!

If you don't run, you rust.

Just wonderin', waitin', worryin' about some silly little things, that just don't add up to nothin'.

I developed a problem with authority. Any time that authority was what I interpreted as being unjust, I stood up to it, and that became my personality.

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

I had the radio on, I was driving. Trees flew by, me and Del were singing, Little Runaway, I was flying.

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

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.

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

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.

If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.

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

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

Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.

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

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

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.

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 should have known right then it was too good to last, God, it's such a drag when you're livin' in the past

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

I've never had any idea that what I like would resonate with the audience, and I'm pleasantly surprised when it does.

When you get older, your health becomes important to you, things start breaking down, you've always got a different ache or pain.

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

Even the losers get lucky sometimes. Even the losers keep a little bit of pride. They get lucky sometimes.

Even the losers get lucky sometimes!

Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.

I have turned down a lot of money for things that would have made me feel cheesy.

We don't really make bad records, though some people might like some more than others. And we have never really done a bad show. So I think in a way maybe we've been taken for granted.

You get into your late fifties, people start falling like flies all around you. I don't take life for granted any more. I'm really glad to be here.

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

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

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

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

It's funny how the music industry is enraged about the Internet and the way things are copied without being paid for. But you know why people steal the music? Because they can't afford the music.

At twilight time the smog makes a rainbow.

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.

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

I'm not exactly a guy who makes new friends easily.

I love history, doesn't matter what era, I'm fascinated.

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

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

Most things I worry about never happen anyway.

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

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.

You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again.

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

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

I wouldn't want to get stuck being an oldie-goldie group, but I don't mind. I think all the trouble you go through these days to go to one of these concerts, I think I owe them a bit of what they came to hear.

I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem.

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

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

I started playing the bass because nobody else would play the bass, and then I got bumped up into singing because no one else really wanted to sing. So I learned how to sing and I wrote the songs, so I tended to get the most attention.

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

It's very easy to be cynical about the hall of fame. But on the other hand, it's really a beautiful thing for someone like me. I dedicated my entire life to this music.

I'm not any happier anywhere than when I'm in the studio. I'm over the moon about it. It keeps me young, it keeps me feeling like I have some purpose.

I'm actually better on the guitar than when I started, I think, because I've had so much time with it and I still practice and I love to do it and I love to sing.

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.

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

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

Some grow young, some grow cold...

You belong somewhere you feel free.

I think to be successful you have to work really hard but you also have to have a little bit of luck.

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.

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.