Tom Petty

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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, loves her mama / Loves Jesus and America too / She's a good girl, who's crazy 'bout Elvis / Loves horses and her boyfriend too

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

I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever. If you want to talk about something that is all about money, just watch the television.

There used to be this real sense of community integrity in rock. It has really eroded. Everyone seems to be on their own now.

You and I will meet again When were least expecting it One day in some far off place I will recognize your face I wont say goodbye my friend For you and I will meet again.

The first time I tried to write was when I was 14, after I got an electric guitar. I put a song together, and it wasn't that bad! The writing came natural to me.

It's better to burn out, then to fade away.

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

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.

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.

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.

At twilight time the smog makes a rainbow.

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

Most things I worry about never happen anyway.

TV does not care about you or what happens to you. It's downright bad for your health now, and that's not a far-out concept. I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health.

I'm barely prolific and incredibly lazy.

Making a record? You've got to have the song, then you create a record. I think it's the same with a live performance. If the material is strong, you're already 90% there. I always tell young people it's all about the music, the songs. Work on the songs, work on the songs, work on the songs.

A good song should give you a lot of images you should be able to make your own little movie in your head to a good song.

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

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

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

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

The energy of the crowd is insane. Twenty thousand people. It's the biggest jolt of adrenaline. It's very hard to explain. You know the old story about the woman lifting the car off her kid? It's in that realm. You can actually hurt yourself and not know it.

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

I don't know, my music has always just come from where the wind blew me. Like where I'm at during a particular moment in time.

When I go to see people, I always kind of hope they are going to play some kind of songs I know. So you've got to know your audience. It's kind of something that is a blessing and a curse in a way. You're obligated to play some of that stuff that people know, but I don't think that's all you have to do.

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.

The music business looks like, you know, innocent schoolboys compared to the TV business. They care about nothing but profit.