Randy Newman Quotes

If getting on the radio was a major motivation, I'd be one of the worst writers of all time. I admire people who do it, and I think it's a nice way to work, but I try to do the best I can and write what I like. I don't worry about it.

Most of my songs are about insensitivity of some kind.

If we'd had another carefree 70s, I'd have been dead. It was a little too carefree, you know? I don't know how carefree they were for me, I think I was worried then, I can't remember what about.

I am not overlooking any mail. I'm looking at all of it. I even wrote back to the Viagra people.

I'm pretty proud of my film music in general.

But if you're doing something, show up everyday, and something good might happen - it's not going to happen if you don't show up.

God bless the potholes on Memory Lane.

Learn about the world, the way it works, any kind of science and anthropology, it's really an interesting place we live in. Evolution is a really fantastic idea, even more than the idea of God I think.

I like science - geography, meteorology, cosmology.

Short people got no reason to live.

You've got troubles, I've got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We'll stick together to see it through cause you've got a friend in me.

People become who they are. Even Beethoven became Beethoven.

You keep wondering whether people will see that Barack Obama is a liar and not very bright.

It's funny; people get so doctrinaire about music. It should be the last thing you don't have an open mind about.

I've always had a lot of respect from the people I respected.

It's a big surprise to me about America that there are 40 million people prepared to vote for (Trump). They wouldn't want him as a friend. No matter who you are, you wouldn't want him on your bowling team or to have dinner with him or anything. They would recognize it immediately in a guy. A big blowhard, braggart.

I sit here in this chair, I pour myself some whiskey, and watch my troubles vanish into the air.

They don't respect us, so let's surprise them, we'll drop the big one, pulverize them.

I'm dreaming of a white president. Just like the ones we've always had. A real live white man. Who knows the score, how to handle money or start a war. Wouldn't even have to tell me what we were fighting for. He'd be the right man, if he were a white man.

I ain't saying that I'm better than you, but maybe I am.

The radio is blastin', someone's knockin' at the door. I'm lookin' at my girlfriend, she's passed out on the floor.

I like the idea of taking a true classic written by a true genius and essentially destroying it!

I started recording because I was always complaining about the records that I was getting of my songs. At least if I did them and messed them up, I wouldn't have anyone else to blame.

I think the tax cut is ridiculous but so am I.

I once had dinner with Madonna and I wasn't nervous but within about a minute I found myself talking about underwear.

And the Lord said: I burn down your cities - how blind you must be. I take from you your children, and you say how blessed are we. You all must be crazy to put your faith in me. That's why I love mankind.

"Rednecks" always made me nervous to play, but I'm glad I wrote it and I continue to play it. It's just that the language is so rough.

My music has a high irritation factor. I`ve always tried to say something. Eccentric lyrics about eccentric people. Often it was is joke. But I would plead guilty on the grounds that I prefer eccetricity to the bland.

Cleveland, city of light! City of magic!

More of my songs are intended to be funny than almost anyone else. Sometimes maybe it cheers me up a bit. I've got a distance from it. Sometimes what I'm writing is more important to me than the rest of my life. It's more important to me that I'm writing well than anything else.

I have owned and played a Steinway all my life. It's the best Beethoven piano. The best Chopin piano. And the best Ray Charles piano. I like it, too.

Things aren't black and white in the world.

You know, they say you can reduce genius to someone who spent 10,000 hours trying to get good at something. I'm not claiming either one of those. I haven't done anything for 10,000 hours but sleep. But you do stuff enough, you get better at it. Usually it's a simple thing like that. Essentially, a brainless endeavor.

I've written about a lot of different things, but the whole idea of writing for another character is unusual for pop music... Most of the repertory is love songs, and most of mine isn't. I don't know if that's a mental defect, or shyness, or what.

Crank up the Beach Boys, Baby.

I've worked with a band, and it's nice to have someone to travel around with, but I didn't like it as well on stage.

College men from L.S.U., went in dumb, come out dumb, too.

I've written a song for Prince. I never showed it to Prince, but just to see if I could do it. At the time, when I sort of knew him, he was recording a song a day. I wondered if I could do that. So I wrote it.

It takes a whole lot of medicine for me to pretend I am somebody else.

To get nominated by the Republican Party you've got to be pretty reactionary, really.

I am half a man, holy Jesus, what a drag.

Don't forget to bring that little blonde haired girl along. You know the one, love to watch her jump up and down.

What I'm most pleased about is that there's no particular decline. The songs I wrote 40 years ago are no worse and no better - there's a consistency.

I'd like to explain why you fine young men had to be blown apart to defend this mud hole.

Stay away from drugs. They're not worth it. I've tried, but there's none of them that's worth it.

I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never loved writing, to tell you the truth.

The easiest thing I do is assignment songs. They tell me what they need me to write. I can do that fairly quickly. Writing for an orchestra is difficult. Writing songs [on your own] is most difficult of all. Though [writing for] the orchestra is close.

This one guy's wife is such a pretty brown thing, that I'm liable to give her a poke or two. Whaddaya think of that?

We'll have a kid or maybe we'll rent one. He's got to be straight, we don't want a bent one.

He got drunk last night, kicked Mama down the stairs. But I'm alright, so I don't care.