Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three.

Singing songs like 'The Man I Love' or 'Porgy' is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck.

When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.

In this country, don't forget, a habit is no damn private hell. There's no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country it's the worst kind of hell for those who love you.

Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose.

You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave.

If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung.