Randy Newman Quotes

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 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.

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

People become who they are. Even Beethoven became Beethoven.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

This is the Republican Party who has run against Russia for 80 years and you know, (Trump) hasn't mentioned (Putin) except in a positive way.

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.

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.

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

There's a million white people better qualified than a black man to be president of America.

Some fools in the desert with nothing to do...invented me, and they invented you. And other fools keep it all going and growing. Everybody, we're a figment of their imagination.

I don't remember ever having writer's block. If I sit in there for four hours, I'll usually have something.

I always thought my best album was 'Trouble in Paradise.' I was the happiest with that one.

The belief in the '70s was that music was changing the world. I never believed that it had that great an effect. The effect Madonna had on fashion and sort of mores of young girls was a bigger deal than anything Dylan may have said, even.

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

Crank up the Beach Boys, Baby.

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.

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

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old, Africa is far too hot and Canada's too cold. And South America stole our name, let's drop the big one.

But I don't want to sing everything out of the side of my mouth, I want people to understand what I mean.

It's very hard to get rich and famous at a young age and handle it well.

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.

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

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

"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.

I hate having to wait. I've got the thing done. I just want to see what happens.

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.

Mostly, I don't write overtly personal stuff.

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.

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

I seen her with the milkman, riding down the street. When you're through with my baby, milkman, send her home to me.

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

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.

Short people got no reason to live.

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

Still, it's clear that there are lots of people out there who are uncomfortable [about racism]. The Civil War was a long time ago but there are aspects of it that remain unsettled.

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

Writers have always liked my stuff, pretty much. That's what I wanted - I think my goal wasn't to get rich and famous, necessarily, though I cared about that. I always thought, "Oh, this could be a hit," or "that will sell records." But the first thing I wanted was that people who knew a lot about music, or had taste-making qualities, they would like my stuff. Writers, people like that.

I've often written about places that are totally different from anything I know. Sometimes they turn out better.

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

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.

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.

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