John Lee Hooker Quotes & Sayings

“Like you and your woman ain't gettin' along and you're in love. You can't sleep at nights. Your mind is on her - on whatever. You know, that's the blues. You can't hug that money at night. You can't kiss it.”

“The one thing the blues don't get is the backing and pushing of TV and radio like a lot of this garbage you hears. They choke stuff down people's throat so they got no choice but to listen to it.”

“I don't think about time. You're here when you're here. I think about today, staying in tune.”

“I am a happy man. I've had a good life.”

“The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.”

“I don't play a lot of fancy guitar. I don't want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks.”

“My style is all to myself.”

“It don't take me no three days to record no album.”

“I went on to Cincinnati. I had got a taste of the big cities and them bright lights. I stayed there until I was about 18 or 19 and then I went on to Detroit.”

“They wasn't gonna give you nothin'. I didn't care as long as they let me play my music. Cash on the spot... You cheat me and I'm gonna get me some money, too.”