CASSIE AND SHARON'S ELVIS QUOTES

MISCELLANEOUS QUOTES

Elvis wasn't what anyone would call talkative. He was polite and attentive with reporters, but his manner was usually to put a thought out there and leave it - not unfinished, not superficail, but not adorned either.

He also didn't want to offend anyone, and kept potentially controversial opinions to himself. Elvis was much more outspoken in private. And, like it or not, the last thing he ever said was, "Okay, I won't," uttered to girlfriend Ginger Alden when she warned him not to fall asleep in the bathroom. Mind you, Elvis didn't always manage to practice what he advocated; like all of us, he had his failings.

For example, patience was not one of his virtues. But his shortcomings aside, his words offer a unique insight into the man, something many biographies, tell-alls, documentaries, and articles have failed to provide.

As Liberace put it, in 1986, "For a person who didn't say much, he said a lot."

Here's some of what he had to say.

On The American Dream

Ain't nowhere else in the world you can go from driving a truck to driving a Cadillac overnight. Nowhere!

On Autograph Hunters

If you can't take the time to sign your name for someone, then before too long your new name'll be mud.

On Boredom

I'd rather be angry than bored.

I never believed that anything was a coincidence. There's a reason for everything that happens.

On Common Sense

There's nothin' I respect more than someone who can tell north from south without a compass.



On Compassion

Only a dead man's got a reason not to care.

On Confidence

If you do well, confidence comes naturally. If you do poorly, you've got to go find it. Either way, if you want to survive, its gotta come from somewhere.

On Coolness

Being cool is knowing how much to let things show, and how much to keep 'em in.

On Divorce

Sad thing is.....you can still love someone and be wrong for them.

On Education

You learn by reading and listening. I never met anyone who learned by talking.

On Elvis (in 1969)

My name's got 'evils' and 'lives'. It's probably better not to wonder too much about it.

On Eyes

A person's eyes tell you more than their words.

On Fame

(1965) - When you're the top gunslinger in town everyone takes you on.

(1977)

I'm sort of getting tired of being Elvis Presley.

On Girlfriends

I learned young that havin' a girlfriend was about the most expensive thing there is - besides havin' a wife.

On Instincts

Trust your gut

it doesn't know how to lie.

On Jogging

I think it's great for you in the same way that a cold shower's great for you, but there's better ways of achievin' the same goal.

On Laughter

It's pure freedom, like bein' a kid again.

On Life

Life and livin' ain't the same thing. Life is more than just drawin' breath. It don't take long to figure it out. It really isn't that complicated.

There's different kinds of love - for a child, a parent, a wife, a pet, a home, all kinds and the only bad one I ever saw was self-love. Love is like when you pull into a service station and know that you don't want to go any farther....that you can be happy right there.

On Loyalty

Loyalty is the most important thing you can give someone. Truth, trust, friendship, and very often love, all depend on it.

On Manners

- Somebody once called me a sissy for being polite, but it isn't true. There's a 'man' in 'manners.

On Meat

I like it well done. Cooked. I ain't orderin' a pet.

On The Media

Too many of those guys ain't reporters, they're Marksmen.

On Memories

They cut both ways. There's no way to forget the worst pain, but nothin' gives you the same kind of pleasure as rememberin' your greatest happiness.

On Men

There's no such thing as a man......just a little boy wearin' a man's body.

On Military Life

The bad side - You can't breathe or even go to the bathroom without them knowin' about it.....I never hated anything so much in my life as I have the army.

The good side - It's an excellent experience. It lets you find out how other people think and live.

On Money

I think, sometimes, it's shameful for one person to have so much. Doesn't seem quite right. But certain professions are the mother lode, and that's just the way it is.

Sharing money is what gives it its value. Money is somethin' people don't mind being woken up in the middle of the night for.

On Music

Music should be something that makes you gotta move, inside or outside

On Nervousness

- Nothin' wrong with your knees shakin'. When I first shook, it was half nervousness, half movin' to the beat....and look what it did for me.

On Newspapers

My daddy once said that the only thing newspapers care about is selling newspapers. I believe that is mostly true.

On Nicknames

They're real powerful; they can hurt or they can tie you to people in an affectionate way.

On The Night

The world is more alive at night. It's like God ain't lookin'....

On Obsessions

If you like something, what's so bad about doin' a lot of it? You never know when it's going to end.

On Parenting

- The key to being a good parent is making a child behave whether they want to or not.

On Performing

It's either the greatest high or the lowest low, but the danger is one of the things that makes it so exciting.

On The Piano

I can't play but - what, three chords on the guitar.

But you can do anything on the piano....it's like a small band of musicians.

On Pornography

Any man who says he ain't interested is a liar.

Any woman who says that, she's probably lyin', too.

On Prayer

Sometimes it's good to get a few words out, no matter if anyone's listening.....just to put yourself on your knees.

On Promises

You don't go back on them. You just don't. All it takes is to do it once, and you've lost folks' trust forever.

On Psychoanalysis

What the hell makes somebody think they can read a book, put you on a couch, and figure you out? I've known some folks all my life, an' I don't know them.

On Rebelliousness

- I think most people have a natural instinct to rebel.

On Respect

You earn it by givin' it.

On Rhythm

Rhythm is something you either have or you don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

On Rock and Roll

Rock and roll is basically just gospel music, or gospel music with rhythm and blues.
- They say it makes us hoodlums. That ain't true. It's a pressure valve......I don't see that any type of music would have any bad influence on people.
- I don't think it'll ever die completely out because they're gonna have to get something mighty good to take its place.

On Sacrifice

Nothin' humbles me more, whether it's a mama doin' without so her baby doesn't have to, or people savin' up for a year just to come and see me sing.

On Sensitivity

Most men don't seem to understand that bein' soft with somebody ain't the same thing as bein' weak.

On Sex

We're not machines. We need more than the physical act.
- If we can control sex, then we can master all other desires.

-The church

can say what it wants......there's nothin' unclean about sex.
A little lovin' never hurt anyone.........man or woman.

On Show Business

Once you think you've made it.....you gotta prove yourself, prove yourself, and then prove yourself again.

On Showmanship

If I just stood up there and sang and never moved, people would say, "I could stay home and listen to his records." You have to give them a show, something to talk about.

On Singing

It's a way of caressing people with your voice.

On Snakes

They're cold, man. They're the only animals I really hate. Even when they scoot away, you know they ain't afraid.......they'll be back.

On Society

Everybody's nuts. Some of us just see it more clearly.

On Stardom

A star is someone who, when an audience approves of them, puts more into what they're doing, not less.

On Talent

Talent is bein' able to see what you're feeling.

On Telepathy

I believe in it. We've barely tapped the powers of the mind.

On Television

It's good company when you don't want to be with anyone else.

On Tell All Books

People in the public eye are used to having all their dirty laundry exposed, but these [writers] should show some consideration for the children.

On Truth

It's like the sun - you can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.

On The United States

I love this country and what it stands for. These war protesters......should go live somewhere else, along with any others who don't care to stand up for their country.

On Values

They're like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do.

On Women 1960

Women should be at home to raise a family. It's the only way.

1972

What I expect is for a woman to stand by her man.....not sleep around or cuss.

On Work

The best thing you can do is get in there, no horsin' around, and take care of business.

On Youth

Being young is not a physical thing. It's a mental outlook, an attitude.

CHALLENGES

"I've always liked challenges. I like to prove I'm better than I was yesterday."
Elvis Presley

"Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together, I guess."

Elvis in 1956, talking about his way of moving on stage.

  "I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs.

  "Don't criticize what you don't understand, son. You never walked in that man's shoes."

  "When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times

I learned very early in life that: 'Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain't got a friend;

without a song, the road would never bend - without a song.' So I keep singing a song.

Goodnight. Thank you."

  "We do two shows a night for five weeks. A lotta times we'll go upstairs and sing until daylight - gospel songs. We grew up with it...It more or less puts your mind at ease. It does mine."

Talking about the informal jam sessions he and the band and entourage enjoy each night during the lengthy Vegas engagements. These happen upstairs in Elvis' suite at the Las Vegas Hilton as they all try to "wind down" from the excitement and energy of the live shows.

  "I've never gotten over what they call stagefright. I go through it every show. I'm pretty concerned, I'm pretty much thinking about the show. I never get completely comfortable with it, and I don't let the people around me get comfortable with it, in that I remind them that it's a new crowd out there, it's a new audience, and they haven't seen us before. So it's got to be like the first time we go on."

  "The first time that I appeared on stage, it scared me to death. I really didn't know what all the yelling was about. I didn't realize that my body was moving. It's a natural thing to me. So to the manager backstage I said 'What'd I do? What'd I do?' And he said "Whatever it is, go back and do it again'."

  "Man, I was tame compared to what they do now. Are you kidding? I didn't do anything but just jiggle."

  "...the image is one thing and the human being is another...it's very hard to live up to an image."

  "A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and on stage. It's my favorite part of the business - live concerts."

  " 'Til we meet you again, may God bless you. Adios."

Weight

- 180 (He weighed 5 lbs. at birth and more than 250 at the time of his death.

Hair
sandy blonde (but he dyed it black)

Eyes
blue (scar under left eye)

Shirt Size
15 1/2 - 17; 35" arm

Shoe Size
11D; combat-boot size 12

Blood Type
O

Social Security #
409-52-2002

Army Seriel #
53310761 (draft number)

National Bank of Commerce checking account #
011-143875 (He signed all checks E.A. Presley

Alias Names
Jon Burrows, Dr. John Carpenter Guitars - Martin D-28 and Gibson J-200

Favorite Flower
Jasmine Favorite dinner Plates
Noritake's Buckingham pattern

Favorite Toothpaste
Colgate

Favorite Cologne
Brut

Favorite Bacon
King Cotton

Favorite Bread
Wonder enriched

Favorite Board Games
Monopoly and Scrabble

Favorite Sports
Karate, Football and Raquetball

Favorite Restaurants
Gridiron at 4101 Elvis Presly Blvd, Memphis; Tiny Naylor's and Hamburger Heaven, Los Angeles

Favorite Wild Animal
Tigers

Favorite Make Of Car
Cadillac

Favorite Gemstone
Diamond

Favorite Colors
Blue, Black, White and Gold

"We were broke, man, broke........and we left for Memphis overnight."

"Man, if I could ever get people to talk about me the way they talk about Liberace, I would really have it made."

(To A Memphis Audience)

"Those people [Eastern critics] ain't gonna change me none."

"The gospel is really what we grew up with more than anything else. It's just a part of you. if you think about it."

INTERVIEW WITH HY GARDNER

- "I'd like to have the ability of James Dean.....but I'd never compare myself to James Dean."

- "I don't feel I'm doin' anything wrong."

TO THE PRESS

- "I thought it was s'posed to get easier, but it's gettin' worse. I hate havin' to read what people write 'bout me. I just hate it."

- "My first love is spiritual music.....some of the old colored spirituals from way back. (I know) practically every religious song that's ever been written."

(To Army Buddies)

"After my first picture for Hal Wallis, it's the nonmusical for me!"

(Regarding The Army)

"All I want is to be treated as a regular GI. I want to do my duty and I'm mighty proud to be given the opportunity to serve my country."

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