Ry Cooder Quotes

I want to sing for people. I want them to have the music. It's a nice feeling.

With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.

Music is the emotional life of most people.

Well, I think at first, songs were sort of the vehicle which allowed me to be on the stage and get to hold a guitar and get to sing.

But the thing that will always occupy me the most is music.

Singing is just a feeling set to music.

I started writing songs when I started learning guitar.

I'm a songwriter; that's where it starts. I love writing with someone that shares that same feeling of accomplishment. I'll play music for my fans as long as they'll listen, but I fancy myself as a writer first.

To me, the guitar is a tool for songwriting, and it's fun, too. The day that it's not fun, that's when I'm not gonna play guitar anymore.

Singing instrumental music is most important because, while you play an instrument, you are singing through the instrument... actually, you are singing inside.

When I picked up the guitar for the first time, it opened up a whole new world for me. I became obsessed with writing and playing.

I've made music since I was a kid so I've always gotten joy out of that.

I also started writing songs because I had this burning activity in my heart and had to express myself.

My whole life is geared to play guitar. I play what I want when I want and I hope the listener gets as much pleasure listening to the music as I get playing it.

The thing that fuels me the most is the desire to be on stage. And singing is the ultimate way of expressing all the emotions that I have inside.

More than art, more than literature, music is universally accessible.

I started writing songs when I was 10. It was a natural way to express myself as a kid. It wasn't until I started listening to jazz, joined the choir and picked up a guitar that my little hobby became something far more serious.

Music is such an important part of my life.

To see fans singing your songs back to you is an indescribable thing.

When your hair is rising, that's when you know it's a good song - that's happened to me with some artists and some songs, John Lennon songs or when Nina Simone sings. It's great to make those moments yourself.

I've been a musician my whole life. I'm really enjoying making music again.

I borrowed a guitar at age 16 and taught myself to play because I wanted to write songs.

Music is really driving my whole life.

When I got into music, I wanted to learn guitar just enough to be able to write songs. I wanted to be able to express myself.

As a songwriter, that's really what you hope for - to make that connection with your audience.