Pat Metheny Quotes

Authors from whom others steal should not complain, but rejoice. Where there is no game there are no poachers.

I'm a writer who likes to be influenced.

I am like a brick.

I think I am too interested in my own ideas to copy anyone else's, but I find that other people's imagery, the flow of language in the outside world, games with words, and ideas about relationships are all most important to me.

I realized that I could try to sound like Waylon Jennings, or I could try to be like Waylon Jennings... but it's impossible to do both.

Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal.

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

I take stuff because I'm inspired by it.

There were times in my career when I would try to write songs like Bob Dylan... Artists get hooked up in that. To be a follower, you lose.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

Art is either plagiarism or revolution.

What I've learned is that it's okay to take from heroes, such as Debussy, but it has to be filtered through my own personality so that ultimately it's me.

Ultimately, with every film I'd done before, there was a reference. They have their own uniqueness, but there was always a precedent.

Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given you. I believe the greatest characteristic of genius, is, above all, force.

To be somebody you must last.

I don't think I really invented anybody. I have drawn on real life.

For years, I was watching other people have so much fun playing out their version of authorship, like Louis C.K. and Larry David. As I watched them do their thing, I began to pine for the days when I had a lot less expected of me and, often, a lot more creative freedom. The courage that those guys have is always captivating to me.

As I've matured as a songwriter, I realize that if it's out there, it's mine.

You find a lot of ideas from my shows in adverts now. I find it a compliment.

If you're always thinking about someone else's work, about the tradition you're working in, how can you possibly make anything good?

I think hearts are very much like glasses. If they do not break with the first ring, they usually last a considerable time.

You cannot possibly invent painting all by yourself.

And doing so you can recreate yourself and you can also come up with something that is not only original and creative and artistic, but also maybe even decent, or moral if I can use words like that, or something that's like basically good.

I don't really care who gets their inspiration from where, it's the end results that count.

Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.