E. L. Doctorow Quotes

Whatever is original in my writing comes from my musical apprenticeship. I look for rhythm in words. I imagine words as if they were musical chords. Often I'll write something, read it, and find it musically unsatisfactory. There is a musical imperative in my choice of words.

A right balance between music and lyrics is important. Music complements lyrics.

In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular music.

Shakespeare is rhythmic; he is musical in the sense that he likes poetry, and he's musical because he constantly refers to settings where there's singing and dancing.

The sense of flowing, which is so crucial to song, is also crucial to poetry.

I've always wanted to make music like people write plays, so I was inspired by writers as much as musicians.

Attempts to put my poems to music have had disastrous results in all cases. And the poem, if it's written with the ear, already has been set to its own verbal music as it was composed.

Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance... poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music.

My father speaks for himself, through his music.

There are still many tribal cultures where poetry and song, there is just one word for them. There are other cultures with literacy where poetry and song are distinguished. But poetry always remembers that it has its origins in music.

I enjoy the process of composing music. The first time I hear a song, it has to bring a smile to my lips. You have to tap your feet and be able to sing the song.

If you listen to a language for 15 minutes, you know the rhythm and song.

I'm touched by Jon Hendricks. I want some of my music to reflect that. And when I write, you're going to hear it.

I consider myself kind of a reporter - one who uses words that are more like music and that have a choreography. I never think of myself as a poet; I just get up and write.

I keep reminding people that an editorial in rhyme is not a song. A good song makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you think.

The music just tends to be a vehicle for that poetry.

The power of sound to put an audience in a certain psychological state is vastly undervalued. And the more you know about music and harmony, the more you can do with that.

When I perform Strauss, it is as if the music fits me like a glove. My voice seems to lie in a happy area in this music, which is lyrical and passionate at the same time.

The music is the main thing and it's just as easy to write acceptable words.

The songs in 'Wonderland' don't have a melodic life for me - I'm not a musical person - but they have an emotional life, an emotional echo perhaps.

I suppose that's why new music and I go well together, because new music often requires maintaining great rhythm.

The drummer; he inspired me to play like no one else I have ever met.

I do really love singing. It's something that I have always liked to do.

It just happens to be that people like to associate poetry and rap music. I think that idea is kind of corny.

I love songs that tell stories. They make you feel something, something real.