The 26 Best Prince Quotes

Was there anyone in history with more of a flare for the dramatic?

Videos by American Songwriter

The Purple One certainly had his finger on the pulse of what made people raise their eyebrows. The skilled guitar player, singer, songwriter, actor, and cultural icon was one of a kind.

His music, of course, will live on forever, from “Purple Rain” to “Darling Nikki.” But what about what Prince had to say when the amps were turned off and the guitar was in its case? What did he think and believe when it came to life, love, the craft of music, and much more?

That is exactly the thought behind this inquiry. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the top 26 Prince Quotes.

1. “Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful.”

2. “There’s a dark side to everything.”

3. “I like constructive criticism from smart people.”

4. “A strong spirit transcends rules.”

5. “Technology is cool, but you’ve got to use it as opposed to letting it use you.”

6. “Art is about building a new foundation, not just laying something on top of what’s already there.”

7. “I’ve always understood the two to be intertwined: sexuality and spirituality. That never changed.”

8. “To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings, and I would—I don’t know, I wish it upon everybody. It’s heaven.”

9. “People say I’m wearing heels because I’m short. I wear heels because the women like ’em.”

10. “Too much freedom can lead to the soul’s decay.”

11. “If you lend your consciousness to someone else, you’re a robot.”

12. “My hair is capable of doing a lot of different things.”

13. “Tell me a musician who’s got rich off digital sales. Apple’s doing pretty good though, right?”

14. “Like books and black lives, albums still matter.”

15. “I learned from Jehovah’s Witnesses that a fatalistic view is counterproductive.”

16. “When I first started out in this music industry, I was most concerned with freedom. Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to.”

17. “Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don’t forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It’s like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain’t right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach.”

18. “So much has been written about me, and people don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. I’d rather let them stay confused.”

19. “I have a lot of parties.”

20. “The music, for me, doesn’t come on a schedule. I don’t know when it’s going to come, and when it does, I want it out.”

21. “My father left his piano at the house when he left, and I wasn’t allowed to play it when he was there because I wasn’t as good as him. So when he left, I was determined to get as good as him, and I taught myself how to play music, and I just stuck with it, and I did it all the time.”

22. “I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.”

23. “I like to open people’s eyes.”

24. “I like arguments.”

25. “I learned from Jimi Hendrix. They all wanted him to do the tricks, and at the end of his career, he just wanted to play. I lived longer than he did, and I can see how those pressures can really play with your head.”

26. “When you sit down to write something, there should be no guidelines. The main idea is not supposed to be, ‘How many different ways can we sell it?’ That’s so far away from the true spirit of what music is.”

Photo: Courtesy of Primary Wave

Leave a Reply

The band Pearl Jam is pictured all together with Eddie Vedder.

Pearl Jam Guitarist Stone Gossard: “We’re On Our Way, We’re Making Music”