Explore Quotes by Elvis Costello

Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.

I'm goin' to take a little trip, down paradise's endless shores. They say that travel broadens the mind, till you can't get your head out of doors.

Your mind is made up but your mouth is undone.

Funny, now I can see, how looks can be deceiving.

There are five things to write songs about: I'm leaving you. You're leaving me. I want you. You don't want me. I believe in something. Five subjects, and 12 notes. For all that, we musicians do pretty well.

There's so many people to see. So many people to check up on and add to your collection.

These are the sort of things that push you on in music - the curiosity, a passion for new ideas.

It's what's on the record not what labels on it. You know, that's like getting a box of cornflakes and eating the cardboard.

It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for.

Morrissey writes wonderful song titles, but sadly he often forgets to write the song.

I've had a lot of different experiences in music over the years.And not everything you do can satisfy everybody's idealised version of you.

And I'm up while the dawn is breaking, even though my heart is aching. I should be drinking a toast to absent friends instead of these comedians.

I'd been to Memphis before, but we stayed out of Memphis early on in the late 70s for obvious reasons. People were very sensitive about Elvis Presley, and my stage name obviously would be provocative to some people in that area at that time.

And obviously, when I started out, I had a little bit more curiosity than some, and went seeking out the original artists, or in some cases searching up country music.

The radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel.

I know that when I make a record like The Delivery Man as a contrast to even Il Sogno, this is going to reach a wider audience, because it communicates in that very direct way.

No use wishing now for any other sin.

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it._x000D_Now fear is here to stay, _x000D_love is here for a visit.

It's a dangerous game that comedy plays. Sometimes it tells you the truth; sometimes it delays it.

There are some things you can't cover up with lipstick and powder.

People become so deeply attached to the sound of one period that they blow a fuse when you move on. I've heard people complain bitterly about recordings they haven't even heard.