I don't want to die an old lady.
Edith PiafRead
Tell me what you'd like to hear me sing. I'll sing whatever you like, after which I'll take up a collection, if you don't mind.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the joy of performing and giving people what they desire through art.
Edith Piaf's quote reflects the essence of an artist's role in connecting with their audience. By inviting others to express their wishes about what she should sing, she demonstrates her willingness to tailor her art to meet the desires of her listeners, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between performer and audience. The mention of taking up a collection serves to underline the transactional aspect of art, where creativity meets appreciation and support from the audience.
In practice
This quote could be used at a community event where local artists are asked to perform.
I don't want to die an old lady.
I think you have to pay for love with bitter tears.
Use your faults, use your defects; then you're going to be a star.
People say that I could sing the phone book and make it sound good.
Americans want beauties, not me. I’m not the Parisian bombshell they expected. Can you see me as a chorus girl? Where’s my feather up the ass? They think I’m sad, they’re dumb. I don’t connect to them
I've always wanted to sing, just as I've always known that one day I would have my own niche in the annals of song. It was a feeling I had.
My sister-in-law is a painter, and I'll say, how long did it take you to paint that painting. She'll say, It took me maybe three days, but it took me all my life to get the skills to paint that painting.
No art is any good unless you can feel how it's put together. By and large it's the eye, the hand and if it's any good, you feel the body. Most of the best stuff seems to be a complete gesture, the totality of the artist's body; you can really lean on it.
I'm a failed poet. Reading poetry helps me to see the world differently, and I try to infuse my prose with figurative language, which goes against the trend in fiction.
If you are working in an office, where do you find the time to write a novel? But you can finish a short story in five pages. Furthermore, a short story is a perfect place to learn the craft.
Swing is extreme coordination. It's a maintaining balance, equilibrium. It's about executing very difficult rhythms with a panache and a feeling in the context of very strict time. So, everything about the swing is about some guideline and some grid and the elegant way that you negotiate your way through that grid.
Acting... was the biggest charge I ever had. What other artist has it so good? Approval so quick?
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