The only time that I am really truly happy—when I feel at my best—is when I'm on the stage.
Interpretation
True happiness comes from expressing oneself in a fulfilling way.
Etta James expresses that her deepest sense of joy and fulfillment is found in her performances on stage. This suggests that for her, artistic expression is the pinnacle of happiness, highlighting the importance of pursuing one's passions and the emotional connection to one's craft.
In practice
During a motivational speech about pursuing passions, one could quote Etta James to emphasize the joy of following one's dreams.
Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can sing, 'Oh, baby,' if there's a pause in the melody. With jazz, you better leave that space open, or put in something real cool.
I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.
It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.
I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll are all just really one thing. Those are the American music and that is the American culture.
When I'm singing the blues, I'm singing life.
People always say 'Etta, you know what your problem is? You're neither fish nor fowl. There is no place to rack you.' When I would go in a record shop, you might find one or two records by me in different stacks.
"You look how you look," "Be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That's just dumb."
The summit of pleasure is the elimination of all that gives pain.
The happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others; the happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates with moods outside their control; but the happiness of the wise grows out of their own free acts.
People prone to joyful anticipation, skilled at obtaining pleasure from looking forward and imagining future happy events, are especially likely to be optimistic and to experience intense emotions.
I'm happy. I give thanks every morning that I can get up, that I still have my husband with me. I'm extremely grateful. After all, how many 93-year-old cover girls do you know?
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
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