Irving Berlin
Birth Name: Israel Beilin
Birthdate: May 11, 1888
Birthplace: Tolochin, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Date of Death: September 22, 1989
Occupation: Actor, Composer, and Lyricist
Profile: Awarded an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 for
White Christmas.
Website: http://www.irvingberlin.com/
Number of Quotes: 36
A patriotic song is an emotion and you must not embarrass an audience with it, or they will hate your guts.
On writing God Bless America,
reported in various biographies.
After you get what you want, you don't want it.
America has meant freedom to so many who came here and helped to make it what it is. It's the freedom to be what you want to be.
Reflecting on his own immigrant experience.
Annie doesn't get the sun. She is the sun.
Remark about his daughter's disposition, often paraphrased in family accounts.
Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you.
Everybody ought to have a lower East Side in their life.
I got lost but look what I found.
I have a publisher who doesn't know music and can't write lyrics, but he knows what he likes. And what he likes is what I write.
On his long relationship with his publisher, Max Winslow.
I never believed that song was written by me. It was written by some fellow a lot smarter than I am.
To Bing Crosby about White Christmas,
reported
by Crosby.
I owe all my success to my first wife. God bless
her. I wish she were here to enjoy it with me.
Frequent public sentiment about Dorothy Goetz, who died young.
I think popular music in this country is one of those things that is most representative of the real soul of the people.
On the importance of popular song.
I want to go on living until I die.
A simple, oft-repeated statement about his zest for life.
If a song has something to say, if it has emotion and truth, it will last.
On songwriting longevity.
Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.
A personal philosophy he expressed.
Listen kid, take my advice, never hate a song that has sold half a million copies.
My ambition is to reach the heart of the average American.
Stated goal as a songwriter.
Never hate a song that's sold a half million copies.
This is sometimes quoted with slight variation, as above.
Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for
good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force.
Songs make history and history makes songs.
On the reciprocal relationship between music and culture.
Talent is only the starting point.
The best thing that ever happened to me was getting drafted into the army.
Reflecting on his WWI service and writing Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning
.
The song is ended, but the melody lingers on.
The song is the thing.
Fundamental belief in the primacy of the song itself.
The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success.
There is an element of truth in every idea that lasts long enough to be called corny.
There's No Business Like Show Business.
While the title of his song, he often used the phrase itself as a definitive statement about his world, effectively making it a quotation of him.
There's no people like show people.
This is the Army, Mr. Jones!
The iconic title and recurring lyric from his WWII musical revue, frequently quoted as his statement about the show and the army experience.
To write a great popular song is the hardest thing in the world.
On the challenge of the craft he mastered.
Where else but in America could a little immigrant boy like me have such an opportunity?
Expressing gratitude for his adopted country.
White Christmas.
Like There's No Business...
and This is the Army...
, the sheer cultural weight of this song title makes its utterance a direct reference
to Berlin's most famous work, often quoted as his defining achievement.
You can have anything you wanted if you wanted it badly enough.
You cannot write a song that is technically perfect. You have to write it from the heart.
On the emotional core of songwriting.
You're not sick you're just in love.
You're worried about the wrong song. You should be worried about the next song.
Reportedly said to a colleague fretting over a current hit, emphasizing constant creation.
You've got to have a feeling for the people. You've got to know what they want.
On connecting with an audience.
Last on Earth
