Top 33 Lyle Lovett Quotes

I’m not really a competitive person, and I’m not naturally comfortable in front of people.

I am limited by what I can think of to do-my choices are not so great.

The idea that we humans are good-natured, politically correct, nonjudgmental beings is pure fantasy. We are, at the very least, judgmental.

I’ve always worked with people who have been supporters of me creatively.

I enjoyed hearing people do their own songs. I became attracted to singer-songwriters. I became interested in them as people; was curious about what they wanted to say.

Fortunately, I’ve never had a job.

I’ve gotten to work with some wonderful directors and people who have been great teachers to me.

A woman comes to a table, and you’re supposed to get up. Period. But I don’t always do it. In general, you’re supposed to do it every time. But sometimes you’re seated against the wall, and it’s awkward.

I’ve never made a dime from a record sale in the history of my record deal. I’ve been very happy with my sales, and certainly my audience has been very supportive. I make a living going out and playing shows.

I don’t feel like I’m on a mission. I’m trying to play music that I like to play and like to listen to.

If you forget the words to your own song, you can always claim artistic license. Forget the words to the national anthem, and you’re screwed.

My parents worked for Exxon, and they gave me every chance to take part in music. I took guitar lessons, and I was in the choir at school.

The first time I toured with the ‘Large Band’ in 1988, I got so tired. If I just stood still anywhere, I could go to sleep. I was that tired. But I had to perform. And I did, and after that tour, I was much less fretful about going out onstage.

You’re saying something with your appearance whether you mean to or not, so you may as well mean to.

My first performance was in second grade with my friend Rodney Fisher, and we worked up versions of ‘Long Tall Texan’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’ It gave me a little early confidence that I could actually do this music thing.

Horses teach you patience and how to do things the right way so you can get the right result.

One of my favorite things is when people will ask for a song that I hadn’t planned to play. It is really fun to see if you can remember something, and you don’t always. I mean, sometimes it’s just crash and burn.

If someone gives you a belt buckle, it’s like a piece of jewelry. It has the same sort of emotional significance. It would be something you would intend to keep forever.

I’ve been lucky to be able to make the records I’ve wanted to make. The record company has never pressured me to cut certain songs.

It’s difficult to get started-when it comes to dealing with an unknown quantity, people are reluctant to trust their own opinion. It helps if two or three people give you a boost.

In school, I didn’t speak up often in class. I was never the person to yell out an answer. If I knew it, I might whisper it to my buddy and let him answer. I kept quiet.

Singing your own songs is all about individual expression.

It’s important to be successful enough to be able to keep doing what you love.

Both my parents worked, so I was home alone a lot, and I would listen to their records. They belonged to the Columbia House record club, so they had records!

My music has always been sort of in between categories. Sometimes record stores – back when there were record stores – they’d put my records in the country music section, but other record stores would put my records in the pop or even the rock section. As long as it’s in the store somewhere, I’m OK with it.

I’m really in no danger of being perceived as a famous movie actor!

The most important thing you can do as a performer is to be yourself, or be an onstage version of yourself. If you’re not being true to yourself, and somebody likes that other version of you, you’re kind of stuck.

Every crowd is different. But that’s something that I enjoy, and you can feel it in the first few seconds when you walk out on stage. You know, how a crowd is.

You can’t second-guess your audience. You can only do what you think is right. If you do that, your audience will appreciate you.

Tipping your hat to a lady is good form. If you’re at a dinner table, you’d most certainly take your hat off – cowboy hat, baseball hat, or otherwise.

Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.

You don’t have to have anything in common with people you’ve known since you were five. With old friends, you’ve got your whole life in common.

Dad often told me, ‘My job is to help my boss do his job and make him look good.’ That was my dad’s objective. Everything about the way he conducted himself was to communicate support for his superiors and respect for his coworkers. The way he dressed was his starting point in that communication.