298 Quotes by Elvis Costello

What do we care, if the world is a joke? We’ll give it a big kiss, we’ll give it a poke. Death wears a big hat cause he’s a big bloke.

You can’t live in the past, and I don’t. I’m not nostalgic about my own work at all.

There was a Fender Palomino acoustic lying in the corner in an open case, which, as you know, often symbolizes low morals or easy virtue in paintings of antiquity.

A lot of pop music has come out of people failing to copy their model and accidentally creating something new. The closer you get to your ideal, the less original you sound.

I’ve worked hard, every single day since I left school. I think I have a Protestant work ethic.

When in doubt, play track 4 – it is usually the one you want.

Obviously the people that I admired, like the Beatles, were really into rock’n’roll, but it was already a little past rock’n’roll when I started listening and making my own choices about music.

I can write orchestrations, but I can’t sight-read music and play at the same time. I don’t have enough facility.

Now I just don’t know who to tell to go to hell Who put the old devil in the distorted angel?