93 Quotes by Judy Collins

I look in the mirror through the eyes of the child that was me.

When we sing, we can do anything—change the world, bring peace, be our best selves at last. When we sing, our hearts can lift and fly, over the troubled waters and over the years.

The inner wars, and the outer ones, go on while I pray and struggle; sometimes in the middle of a dark night of the soul I wonder how they became my wars to fight. And then I hear a voice that says, “Why not me?

In an interview after Just Roll Tape was released, Stephen (Stills) said: “There are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature. I’ve had my share of success and failure at all three.

I think of the great songs that have carried me along, songs I have sung with you, and for you, all over the world—songs that have carried all of us in rough seas as well as tranquil times, songs that have healed our hearts and kept us going. After all these years, I still believe that music can change the world, and as long as there is music, the dreams will never die.

In Judaism, it is taught that there are three stages of grief to be endured. First there is weeping, for we all must weep for what we have lost. Second comes silence, for in the silence we understand solace, beauty, and comfort from something greater than ourselves. Third comes singing, for in singing we pour out our hearts and regain our voice.

I did not drink because of my problems. I had problems because I drank. It would take me twenty-three years to figure that out.

But the odds against me were getting higher each day. I, who was my own worst enemy, needed a best friend. I thought booze was my friend. I did not know I was in a fight—not just with my lawyers, not just with my husband, but also with my disease. I didn’t know I could not win this one on my own, that it would take years, and a change of mind and heart, to win the battle with an opponent I could not even see.

A classic song has much mystery as well as mastery in its form; it sits still in the mind, throwing light on the past and the future, often bringing tears to our eyes, for it reaches into deep emotional wells that are often forgotten in the rush of the moment. The songs that touch me are on a very high level in terms of form and classic structure, and “Both Sides Now” has all of the requirements to make it irresistible.