Harry Chapin Quotes (90 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Famous Harry Chapin Quotes

“Good dreams don't come cheap
You've got to pay for them.”

Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

“My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."”

Harry Chapin

Cat's in the Cradle, written with his wife Sandy Chapin
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“All my life's a circle;
But I can't tell you why;
Season's spinning round again;
The years keep rollin' by.”

Harry Chapin

Circle
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

“And while blood's the only language that your deaf old ears can hear
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream?”

Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

“All my life's a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.”

Harry Chapin

Circle
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

“I am the morning DJ… At W. O. L. D.
Playin' all the hits for you… Wherever you may be.
The bright good morning voice… Who is heard, but never seen!
Feelin' all of 45…. Goin' on 15.”

Harry Chapin

W*O*L*D
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Harry Chapin Quotes about life

“And if a woman
She used a life line
As something more than
Some man's servant mother wife time
Well I wonder what would happen to this world.”

Harry Chapin

I Wonder What Would Happen to this World
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)
Variant: Oh, if a man tried
To take his time on earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth,
I wonder what would happen to this world.

“Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.”

Harry Chapin

Mr. Tanner
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

“You know I need a dream
Like I need my breath
We need to take the life
Before we get the death
You know I need your love
Like I need the light
Yes I need the chance
Can it be tonight?”

Harry Chapin

Short Stories
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

“And all the trips you know you missed
And all the lips you never kissed
Cut through you like a knife.
And now you see stretched out before thee
Just another story of a life.”

Harry Chapin

Story of a Life
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

“And we would play together,
like fine musicians should,
And it would sound like music,
and the music would sound good.
But in real life I'm stuck with
that same old formula,
me and my monophonic symphony,
six string orchestra.”

Harry Chapin

Six String Orchestra
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“No straight lines make up my life;
And all my roads have bends;
There's no clear-cut beginnings;
And so far no dead-ends.”

Harry Chapin

Circle
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Harry Chapin Quotes about time

“Mr. Martin Tanner, a baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards. His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it consistently interesting.
Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.”

Harry Chapin

Mr. Tanner
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

“The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. "What you doin' young man?"
"I'm paintin' flowers" he said
She said… "It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one."”

Harry Chapin

Flowers are Red
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

“I found you a thousand times;
I guess you done the same;
But then we lose each other;
It's like a children's game;
As I find you here again;
A thought runs through my mind;
Our love is like a circle;
Let's go 'round one more time.”

Harry Chapin

Circle
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

“I guess it's a sequel to our story
From the journey 'tween heaven and hell
With half the time thinking of what might have been
and half thinkin' just as well.
I guess only time will tell.”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

“And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."”

Harry Chapin

Cat's in the Cradle
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“And so I'd dream a bass will join me,
and fill the bottom in. And maybe now some lead guitar
so it would not sound so thin.
I need some drums to set the beat
and help me keep in time.
And way back in the distance,
some strings would sound so fine.”

Harry Chapin

Six String Orchestra
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Harry Chapin: Trending quotes

“Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go…
I stashed the bill in my shirt.”

Harry Chapin

Taxi
Song lyrics, Heads & Tales (1972)
Context: There was not much more for us to talk about,
Whatever we had once was gone.
So I turned my cab into the driveway,
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns.
And she said we must get together,
But I knew it'd never be arranged.
And she handed me twenty dollars,
For a two fifty fare, she said
"Harry, keep the change."
Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go...
I stashed the bill in my shirt.

Hurt

“Somebody said…Where are the dreamers
Somebody said…Dead
Somebody said…Here comes the holy rollers
Tryin' to sell us all the screamers instead.”

Harry Chapin

Somebody Said
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Dead

“But high up on the mountain
When the wind is hitting it
If you're watching very closely
The rock slips a little bit…”

Harry Chapin

The Rock
Song lyrics, Portrait Gallery (1975)

Mountain

Harry Chapin Quotes

“There's a vacancy, won't you come to me
And fill my empty spaces
I'm a motel man in a promised land
That's filled with empty faces
So won't you bring your sorrows bring your dreams,
It's a place for you to be
There's no more tomorrow or that's how it seems
Won't you come to me? I've got a vacancy”

Harry Chapin

Vacancy
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Dreams

“We've more important studies than your fantasies and fears
You know that rock's been perched up there for a hundred thousand years.”

Harry Chapin

The Rock
Song lyrics, Portrait Gallery (1975)

Fear , Study

“The very day I purchased it,
I christened my guitar
as my monophonic symphony,
six string orchestra.”

Harry Chapin

Six String Orchestra
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“And it shamed me into silence, as quietly she said,
"If you want me to come with you, then that's all right with me.
Cause I know I'm going nowhere, and anywhere's a better place to be.
Anywhere's a better place to be."”

Harry Chapin

Better Place to Be
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Silence

“But there still must be a way to have our children say…
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one."”

Harry Chapin

Live version
Flowers are Red
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Children , Color , Way , Flowers

“And the look on her face as she opened the door
Was like an old joke told by a friend.
It'd taken ten more years but she'd found her smile
And I watched the corners start to bend.”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Smile

“You see, ten years ago it was the front seat
Drivin' stoned and feelin' no pain.
Now here I am straight and sittin' in the back
Hitting Sixteen Parkside Lane.”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Pain

“I'd play at all the talent nights,
I'd finish, they'd applaud.
Some called it muffled laughter,
I just figured they were odd.
So I went up for an encore,
but they screamed they'd had enough.
Or maybe I just need a group
to help me do my stuff.”

Harry Chapin

Six String Orchestra
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Laughter , Help , Night

“The rock is gonna fall on us," he stood and told the class
The professor put his chalk down and peered out through his glasses
But he went on and said; "I've seen it, high up on the hill
If it doesn't fall this year then very soon it will!”

Harry Chapin

The Rock
Song lyrics, Portrait Gallery (1975)

“She sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away.”

Harry Chapin

She Sings Songs Without Words
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Love , Men , Singing

“Hello my Country
I once came to tell everyone your story
Your passion was my poetry
And your past my most potent glory
Your promise was my prayer
Your hypocrisy my nightmare
And your problems fill my present
Are we both going somewhere?”

Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

Problem , Passion , Past , Country

“Oh, he was the sun burning bright and brittle
And she was the moon shining back his light a little
He was a shooting star
She was softer and more slowly
He could not make things possible
But, she could make them holy.”

Harry Chapin

Shooting Star
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Star , Light , Sun

“Why were the little girls all frightened
To be just what they are
The boys were told to ask themselves
How high how far
The girls were told to reach the shelves
While the boys were reaching stars
That's why little girls were frightened
To be just what they are.”

Harry Chapin

Why Do Little Girls?
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Girl , Star , Boy

“He was a young driver,
just out on his second job.
And he was carrying the next day's pasty fruits
for everyone in that coal-scarred city
where children play without despair
in backyard slag-piles and folks manage to eat each day
about thirty thousand pounds of bananas…”

Harry Chapin

30,000 Pounds of Bananas
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Children , Despair

“I spent a week there one afternoon.”

Harry Chapin

About the town of Watertown, New York featured in "A Better Place to Be"

“Step right up young lady
Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food and your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag and sell us sermons on restraint.”

Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

Children , Food , Smile , Dogs

“Strum your guitar sing it kid
Just write about your feelings
not the things you never did
Inexperience, it once had cursed me
But your youth is no handicap
it's what makes you thirsty”

Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

Youth , Feeling , Singing

“And the wind will whip your tousled hair,
The sun, the rain, the sweet despair,
Great tales of love and strife.
And somewhere on your path to glory
You will write your story of a life.”

Harry Chapin

Story of a Life
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Love , Life , Sun , Despair

“Something's burning somewhere. Does anybody care?”

Harry Chapin

What Made America Famous?
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“And if our future
Lies on the final line
Are we brave enough
To see the signals and the signs?”

Harry Chapin

I Wonder What Would Happen to this World
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Future

“Sometimes I get this crazy dream
And I just take off in my car
But you can travel on ten thousand miles
And still stay where you are.”

Harry Chapin

W*O*L*D
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Dreams , Cars , Travel

“They put the cold dirt over him and left me on my own
And when at last I looked up I saw I was not alone
So I said— If you're a relative, he had a peaceful end.
She said— My name is Corey— you can say I'm just a friend.”

Harry Chapin

Corey's Coming
Song lyrics, On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976)

Peace

“It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."”

Harry Chapin

Taxi
Song lyrics, Heads & Tales (1972)

Sadness , Smile

“You see, I have no real complaints of how you've left your past behind
I guess what gets me worried is you've erased him from your mind.”

Harry Chapin

I Wonder What Happened to Him
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

Past

“But the little boy said…
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flowers and I see every one."”

Harry Chapin

Flowers are Red
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Color , Boy , Flowers , Sun

“I went to sleep with the hope that made America famous.
I had the kind of a dream that maybe they're still trying to teach in school.
Of the America that made America famous…and
Of the people who just might understand
That how together yes we can
Create a country better than
The one we have made of this land,
We have a choice to make each man
who dares to dream, reaching out his hand
A prophet or just a crazy God damn
Dreamer of a fool.”

Harry Chapin

What Made America Famous?
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

God , People , School , Dreams

“Corey's coming, no more sad stories coming
My midnight-moonlight-morning-glory's coming aren't you girl?
And like I told you, when she holds you
She enfolds you in her world.”

Harry Chapin

Corey's Coming
Song lyrics, On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976)

World , Sadness , Girl

“I come fresh from the street,
fast on my feet, kind a lean and lazy;
not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,
and more than a little bit crazy.
The old six string was all I had
to keep my belly still,
and for each full hour lesson I gave
I got a crisp ten dollar bill.”

Harry Chapin

I Wanna Learn a Love Song
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.”

Harry Chapin

Taxi
Song lyrics, Heads & Tales (1972)

Home , Learning , Flying , Happiness

“It was the town that made America famous.
The churches full and the kids all gone to hell.
Six traffic lights and seven cops and all the streets kept clean.
The supermarket and the drug store and the bars all doing well.”

Harry Chapin

What Made America Famous?
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Hell , Light

“Oh God they got you gun shy
You know your skin's as cold as ice
Your eyes are double filtered babe
You're so afraid to be nice
There's no way you're ready
To let your defenses down
Though I won't come on heavy
There is a lesson that I've found.”

Harry Chapin

If You Want to Feel
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

God , Way

“And I feel that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind.
It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been,
It offers me a promise, it's telling me "Begin",
I know we're needing something worth believing in.”

Harry Chapin

Remember When the Music
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Feeling

“He was picking speed as the city spread its twinkling lights below him.
But he paid no heed as the shivering thoughts of the nights
delights went through him.
His foot nudged the brakes to slow him down.
But the pedal floored easy without a sound.
He said "Christ!"
It was funny how he had named the only man who could save him now.
He was trapped inside a dead-end hellslide,
riding on his fear-hunched back
was every one of those yellow green
I'm telling you thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of bananas.”

Harry Chapin

30,000 Pounds of Bananas
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Fear , Light , Christ , Speed

“That's when I asked her where was that actress
She said "That was somebody else"
And then I asked her why she looked so happy now
She said "I finally like myself, at last I like myself."”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Happiness

“Short stories
that's all it's ever been
Don't you worry 'bout the ending
Babe, before we begin
I have seen the sun
That's behind the rain
I have felt the joy
That's behind the pain.”

Harry Chapin

Short Stories
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Pain , Sun , Joy

“Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.”

Harry Chapin

Remember When the Music
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Music , Singing , Box

“He was dancing to some music
No one else had ever heard
He'd speak in unknown languages
She would translate every word
And then when the world was laughing
At his castles in the sky
She'd hold him in her body
Till he once again could fly.”

Harry Chapin

Shooting Star
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

World , Music , Dance , Flying

“I'm in the Dance Band on the Titanic
Singing "Nearer my God to thee"
and the icebergs on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me?”

Harry Chapin

Dance Band On the Titanic
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

God , Singing , Dance

“And I know you're frightened
By my laughter
But you're not afraid
To hold my pain
You see I'm never sure
Just what you're after, Babe
But it seems you only love me
When it rains.
How come you only love me when it rains?”

Harry Chapin

It Seems You Only Love Me When It Rains
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Love , Pain , Laughter

“He went up on the mountain beside the giant stone
They knew he was insane so they left him alone
He'd given up enlisting help for there was no one else
He spent his days devising ways to stop the rock himself
One night while he was working building braces on the ledge
The ground began to rumble the rock trembled on the edge.”

Harry Chapin

The Rock
Song lyrics, Portrait Gallery (1975)

Way , Mountain , Help , Night

“And she walked away in silence,
It's strange, how you never know,
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for,
Such a long, long time ago.”

Harry Chapin

Taxi
Song lyrics, Heads & Tales (1972)

Silence , Time

“The major thing I'm afraid of is being 65 and saying, 'Gee, I wish I had done this and that, and that.' I want to face old age knowing I've tried all I wanted to try.”

Harry Chapin

"Chapin Takes 'Taxi' Wherever He Can", Rolling Stone http://harrychapin.com/articles/rsprofile.shtml (July 6, 1972)

Age

“The moonlight shown upon her as she lay back in my bed.
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head.
I just could not believe it, to think that she was real.
And as I tried to tell her she said "Shhh.. I know just how you feel.
And if you want to come here with me, then that's all right with me.
'Cause I've been oh so lonely, lovin' someone is a better way to be.
anywhere's a better way to be."”

Harry Chapin

Better Place to Be
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Way , Feeling , Imagination , Thinking

“I was quite surprised to find out all the places that he knew
And so I asked the townfolk if his stories were true
They said— Old John was born here, he's lived here all his life
He's never had a woman, let alone a wife.
And very soon you'll find out as you check around
That no one named Corey's ever lived in this town
So I chided the old man 'bout the truth that I had heard
He smiled and said— Reality is only just a word.”

Harry Chapin

Corey's Coming
Song lyrics, On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976)

Life , Truth , Smile , Reality

“I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die.
And I watch the metal rusting, and I watch the time go by.
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite.
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was alright.
Oh she was so damned beautiful that she'd warm a winter's frost.
But she was long past lonely, and well nigh unto lost.
Now I'm not much of a mover, or a pick-em-up easy guy,
But I decided to glide on over, and give her one good try.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was worth a try.”

Harry Chapin

Better Place to Be
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Love , Beauty , Guy , Winter

“This commitment to end world hunger, and my music and story songs, are ways of dealing with the world as I see it. I'm playing 200 concerts per year-- half of them benefits-- all of them attempts at getting across the footlights to people I would enjoy spending time with in non-concert situations. And over the past 4 years of musical fun, millions of dollars have been raised for things I believe in. Telling stories of our time, building a lasting body of work, new songs, new records, new audiences, new challenges, and still that painfully exciting process of growth that can make one's life into a richly woven tapestry.”

Harry Chapin

All My Life's a Circle, Autobiographical statement on a concert program, circa 1980 http://harrychapin.com/articles/bio.shtml

Life , Hunger , People , World

“If you try to look
But you don't touch
Then you won't touch
But you'll never feel
And if you don't feel
You'll never cry
And if you don't cry
Then you'll never heal.”

Harry Chapin

If You Want to Feel
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Feeling , Cry

“Why did the little girls grow crippled
While the little boys grow strong
The boys allowed to come of age
The girls just came along
The girls were told sing harmonies
The boys could all sing songs
That's why little girls grew crippled
While little boys grew strong.”

Harry Chapin

Why Do Little Girls?
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Age , Girl , Boy , Strong

“We were the kids that made America famous.
The kind of kids that long since drove our parents to dispair.
We were lazy long hairs dropping out, lost confused, and copping out.
Convinced our futures were in doubt and trying not to care.”

Harry Chapin

What Made America Famous?
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Parent , Future

“You know the man who told me about it on the bus,
as it went up the hill out of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
he shrugged his shoulders, he shook his head,
and he said (and this is exactly what he said)
"Boy that sure must've been something.
Just imagine thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of mashed bananas.
Of bananas. Just bananas. Thirty thousand pounds.
of Bananas—not no driver now. Just bananas!"”

Harry Chapin

30,000 Pounds of Bananas
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Imagination , Boy

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