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" Affluence separates people. Poverty knits 'em together. You got some sugar and I don't; I borrow some of yours. Next month you might not have any flour; well, I'll give you some of mine. "
Ray Charles
Sugar
People
You
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" My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil. "
Ray Charles
Childhood
Darkest
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" I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to hear. "
Ray Charles
Able
Hear
Me
" What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man. "
Ray Charles
Man
Jazz
Good
" People couldn't understand why my mama would have this blind kid out doing things like cutting wood for the fire. But her thing was: He may be blind, but he ain't stupid. "
Ray Charles
People
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Fire
" My version of 'Georgia' became the state song of Georgia. That was a big thing for me, man. It really touched me. Here is a state that used to lynch people like me suddenly declaring my version of a song as its state song. That is touching. "
Ray Charles
Song
People
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" The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done. "
Ray Charles
Matter
Done
Natural
" Mama was a country woman with a whole lot of common sense. She understood what most of our neighbors didn't - that I shouldn't grow dependent on anyone except myself. 'One of these days, I ain't gonna be here,' she kept hammering inside my head. "
Ray Charles
Common Sense
Woman
She
" I met Quincy Jones in Seattle. We were kids together... liked each other when we met and have been close ever since. He wasn't writing when we met - in fact, I more or less started him off to write; voicing, harmony, and stuff like that. "
Ray Charles
Writing
Him
Seattle
" I am very into lyrics. I start with what the words are saying, what the storyline is saying, like a good script. It should really capture me, do something for me. If I don't get it, it's not going to move people, and if it's not going to move people, it's not going to happen. "
Ray Charles
People
Words
Me
" Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory. "
Ray Charles
Good
Play
Music
" There's nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, 'If you believe in Me, you ain't going to have no troubles.' "
Ray Charles
Nothing
Believe
New
" There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities. "
Ray Charles
Life
Wheel
Possibilities
" To me, music is entertainment - what else can it be? In fact, it's the only language I know of that's universal. "
Ray Charles
Music
Me
Language
" I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water. "
Ray Charles
Food
Born
Heart
" Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap. "
Ray Charles
Love
You
Too Much
" I'm a firm believer in God himself, but that's as far as I can go. I'm not any denomination. I'm not Catholic or Presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or Jewish or Muslim. I'm none of those things. And I'm sure that's just fine with God. "
Ray Charles
God
I Can
Just
" Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor. "
Ray Charles
Life
Honor
Music
" Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake, but music's the main meal. "
Ray Charles
Time
Music
Long Time
" Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond. "
Ray Charles
Music
Respond
Listen
" I suppose I've always done my share of crying, especially when there's no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain't supposed to cry, but I think that's wrong. Crying's always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling, and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry. "
Ray Charles
Deep
Me
Think
" What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room. "
Ray Charles
Like
Soul
Light
" I've always been the kind of person who, if there's anything that can kill me, I want to know something about it. "
Ray Charles
Know
Person
Kind
" I did it to myself. It wasn't society... it wasn't a pusher, it wasn't being blind or being black or being poor. It was all my doing. "
Ray Charles
Black
Blind
Doing
" I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great. "
Ray Charles
Great
Never
Famous