Paul Anka Quotes

My family was a good family, I had a great Canadian education and I came up in a great, little town like Ottawa.

My demographic of people have been very supportive.

I just couldn't get anyone to sing my songs, so I had to sing my own tunes.

Things began to pick up for me record-wise when in 1971 I wrote 'She's a Lady' for Tom Jones.

Once you realize that you're in something that you've always wanted and you don't want to lose it, you behave differently. And that means the integrity, the professionalism, and knowing what's right from wrong and still making choices that you probably wouldn't have made.

You know, my grandmother used to say, 'While I'm down here planning, God's up there laughing.' I guess the thing with most things that are worthwhile is that you can't give up easily. You've got to hang in.

My father, my mother, and then my father was always on top of me - 'Keep your nose clean. Do you love what you're doing?' 'Yes.' 'Then be aware, or you're going to lose it.'

There were times, I'm sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.

I had this talent for these stupid little teenage songs.

I've always believed that if you don't stay moving, they will throw dirt on you.

The technology is good and it's bad. You know what you're dealing with out there musically, but my head stops at this electronic stuff. I don't quite know what I'm dealing with out there yet.

Canada is a good country to be from. It has a gentler slower pace - it lends perspective.

I wrote 'She's a Lady' on the back of a TWA menu, flying back from London after doing Tom Jones's TV show. Jones's manager wanted me to write him a song. If I have an idea and I don't have a pad of paper, I'll write on whatever is available. What's the difference? Paper is paper.

I respect Jay-Z. I like him.

If you're in pop music, you've got to deal with the changing of the guard every few years. By the time the '70s arrived, I was well aware of the cyclical nature of the game. Pop music is a creature of the moment; it thrives on the mood of its time. Either you hook into that or you're not going to be part of it.

When I'm writing, I generally toy with an idea until it manifests itself - meaning a phrase or a tune comes into my head and eventually begins to jell. When something hits me, I write it down immediately. I don't wait, or it's gone.

The thing is to be able to outlast the trends.