Levon Helm Quotes

Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better. ~ Levon Helm

We all love musical architecture; there's no doubt about that. ~ Levon Helm

As rowdy as the place was, I've seen rowdier times playing fraternity parties in Oklahoma. ~ Levon Helm

The sound of the blues, rhythm and blues, country music, is what we lived for, black and white alike. It gave you strength to sit on one of those throbbing Allis-Chalmers tractors all day if you knew you were gonna hear something on the radio or maybe see a show that evening. ~ Levon Helm

We were in our early twenties, playing and traveling, and didn't have to answer to anybody. It was the kind of life where if you had a problem today, you could be five hundred miles away from it the next day. ~ Levon Helm

If you feel like you're getting into a rut with a song, a night off usually fixes it. ~ Levon Helm

Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in, if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times. ~ Levon Helm

Good times don't last long sometimes. ~ Levon Helm

The crowd is just as important as the group. It takes everything to make it work. ~ Levon Helm

I don't fool with a lot of things that I can't have fun with. There's not much reward in that. ~ Levon Helm

My parents wanted me to be smart and be a scholar, and the best I could do was graduate high school. ~ Levon Helm

Songs don't wear out. Good songs are good now. If they were a comfort during those hard times in the past, they'll be a comfort in today's age. ~ Levon Helm

When we were unloading or going into a restaurant, the raisin got stepped on and smeared like a flapjack. The Hawk was displeased when he saw that. "Goddamn," he growled, "I gave you guys a hundred to get off cigarettes. I'll give you two hundred to get rid of these damn raisins! ~ Levon Helm

New York, it was an adult portion. It was an adult dose. So it took a couple of trips to get into it. You just go in the first time and you get your ass kicked and you take off. As soon as it heals up, you come back and you try it again. Eventually, you fall right in love with it. ~ Levon Helm

You can either make it come around or you can't. By the time we would be ready to record a song, we would know for sure that it was the best way we could do it. ~ Levon Helm

My dad and I played music. He teaches me a song or two every time I'm home. ~ Levon Helm

With horns and a full rhythm section, the drums always looked like the best seat in the house. ~ Levon Helm

I've had all the lessons I could get. I've learned from everybody I've ever met. ~ Levon Helm

Well, somebody's got to sing. They won't hire you unless you sing. ~ Levon Helm

The power of music just kinda kills all those ills; it cures everything and you've got more energy just from the music. And, I've never seen it fail. It's good for ya; real good for ya. ~ Levon Helm

My mom, God love her, she was one of those Bible people. She thought it was wrong to bother anybody, regardless of race, color or religion. It just wasn't a Christian thing to look down on anybody, and that's what she taught us. ~ Levon Helm

If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you. ~ Levon Helm

I don't think I'm a millionaire, but I'm comfortable. ~ Levon Helm

A friend of mine took me to Memphis advised me that I should get in the musicians' union. He gave me a set of drums and said, Stay on the job, son. ~ Levon Helm

Those bad times are important. They give you a chance to practice, listen, take stock, have a life, get your feet back on the ground, and maybe you'll live to tell the story. ~ Levon Helm

By the time The Band did The Last Waltz, the chemistry had changed, and it wasn't a thrill anymore to live that studio kind of life. ~ Levon Helm

Dad and mom would have preferred that I be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, or a great humanitarian. ~ Levon Helm

Drums just always sounded like the most fun part of that good music for me. ~ Levon Helm

The Jungle Bush Beaters didn't last too long as a group, but we had a pretty good time while we did. ~ Levon Helm

You got to pick one - pay your medical bills or pay the mortgage. Most people can't do both, and I'm no different. ~ Levon Helm

I'm not even sure if empathy is an act, it could be a disposition. ~ Michael Helm

A society of ONE!
There is nothing wrong with being Human. What is wrong is how so many take for granted the gift of our being human and never learn that we are also to be HUMANE, hence our HUMANITY. We are born Man but it takes years of education, trial and error to be TRULY HUMAN. It takes an ability to see beyond yourself, and to be able to RELINQUISH YOUR EGO And that is something that far too many neglects to consider in their chase for life, liberty and the pursuit of PRODUCTS. Things can never make us happy and the accumulation of wealth only aids in separating us from our common cause to be ONE SOCIETY. ONE RACE. ONE MANKIND. Until we are equal and able to see eye to eye with our most base concerns of housing, Food, education and financial well-being solved, we shall never have a society of ONE! ~ Levon Peter Poe

It was then you'd have thought I'd been shot by a Taser, as paralyzed as I was at the sight of her - the perfect feminine form, the image hitting me with the velocity of a Slurpee-like brain-freeze, rendering me again the helpless, hapless male. Any trace of rationality or logic or even common sense that might've been there before is quickly abandoning ship, leaving Dickbrain at the helm and Lust navigating, ~ Jack Dancer

THE MEETING GOT under way as soon as Marshall walked into the room. He looked dignified and serious, and he was wearing a dark suit. There were three men at the conference table, across from him, from a company in Boston that was not quite as large as UPI, but very close, and its growth rate had been remarkable in the past two years. It was well on its way to becoming the largest corporation in the country and outstripping all its competitors. And all it needed now was a powerful leader at its helm. And everyone at its base in Boston had agreed that Marshall Weston was the one. They had no idea if he would consider leaving UPI, and they doubted it after fifteen years, but they had come to California to try and convince him to do it. And he was listening raptly to what they said. It was their second meeting in two days, and they were going back to Boston that night. Marshall ~ Danielle Steel

As our world shudders like a plane suddenly hitting a flock of geese, we badly need people who will learn that sense, and learn it quickly, not simply or even primarily for their own benefit but because our world, God's world, needs people at the helm in whom courage, good judgment, a cool head, and a proper care for people - and, if possible, faith, hope, and love as well - have become second nature. ~ N. T. Wright

While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Hazel and Frank relayed the story of the fish-centaurs and their training camp.
'Incredible,' Jason said. 'These are really good brownies.'
'That's your only comment?' Piper demanded.
He looked surprised. 'What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies
'
'I know,' Frank said, his mouth full. 'Try them with Ester's peach preserves.'
'That,' Hazel said, 'is incredibly disgusting.'
'Pass me the jar, man,' Jason said.
Hazel and Piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. Boys. ~ Rick Riordan

My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~ Tom Helm

But God, the ruler of the universe, takes his stand upon it, regulating it and directing everything in a saving manner by the helm of his wisdom, using, in truth, neither hands nor feet, nor any other part whatever such as belongs to created objects. ~ Philo Of Alexandria

It was way out in the woods in a beautiful, huge log studio. Keith Richards came in and did the vocals with Levon. Again, a big party, but we did get a good cut out of it. ~ Scotty Moore

For some moments the two men sat quietly, each wrapped in his own thoughts, then Ivor rose. 'I should speak to Levon about tomorrow's hunt,' he said. 'Sixteen [eltors], I think.'
'At least,' the shaman said in an aggrieved tone. 'I could eat a whole one myself. We haven't feasted in a long time, Ivor.'
Ivor snorted. 'A very long time, you greedy old man. Twelve whole days ... why aren't you fat?'
'Becaues,' the wisest one explained patiently, 'you never have enough food at the feasts. ~ Guy Gavriel Kay

Have you ever sailed across an ocean, Donald? On a sail boat surrounded by sea with no land in sight. Without even the possibility of sighting land for days to come. To stand at the helm of your destiny. I want that, one more time. I want to be in the Piazza Del Campo in Sienna. To feel the surge as ten race horses go thundering by. I want another meal in Paris, at L'Ambroisie in the Place Des Vosges. I want another bottle of wine. And then another. I want the warmth of a women in the cool set of sheets. One more night of jazz at the Vanguard. I want to stand on summits and smoke cubans and feel the sun on my face for as long as I can. Walk on the wall again. Climb the tower. Ride the river. Stare at the frescoes. I want to sit in the garden and read one more good book. Most of all I want to sleep. I want to sleep like I slept when I was a boy. Give me that. Just one time. ~ Anonymous

Chess programs are our enemies, they destroy the romance of chess. They take away the beauty of the game. Everything can be calculated. ~ Levon Aronian

Being an entrepreneur is really exciting for me. Whether it's creating something or just building a company and giving others the opportunity to build a career, I think it's exciting to be at the helm of these types of activities. ~ Anousheh Ansari

Chance will not do the work. Chance sends the breeze;
But if the pilot slumber at the helm,
The very wind that wafts us tow'rds the port
May dash us on the shoals. The steersman's part
Is vigilance, or blow it rough or smooth. ~ Ben Jonson

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. ~ Zach Helm

A new voice pops up on the comm, relayed from the station. March. "What the frag are you doing, Triumph? Who's at the helm? I didn't give clearance for a pleasure cruise."
"Can't talk, Commander," Hit answers smoothly. "We're busy saving your ass. ~ Ann Aguirre

Contextualization is a good dance partner, but she should never be allowed to lead. Put her before the exegetical steps in your sequence of preparation, and problems will quickly emerge. ~ David R. Helm

I love to see honest and honorable men at the helm, men who will not bend their politics to their purses, nor pursue measures by which they may profit, and then profit by their measures. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Another ship. It's the best news I could ever have imagined.

Who are they going to send? Who's coming?

I stare out of the helm window, straining my eyes against the infinite blackness, pressing my fingernails into my palms so hard they sting. I can't see anything except the silver pinprick stars.

How long until I'll be able to see The Eternity?

How long until it will be able to see me? ~ Lauren James

Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. ~ James Madison

I have found the temperament of being a thoughtful man is sometimes excruciatingly painful. People become accustomed to the fact that your kindness is part of your personality and therefore any action you take will be based on being civil minded toward others and seemingly not wanting to disappoint anyone. This is of course the wrong view. Being thoughtful does not mean you are a pushover or a stuck in the mud type, seemingly stationary in your attitudes and ambitions. It means you take the time to have consideration of events and people around you. You do not make hasty decisions based solely on observation or emotion. Analysis is a tool for the thoughtful individual ~ Levon Peter Poe

If I don't write every single day, I feel like I am off balance.
My mind does not work correctly. I actually feel a sensation like an ache going on inside me equivalent to when a person misses a loved one. ~ Levon Peter Poe

When indeed Religion is kindled into enthusiasm, its force like that of other passions is increased by the sympathy of a multitude. But enthusiasm is only a temporary state of Religion, and whilst it lasts will hardly be seen with pleasure at the helm. Even in its coolest state, it has been much oftener a motive to oppression than a restraint from it. ~ James Madison

Nothing is necessary for you in maintaining a Christian life, but just to stay by the helm, and put yourself where the power is. Come unto God, unite yourself to God, and the doing power you have is infinite. ~ Horace Bushnell

The human beings at the helm of the new nation [USA], whatever their limitations [slave owners, anti-democracy], were truly revolutionary. The theory of liberty born in that era, the seed of the idea, was perfect.
More important, the idea itself carried within it the moral power to correct the contradictions in its execution that were obvious from the very birth of the new nation. ~ Naomi Wolf

[On Senator Jesse Helms] I think he ought to be worried about what's going on in the Good Lord's mind, because if there is retributive justice, he'll get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will. ~ Nina Totenberg

A nod at Beatrice who held absolutely still. "She said she would come with me. She insisted on it. She stamped her little foot at me."
He pointed down to her toes as if she were a child yet.
Then he straightened his shoulders. "But I sent her back to the nursery, where she belonged, and told her to play with her dolls instead. As everyone knows, a female on a hunt is a distraction at best and bad luck at worse."
Which explained why Beatrice went into the woods with her hound alone, George thought. She looked now as though she had gone to some other place where she could not hear her father's words and thus could not be hurt by them. George wondered how often she was forced to go to that place.
Did King Helm not see how much she was like him? It seemed she was rejected for any sign of femininity yet also rejected for not showing enough femininity, How could she win? ~ Mette Ivie Harrison

As a chess player one has to be able to control one's feelings, one has to be as cold as a machine. ~ Levon Aronian

Casabianca"

The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck
Shone round him o'er the dead.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm;
A creature of heroic blood,
A proud, though child-like form.

The flames rolled on–he would not go
Without his Father's word;
That father, faint in death below,
His voice no longer heard.

He called aloud–'say, Father, say
If yet my task is done?'
He knew not that the chieftain lay
Unconscious of his son.

'Speak, father!' once again he cried,
'If I may yet be gone!'
And but the booming shots replied,
And fast the flames rolled on.

Upon his brow he felt their breath,
And in his waving hair,
And looked from that lone post of death
In still yet brave despair.

And shouted but once more aloud,
'My father! must I stay?'
While o'er him fast, through sail and shroud,
The wreathing fires made way.

They wrapt the ship in splendour wild,
They caught the flag on high,
And streamed above the gallant child,
Like banners in the sky.

There came a burst of thunder sound–
The boy–oh! where was he?
Ask of the winds that far around
With fragments strewed the sea!–

With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,
That well had borne their part– ~ Felicia Hemans

From the start the proportion of asocials in the camp was about one-third of the total population, and throughout the first years prostitutes, homeless and 'work-shy' women continued to pour in through the gates. Overcrowding in the asocial blocks increased fast, order collapsed, and then followed squalor and disease.
Although we learn a lot about what the political prisoners thought of the asocials, we learn nothing of what the asocials thought of them. Unlike the political women, they left no memoirs. Speaking out after the war would mean revealing the reason for imprisonment in the first place, and incurring more shame. Had compensation been available they might have seen a reason to come forward, but none was offered.
The German associations set up after the war to help camp survivors were dominated by political prisoners. And whether they were based in the communist East or in the West, these bodies saw no reason to help 'asocial' survivors. Such prisoners had not been arrested as 'fighters' against the fascists, so whatever their suffering none of them qualified for financial or any other kind of help. Nor were the Western Allies interested in their fate. Although thousands of asocials died at Ravensbrück, not a single black- or green-triangle survivor was called upon to give evidence for the Hamburg War Crimes trials, or at any later trials.
As a result these women simply disappeared: the red-light districts they came from had been flattened by Allied ~ Sarah Helm

Jav's face was numb. Fingertips ice cold. His shirt stuck to his back with sweat and every square inch o"f skin prickled and tingled. He could feel his heart breaking down, dropping off piece by piece into the rolling boil of his stomach. Every splash sending up clouds of toxic steam, choking his throat. He was sure the next words out would be inside a scream. Instead he heard a strong, calm voice - a seasoned captain taking over the helm.
"I'm with you," Jav said. "Fucking take their ship down. I'm here. Right until the end, I won't leave."

Excerpt From: Suanne Laqueur. "An Exaltation of Larks." iBooks. ~ Suanne Laqueur

As Harold took a bite of Bavarian Sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be okay. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy ... there are Bavarian Sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin ... or a kind and loving gesture ... or a subtle encouragement ... or a loving embrace ... or an offer of comfort ...
And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties which we assume only accessorize our days, are in fact here for a much nobler and larger cause. They are here to save our lives. ~ Zach Helm

Recently, Lady Gaga was motivated to take the helm of the creative direction of her career and as such I decided to step away. I am extremely proud of her, and in stepping away I wish her all the best. ~ Laurieann Gibson