Patti Smith

In the '50s you had to wear pink ribbons if you were a girl, and you were supposed to become a hairdresser…

— Patti Smith

I got over the loss of his desk and chair, but never the desire to produce a string of words more precious…

— Patti Smith

“Why can’t I write something that would awake the dead? That pursuit is what burns most deeply. I got over the loss…

— Patti Smith

Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads…

— Patti Smith

“He tried everything from science to voodoo, everything but prayer. That, at least, I could give him in abundance. I prayed ceaselessly…

— Patti Smith

Usually when I go to a place for the first time, unless there's something historical or spectacular that nature has to offer,…

— Patti Smith

“My small torrent of words dissipated into an elaborate sense of expanding and receding. It was my entrance into the radiance of…

— Patti Smith

I could have a job as a teacher because I like talking in front of people.

— Patti Smith

That whole thing about masturbating. Most girls, I guess nobody has to tell them, they just figure it out. I had to…

— Patti Smith

“We would work side by side for hours, in a state of mutual concentration.”

— Patti Smith

The hand above turns those leaves of loves, all in all a timeless view. Each dream of life flung from paradise everlasting,…

— Patti Smith

[Steven Sebring] presence was also nice for my children, who, having just lost their father, quite naturally craved warm male attention. They…

— Patti Smith

I would always say to anyone, you make choices that are important to you. Don't allow yourself to be exploited by something…

— Patti Smith

I'd just make sure with anything I say I know what I'm talking about.

— Patti Smith

The way our big cities change sucks. The beauty of cities was that they were edgy, sometimes even a little dangerous. Artists,…

— Patti Smith

I had met Michael Stipe, and he was such a kind person, and extremely understanding, so I asked him if he knew…

— Patti Smith

I had gone to Paris to immerse myself in painting and I came back wholly involved in words and rhythms.

— Patti Smith

I really feel concerned about young people within our present culture. Our present culture, we have to change. Change is inevitable and…

— Patti Smith

First of all, anybody who has lasted 30 and went through the 60's is really a survivor.

— Patti Smith

I don't stay in one discipline because it's more lucrative than another. In fact, the most successful thing I ever did was…

— Patti Smith

“It was February 14 and I was about to give my heart to a perfect cup of coffee.”

— Patti Smith

I always hope that young people will think for themselves and also most importantly, understand that they should judge themselves on their…

— Patti Smith

“The mind of a child is like a kiss on the forehead — open and disinterested”

— Patti Smith

Sometimes you write passages that don't need to be rewritten. Performance is that for me. Improvisation, things that happen in the moment,…

— Patti Smith

Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine.

— Patti Smith