It’s like when a mother sends her child off to war, they don’t know if they’re ever gonna come back, you know? how can we look at such things happening, and not, you know, want to do something? how can we turn our heads and pretend as if we don’t see it? you know? i can’t see people in pain and pretend as if it’s not there.
Know what I also love? Mannequins. I guess I want to bring them to life. I like to imagine talking to them. You know what I think it is? Yeah, I think I'll say it. I think I'm accompanying myself with friends I never had. I probably have two friends. And I just got them. Being an entertainer, you just can't tell who is your friend. And they see you so differently. A star instead of a next-door neighbor. That's what it is. I surround myself with people I want to be my friends. And I can do that with mannequins. I'll talk to them.
I sit there and say, 'Please don't call me up, I am too shy.' But once I get up there, I take control of myself. Being onstage is magic. There's nothing like it. You feel the energy of everybody who's out there. You feel it all over your body. When the lights hit you, it's all over, I swear it is.
I wake up from dreams and go, 'Wow, put this down on paper.' The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face. And you say to yourself, 'I'm sorry, I just didn't write this. It's there already.' That's why I hate to take credit for the songs I've written. I feel that somewhere, someplace, it's been done and I'm just a courier bringing it into the world. I really believe that. I love what I do. I'm happy at what I do. It's escapism.
"Michael Jackson - Life in the magical kingdom" - Rolling Stone (February 17, 1983)
Most people don't know me, that is why they write such things in wich most is not true. I cry very very often because it hurts and I worry about the children, all my children all over the world, I live for them.
Animals strike not from malice but because they want to live, it is the same with those who criticize, they desire our blood not our pain. But still I must achieve I must seek truth in all things. I must endure for the power I was sent forth, for the world for the children.
But have mercy, for I've been bleeding a long time now. MJ.
Handwritten note published in People (12 October 1987)
Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the Creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists. I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The Creator and the creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing — until there is only ... the dance.
"The Dance" - from inlay sleeve of Dangerous (1991)
I have no problem with them imitating [me]. It's a compliment. Everybody has to start out looking up to someone. For me it was James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly.
On pop groups like N'Sync; (1 November 2001) TV Guide interview. TV Guide. (accessed 2009-07-09)
If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.
Dancing the Dream (1992), also used in his funeral invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009)
I have begun to see that even my father's harshness was a kind of love. An imperfect love, to be sure, but love nonetheless. He pushed me because he loved me, because he wanted no man to ever look down at his offspring. Now with time, rather than bitterness I feel blessing.… My initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.
I put a lot of mannequins in my room in the past, and I still have mannequins in my room, because I used to be very lonely, painfully lonely. You have no idea. I used to walk the streets looking for people to talk to. I'm talking about the height of one's career…. I would walk up to them, strangers, and say, "will you be my friend?" They'd go, "my god, Michael Jackson!" and that's not what I wanted.
The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See (2002)
The record companies really do conspire against the artists. They steal. They cheat. They do whatever they can, especially the black artists.… Sony's Tommy Mottola is the president of the record division. He is mean. He is a racist, and he's very, very, very devilish.
Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (6 July 2002)
The minute I started breaking the all-time record in record sales—I broke Elvis's records, I broke Beatles records—the minute it became the all-time best-selling album in the history of the Guinness Book of World Records, overnight they called me a freak. They called me a homosexual. They called me a child molester. They said I bleached my skin. They made everything to turn the public against me.
Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (9 July 2002)
I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer cannot be jail. Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws, and we should look to new technologies like Apple's new Music Store for solutions. This way, innovation continues to be the hallmark of America. It is the fans that drive the success of the music business.
Press statement (21 July 2003), quoted in "Jackson attacks music piracy bill" in BBC News (22 July 2003)
In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.
Also used at his funeral (3 Sep. 2009) invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009)
People think they know me, but they don't. Not really. Actually, I am one of the loneliest people on this earth. I cry sometimes, because it hurts. It does. To be honest, I guess you could say that it hurts to be me.
There is a lot of sadness in my past life. My father beat me. It was difficult to take being beaten and then going on stage. He was strict; very hard and stern.
I just want to say to fans in every corner of the earth, every nationality, every race, every language: I love you from the b ottom of my heart. I would love your prayers and your goodwill, and please be patient and be with me and believe in me because I am completely, completely innocent. But please know a lot of conspiracy is going on as we speak.
I also want to thank my fans around the world for the overwhelming number of messages of support that I have received, particularly from Great Britain, where people have e-mailed me and said how appalled they were by the Bashir film. Their love and support has touched me greatly.
When I saw him move I was mesmerized. I've never seen a performer perform like James Brown and right then and there I knew that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Success definitely brings on loneliness. People think you're lucky, that you have everything. They think you can go anywhere and do anything, but that's not the point. One hungers for the basic stuff.
I've been in the entertainment industry since I was six-years-old ... As Charles Dickens says, 'It's seen the best of times, the worst of times.' But I would not change my career ... While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me. (2007)
You have to have that tragedy, that pain to pull from. That's what makes a clown great. You can see he's hurting behind the masquerade. He's something else externally. Charles Chaplin did that so beautifully, better than anyone. I can play off those moments, too. I've been through the fire many times.
My father is a much nicer person now. I think he realizes his children are everything. Without your family, you have nothing. He's a nice human being. At one time, we'd be horrified if he just showed up. We were scared to death. He turned out really well. I wish it wasn't so late.
I'm still fascinated by clouds and the sunset. I was making wishes on the rainbow yesterday. I saw the meteor shower. I made a wish every time I saw a shooting star.
I never think about themes. I let the music create itself. I like it to be a potpourri of all kinds of sounds, all kinds of colors, something for everybody, from the farmer in Ireland to the lady who scrubs toilets in Harlem.
I've had people come to me, and after meeting me, they start crying. I say, "Why are you crying?" They say, "Because I thought you would be stuck up, but you're the nicest person." I say, "Who gave you this judgment?" They tell me they read it. I tell them, "Don't you believe what you read."
When I'm on stage, it's like a two-hour marathon. I weigh myself before and after each show, and I lose a good 10 pounds. Sweat is all over the stage. Then you get to your hotel and your adrenaline is at its zenith and you can't fall asleep. And you've got a show the next day. It's tough.
I sit in my room at home and sometimes cry. It's so hard to make friends. Sometimes I walk around the neighbourhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home.
He is a very jealous father. He isn't gonna show you love, but anybody that gets closer to us than him he would tell them, 'Leave my boys alone!' To tell you the truth, I never have felt close to him. He has always been like a mystery man. (on his father).
I would like some way to disappear where people don't see me anymore at some point. I don't want to grow old. I never want to look in the mirror and see that.
In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.
And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face...and the world we once believed in will shine again in grace. Then why do we keep strangling life wound this Earth, crucify its soul. Though it's plain to see, this world is heavenly. We could be God's glow... Heal the world.
The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation.
I wake up from dreams and go "Wow, put this down on paper." The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face . . .
I used to dream I used to glance beyond the stars. Now I don't know where we are although I know we've drifted far.What about yesterday. What about the seas The heavens are falling down,I can't even breathe. What about the bleeding Earth? Can't we feel its wounds, What about nature's worth? It's our planet's womb.
Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone, ... You say, 'You can have my bed if you want it. Sleep in it. I'll sleep on the floor. It's yours.' I always give the beds to the company.
People who grew up as child stars have the same thing in common. You're cute, they love you; you go through the awkward stage, they don't accept you any more. Very few make the transition to adult star.
I believe in my heart that the music community will come together as one and rally to the aid of thousands of innocent victims, ... There is a tremendous need for relief dollars right now and through this effort each one of us can play an immediate role in helping comfort so many people.
I have always maintained my innocence, and vehemently denied that these events ever took place. I reluctantly chose to settle the false claims only to end the terrible publicity and to continue with my life and career.
All of Hollywood has plastic surgery. I don't know why they point me out. The press exaggerated it. It's just my nose, you know. They want it to be everything. Just the nose isn't enough.
No action or investigation has been taken to determine who is leaking this information or why they are permitted to violate the law in such a manner. I respectfully request that people see these efforts for what they are.
I wanted to change the world, so I got up one morning and looked in the mirror. That one looking back said: "There is not much time left. The earth is wracked with pain. Children are starving. Nations remain divided by mistrust and hatred. Everywhere the air and water have been fouled almost beyond help. Do something!
I hate to admit it, but I feel strange around everyday people. My whole life has been onstage. And the impression I get of people is applause, standing ovations and running after you.
When you’re acting, you’re just being yourself. And who can teach you to be yourself? You can’t teach a person how to act, just like you can’t teach a person to sing—it’s inside of you. Singing is a form of acting, the way you do certain lines, the feeling, you can call it acting.
You know, all over the walls of my room are pictures of Peter Pan. I’ve read everything that Barrie wrote. I totally identify with Peter Pan, the lost boy of never-never land.
I always want to know what makes good performers fall to pieces. I always try to find out. Because I just can’t believe it’s the same things that get them time and time again.
A lot of people don’t believe [in God]. Science is so silly sometimes. The sun has been up there for ages and ages. What holds it up? I don’t care how many scientific explanations they give me, it ain’t deep enough.
Being mobbed hurts. You feel like you’re spaghetti among thousands of hands. They’re just ripping you and pulling your hair. And you feel that any moment you’re gonna just break.
Whenever we go to Paris, I rush to the Louvre. I just never get enough of it! I go to all the museums around the world. I love art!
On television I never had any real time to study anything; we just had to do it. Quick. With a movie, you go over lines over and over again. That’s why it takes so long to film. It’s got to be right.
Moving your body is an art. Dancing is really showing your emotions through bodily movement. It’s a wonderful thing to get on the floor and just to feel free and do what you want to and just let it come out… It’s escapism, getting away from everything and just moving the body and letting all the tension and pain out.
I love to create magic; to put something together that’s so unusual, so unexpected, that it blows people’s heads off. Something ahead of the times. Five steps ahead of what people are thinking.
I’ve never tried marijuana and I don’t want to try it. I’ve never tried any of those things. I’m not interested in it. I’m happy the way I am. I don’t even like the word ‘high’. If I want to feel free with my mind, I’ll go walk the beach, read a beautiful book or write a song.
When I hit the stage it’s like all of a sudden a magic from somewhere just comes and the spirit just hits you and you just lose control of yourself." (1982)
With acting, it’s like becoming another person. I think that’s neat especially when you totally forget… which I love to do. That’s when it’s magic." (1982)
Fame never has bothered me, except when you want some peace. Like you got the theatre and you say, ‘nobody’s going to bother me tonight. I’m going to enjoy this film and that’s it.’ And at the climax of the film, somebody taps you on the shoulder for an autograph." (1982)
I don’t care about every day clothes. I love putting on an outfit and just looking at myself in the mirror. Baggy pants or some really funky shoes and a hat and just feeling the character of it. That’s fun to me." (1982)
We all have the same emotions and that’s why a film like E.T touches everybody. Steven (Spielberg) went straight to the heart. He knows – when in doubt, go for the heart." (1982)
When I’m upset about a recording session, I’ll dash off on my bike to the schoolyard, just to be around them (children). When I come back to the recording studio, I’m ready to move mountains. Kids do that to me." (Jan, 1983)
I'm never satisfied. There are so many different avenues and so many different things that I want to do. I've done a lot, but I don't think it's enough.
I know my race, I just look in the mirror. I know I'm black! I am proud to be a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity.
We are Germans. We are Armenians. French, Italian, Russian, American, Asian, African... many other nationalities. We are Christians, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu. We are black, we are white. We are a community of some many differences, so complex and yet so simple. We do not need to have war.
I would love to adopt children. I think that's something I've always wanted to do. But children of all races: Arab children, Jewish children, black children, all races.
It's on the level of purity and love, and just innocence. Complete innocence. If you're talking about sex then that's a nut. That's not me! Go to the guy down the street because it's not Michael Jackson. It's not what I'm interested in.
Wherever you go-in every country,or in every continent, people yearn and hunger for only one thing, to love and be loved. Love transcends international boundaries and heals the wounds of hatred, racial, prejudice, bigotry and ignorance. It is the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation.
I’m just a person who wants to be honest and do good, make people happy and give them the greatest sense of escapism through the talent God has given me. That’s where my heart is, that’s all I want to do. Just let me share and give, put a smile on people’s faces and make their hearts feel happy.
There have been times right before a show when certain things were bothering me - business or personal problems. I would think, 'I don't know how to go through with this. I don't know how I'm going to get through the show. I can't perform like this'. But once I get to the side of the stage, something happens. The rhythm starts and the lights hit me and the problems disappear. This has happened so many times. The thrill of performing just takes me over. It's like God saying, 'Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Just wait. Wait till you hear this. Wait till you see this.
That’s what war is all about, so many of the problems in the past. I don’t think anybody likes war and, in truth, I don’t like war, I like peace, I’m a peaceful person.
When I see the clouds whisked away from a snow-capped peak, I feel like shouting, 'Bravo!' Nature, the best of all magicians, has delivered another thrill.
The person who makes a success of living, is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication. There is no other way to perfection than dedication perseverance.
People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It's like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every moment in the river has its song.
I wrote a book called ‘Dancing The Dream’. It was more autobiographical than Moonwalk, which I did with Mrs. Onassis. It wasn’t full of gossip and scandal and all that trash that people write, so I don’t think people paid much attention to it, but it came from my heart. It was essays, thoughts and things that I’ve thought about while on tour
When someone asked Michael why he didn't bother to learn to play any instruments - ''I don't need to. The music is inside me'' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"They demand that. They want you to do this. They think they own you. They think they made you. If you don't have faith, you go crazy."
"Like not doing interviews... If I talk I say what's on my mind and it can seem strange to other people's ears."
"I'm the person who will tell all. even though it's a secret... I know that things should be kept private."
But there is no place to move on to now. We have brought our garbage and our wars, and our racism to every part of the world.
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Subject: Re: General Quotes Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:42 am
Hope is such a beautiful word, but it often seems very fragile. Life is still being needlessly hurt and destroyed. The image of one baby seal alone on the ice or one baby girl orphaned in war is still frightening in its helplessness. I realized that nothing would finally save life on earth but trust in life itself, in its power to heal, in its ability to survive our mistakes and welcome us back when we learn to correct those mistakes.
I believe in wishes and in a person's ability to make a wish come true, I really do. And a wish is more than a wish... it's a goal that your conscience and subconscience can help make reality.
And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face... and the world we once believed in will shine again in grace. Then why do we keep strangling life wound this Earth, crucify its soul. Though it's plain to see, this world is heavenly. We could be God's glow. Heal the world.
I used to dream I used to glance beyond the stars Now I don't know where we are although I know we've drifted far What about yesterday What about the seas The heavens are falling down I can't even breathe What about the bleeding Earth Can't we feel its wounds What about nature's worth? It's our planet's womb.
MJ praising the work of his photographer William Pecchi Jr in a letter.
"It is the art of stopping time, to preserve a moment that the naked eye cannot hold, to capture truth spontaneous truth, the depths of excitement in human spirit. All else will be forgotten, but not the films. Generations from now will experience the excitement you've captured; it truly is a time capsule".
"What really makes me happy, what I love is performing and creating. I really don't care about all the material trappings. I love to put my soul into something and have people accept it and like it. That's a wonderful feeling."
About the Pepsi commercial: "The reason for the fire was stupidity, pure and simple."
"I do think that marriage can be a wonderful thing if it's right for the two people involved.I believe in love - very much so - how can you not believe after you've experienced it? I believe in relationships. One day I know I'll find the right woman and get married myself."
"Needless to say, I love the interaction between the sexes; it is a natural part of life and I love women."
"George Lucas told me his daughter's first words were "Michael Jackson." I felt on top of the world when he told me that."
I just can't conceive of how a person could hate another because of skin color. I love every race on the planet earth. Prejudice is the child of ignorance. Naked we come into the world and naked we shall go out. And a very good thing too, for it reminds me that I am naked under my shirt, whatever it's color.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can tell you there are rewards that go far beyond money, public acclaim, and awards."
"I say things and they turn it all around. Once I made a quote - I care about starvation and I love children and I want to do something about the future. And I said, one day I'd love to go to India and see the starving children and really see what it feels like. And they wrote that Michael Jackson gets a kick out of seeing children starve, so you can see what kind of person he is!"
Michael Jackson 1983. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What I don’t understand is just singing about sex and “I want to get in a hot tub with you baby and rub you all over” and, but I get battered in the press as the weirdo.
What I do when I write is that i'll do a raggedy, rough version just to hear the chorus, just to see how much I like the chorus. If it works for me that way when it's raggedy, then I'll know it will just work... Listen to that, that's at home. Janet, Randy, Me... Janet and I are going "Whoo, Whoo... Whoo, Whoo..." I do that same process with every song. It's the melody, it's the melody that's most important, If the melody can sell me, then I'll go to the next step The idea is to transcribe from what's in your mentality onto tape If you take a song like "Billie Jean," Where the bass line is the prominent, dominant piece, the protagonist of the song, the main driving riff that you here, getting the character of the riff to be just the way you want it to be, that takes a lot of time. Listen, you're hearing four basses on there, doing four different personalities, and that's what gives it character, but it takes a lot of work.
~Michael Jackson listening to an early writing version of Billie Jean on his iPhone, Ebony Magazine December 2007.
I love to read. I wish I could advise more people to read. There’s a whole new world in books. If you can’t afford to travel, you travel mentally through reading. You can see anything and go any place you want to in reading.
Friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of love. Before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part, you have to know that you are loved.
What one wishes is to be touched by truth and to be able to interpret that truth so that one may use what one is feeling and experiencing, be it joy or despair, in a way that will add meaning to ones life and will hopefully touch others as well.
Once the music plays, it creates me. The instruments move me, through me, they control me. Sometimes I'm uncontrollable and it just happens – boom, boom, boom! – once it gets inside you.
Deep inside I feel that this world we live in is really a big, huge, monumental symphonic orchestra. I believe that in its primordial form all of creation is sound and that it's not just random sound, that it's music.
Sometimes the heart is so heavy that we turn away from it and forget that its throbbing is the wisest message of life, a wordless message that says: LIVE. BE. MOVE. REJOICE - you are alive. Without the heart´s wise rhythm we could not exist.
On his creativity during the making of "Captain EO ":
"Working on Captain Eo reinforced all the feelings I've had about working in film and made me realize more than ever that movies are where my future path probably lies. I love the movies and have since I was real little. For two hours you can be transported to another place. Films can take you anywhere. That's what I like. I can sit down and say, "Okay, nothing else exists right now. Take me to a place that's wonderful and make me forget about my pressures and my worries and day-to-day schedule... I also love being in front of a 35mm camera. I used to hear my brothers say, "I'll be glad when this shoot is over" and I couldn't understand why they weren't enjoying it. I would be watching, trying to learn, seeing what the director was trying to get, what the light man was doing. I wanted to know where the light was coming from and why the director was doing a scene so many times. I enjoyed hearing about the changes being made in the script. It's all part of what I consider my ongoing education in films.."
The same music governs the rhythm of the seasons, the pulse of our heartbeats, the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of ocean tides, the cycles of growth, evolution and dissolution. It's music, it's rhythm. And my goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive: the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance.
They did it to try and belittle me, to try and to take away my pride. But I went through the whole system with them, and at the end, I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I was hurting.
You know, let's put it this way, if all the people in Hollywood who have had plastic surgery, if they went on vacation, there wouldn't be a person left in town.
I respect the secrets and magic of nature. That's why it makes me so angry when I see these things that are happening, that every second, I hear the size of a football field is torn down in the Amazon. I mean, that kind of stuff really bothers me. That's why I write these kinds of songs, you know? It gives some sense of awareness and awakening and hope to people. I love the Planet. I love the trees. I have this thing for trees - the colors and changing of leaves. I love it. I respect those kind of things. I really feel that nature is trying so hard to compensate for man's mismanagement of the planet. Because the planet is sick, like a fever. If we don't fix it now, it's at the point of no return. This is our last chance to fix this problem that we have, where it's like a runway train, and the time has come. This Is It. People are always saying: 'They'll take care of it. The government'll--Don't worry, they'll--' 'They' who? It starts with us. It's us. Or else it'll never be done.
When questioned about the anger he seemed to have pent up in Black and White: "Anger and rage are the prelude to a shift in consciousness. Unless we feel rage at some of the inequities and injustices of our society, there is no hope for transformation."