George Gershwin

"Life is a lot like jazz - it's better when you improvise"

"I frequently hear music in the very heart of noise"

"The real American folk song is a rag"

"True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time"

"Jazz I regard as an American invention of such universal importance that it has become the most talked-about phenomenon of the present-day musical world"

"Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy"

"In the future, there will be a American composer who will use jazz themes for an opera"

"The way to write American music is simple. All you have to do is be an American and then write any kind of music you wish"

"A real melody must have appropriate harmony to give it proper meaning"

"Music is the universal language of mankind"

"I don't think there has been enough emphasis on what I call the American musical idiom"

"Rhythm is one of the principal translators between dream and reality"

"The composer is the only person who is not dependent on anybody's else talent"

"I believe that jazz is the folk music of our time"

"When you do find humor, it should be the kind that makes you think"

"I can't help it if people think I'm a show off"

"Melodies, like men, seem to like to marry, and lose themselves in each other's arms"

"The key to modern composition is understanding that you can't let tradition be the shackles of the future"

"I'm awfully busy these days and running around in circles"

"American youth is characterized by a lack of inhibition"

"There's a great American song waiting to be written"

"The difficulty in writing music is that you must write it with absolute sincerity"

"I'd love to write a symphony some day, but I have written other works that might be more important"

"Jazz came to America. In fact, America came from jazz"

"You have to believe you are the best or you will never be the best"

"A swinging rhythm is the backbone of jazz"

"The song doesn't end in my throat—it must resonate in men's hearts"

"The finest eloquence is that which gets things done"

"I believe in the dignity of labor"

"The wonderful thing about America is its changing character"