Ralph Stanley famous quotes

I'm thankful that I have lived long enough to become a legend, and I hope I deserve it.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Long #Legends #Enough

I don't listen to the radio too much, but usually I listen to Stanley Brothers and Ralph Stanley more than I do anybody!
-- Ralph Stanley

#Brother #Radio #Too Much

The soundtrack of O Brother is the most publicity I've gotten. I don't feel that I have lost any of my old fans, but I have gained new ones.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Brother #Fans #Publicity

I've done it all. I'm thankful and proud of what I've accomplished in my life. I hope to keep doing it.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Thankfulness #Done #Proud

I would have quit before I went rock-n-roll. I know one way, and that's natural, and when I can't make it, I'll come home and stay. I believe in my music.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Believe #Home #Rocks

I believe in my music.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Believe #I Believe #I Believe In

I grew up down in the hills of Virginia. I can be in Kentucky in 20 minutes, Tennessee in 20 minutes or in the state of West Virginia in 20 minutes. And it's down in the Appalachian Mountains, down there. And it's sort of a poorer country. Most of the livelihood is coal mining and logging, working in the woods and things like that. Most people has a hard life down that way.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Country #Kentucky #Virginia

My first banjo? My mother's sister, my aunt, lived about a mile from where we did, and she raised some hogs. And she had - her - the hog - the mother - they called the mother a sow - of a hog. And she had some pigs. Well, the pigs were real pretty, and I was going to high school and I was taking agriculture in school. And I sort of got a notion that I'd like to do that, raise some hogs. And so my aunt had this old banjo, and my mother told me, said, which do you want, the pig or a banjo? And each one of them's $5 each. I said, I'll just take the banjo.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Mother #Real #School

No pleasure here on earth I find For in this world I'm bound to ramble.
-- Ralph Stanley

#World #Earth #Pleasure

I live about six miles from where I was born and raised.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Six #Born #Miles

Well, I don't let anyone record with me that is not a fan of mine or believe in my music. Everybody that records for me, from Bob Dylan on down to George Jones, everybody loves me and my music, and I knew they would do their best that they could do, and they did. I didn't doubt them a bit. There's some country people that I wouldn't want, which didn't record with me.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Country #Believe #People

I like for it to be mountain music or old-time country music or traditional bluegrass. Either one will fit me. It's traditional, basically.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Country #Mountain #Fit

You give out the words and then sing them. You give out the words, you know, and the people can hear what you're giving out, and they sing that song or that line and they do the same thing again.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Song #People #Giving

I think Bob [Dylan] told me that he turned down twenty interviews that year, and I was the only one that he sat down and did an interview with. And, he said that it was one of his highlights, and it was one of my highlights. And, I was very glad to talk with Bob. I found out that he was a good fan of mine, and that tickled me.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Thinking #Years #Twenties

I am a man of constant sorrow. I've seen trouble all my days.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Men #Sorrow #Trouble

I guess the first time I played around Washington, D.C. was at a place called The Famous. That was the first place I played, I believe.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Believe #Firsts #I Believe

I don't see any harm in brining an instrument into the church itself.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Church #Harm #Instruments

My father was a logger. He cut timber and hauled it out of the woods and had a sawmill. They sawed it into lumber. And, you know, the mines needed things they call timbers and collars and so forth, and they used collars on the railroad track that they put the rails on. And he - that was his occupation, just a sawmill man and a logger.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Father #Cutting #Men

I have plenty of good friends that I think the world of - and Bob [Dylan] is one of them, and I like his music - but with some others... their music I just don't care too much about all of it. Some of it I like.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Good Friend #Thinking #World

I still go to that church now, and they don't believe in instruments in the church. But, my brothers and sisters in the church will listen to me. They will come out to a place to see me play. They will buy all of my records and everything, but they don't believe in bringing that instrument in the church. But, they'll come and watch me somewhere else. Why that is, I don't know.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Brother #Believe #Somewhere Else

[Regarding President Obama] Yeah, yeah, yeah, I talked to him. I sorta, I guess, helped him get elected.
-- Ralph Stanley

#President #President Obama #Yeah

I always enjoyed playing around Washington, because we always have a good crowd. I've never had a bad crowd in this vicinity from here [Alexandria], up to Washington and on to right around Baltimore. They've been some good fans.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Fans #Crowds #Alexandria

My mother played a little bit of the old time clawhammer. She tuned the banjo up and picked one tune for me, and it just become natural to me. When she picked it, I just started and picked it, too.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Mother #Tunes #Littles

I'm a member of the Primitive Baptist Church, and they will buy every CD that I have released, but they don't me just to bring the instruments much into the church.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Cds #Church #Baptists

I don't - I don't like that style, myself. I never did like Elvis's singing, but there was millions that did.
-- Ralph Stanley

#Style #Singing #Millions