Quotes by Kate Smith

• My singing is part of me, like my stoutness, or my light hair, or my poor eyesight.
• Public and employer opinion often defeat society's best interests with a prejudice against middle-aged women.
• Since I have been singing for so many years, I don't always need to approach a song quite so laboriously and meticulously.
• There's no second chance on stage, and I was trained to make the most of my first chance.
• This nation loves singing and loves acting.
• Most of the people who act and sing do so for their own pleasure and that of their friends and family.
• Ice cream was my undoing, and six chocolate milk shakes in a row were nothing to me at one time.
• I have personally believed in every product I have ever advertised.
• I have never known stage-fright at any time.
• I have been extremely lucky with reviewers and critics throughout my career.
• I have always examined closely the motives of any group for which I am asked to raise money.
• I could see myself in a white nurse's uniform, working unnoticed for many years and at last dying, unknown, unmarried and unsung.
• I could not separate myself off stage from myself on stage, as so many actors can.
• I am harder on myself than anyone else could be.
• I am exceedingly lucky that my voice, along with perfect pitch and perfect rhythm, was given me at birth.
• I am continually embarrassed by people who point me out as an example of what can be done without training.
• During the presidential primaries of 1940, I received a request from the Democratic National Committee to sing God Bless America before the speeches.
• If rock-and-roll is well done, there's nothing so terribly wrong with that kind of music. But the lyrics are another story.
• I was always daydreaming about singing in big productions on Broadway.
• In 29 years, I had recorded over 2,200 songs. I was amazed.
• I learn my songs by ear.
• Because of my voice, speaking words which had been carefully chosen, women had used money they had set aside for other purposes to buy war bonds.
• As soon as I began to earn what might be called fairly large sums, I bought a car and began to explore the country around New York.
• An entertainer should in his public performance keep himself out of any controversy, political or otherwise.
• It's up to the audience. It always has been.
• It is important that the audience should understand every syllable of every word, for only then can they grasp the meaning of the song.
• It became obvious in 1957 that I was endangering my health by carrying so much weight.
• Intelligent analysis of the composer's intention and strict adherence to it automatically ensures sincerity.
• In nearly all ballads, the words set the mood and meaning, while the music intensifies or enhances them.
• Every small town has its dramatic group, its barber-shop quartet, every home has music in one form or another.
• I must work hard to make my singing above reproach; there must be no faults which hard work would take care of.
• I shall always respect the composer. If I embellish, it is his idea I am embellishing.
• I sometimes get that wonderful sympathy between me and the audience, telling me I've reached their hearts. And when I do, the thrill is mine.
• I vowed that whenever my family needed me, I would give up everything to go to them, no matter what. The show must go on was meaningless to me.
• Many people submit to excessive appetites without realizing that they do not need to eat so much food.
• Middle-aged women have greater stability, they are more loyal, and their capacity for steady work is greater than that of younger women.
• I just can't read music.
• I know I'm fat and I know my hair is straight, but I can sing.
• Embrace the chaos within you, for from the storm comes the most beautiful of sunsets.
• Do more of what makes you happy, for it will drive your purpose like nothing else.