Jack White Quotes & Sayings

I have a suggestion for all of those award seekers and blue ribbon hunters. Spend your efforts on making art that connects with people. Awards impress the grandkids but they don't move the gauge on selling your product. Art needs to touch the emotions of the buyer. — Jack White

It's kind of ridiculous that I find inspiration in just getting away from everything. But when you've gone through it, you realize that it's the enemy. It's a distraction from what you're really doing. You've got to keep moving. Like a shark. — Jack White

I know that's blasphemous when you are from Detroit, but I was never a fan of Motown stuff. I don't care for the production much. — Jack White

Another inch of your life, sacrificed for your brother, in the nick of time. — Jack White

Onstage, I don't feel any glory from people clapping in the audience, but when they're pushing me to do something new that feels good. — Jack White

If you're asking if I would be foolish enough, or insulting enough, to write about people in my life that I respect and sell it to the masses as a "break-up song," I can't imagine doing that to people I love. — Jack White

I won't let love disrupt, corrupt, or interrupt me. — Jack White

The secret is planning your work and working your plan. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you arrive? You can't stumble upon your destination. — Jack White

I made a rule for myself in my early 20s not to become a record collector in the sense that I reference all my old records. I can't live like that. I'd just be trapped in comparison, trying to emulate something, so I made a rule to just buy what I need, just the records I need. — Jack White

You can't steal an artist's songs and also tell him he can't license that music to a commercial. — Jack White

I never wanted to play guitar when I was younger. I wanted to be a drummer because everybody plays guitar, and I didn't want to do what everybody else wanted to do. — Jack White

There's Catholic guilt about things, then there's the guilt of being the youngest of 10, so when nice things happen to you, you're not really allowed to enjoy them. — Jack White

I think that most people, and by people I mean journalists, think that I pre-conceive everything and that I spend my afternoons dreaming up self-mythologizing points of interest. — Jack White

I think the sensitivity that you need to create certain things sometimes would spill over into things that shouldn't have bothered me. — Jack White

Captain Lone Wolf Gonzaullas was one of a kind. I'm sure he would agree to this truth, If you continuously compete with others, you will become bitter. If you constantly compete with yourself, you can become great. — Jack White

No. I know that's blasphemous when you are from Detroit. — Jack White

Collectors are paying for our education by purchasing our art. — Jack White

Mastery is the rudder, Mystery is the sail and Magic the wind to move you in your chosen direction. — Jack White

I would never be able to live in a huge city. I'd feel like one of 100,000 people doing the same thing. — Jack White

It was really hard to find people to come over and play guitar and sing and write songs together. So that turned me into a songwriter that way, just so I could be able to play with other people. — Jack White

A lot of people in the media, and some everyday people, really aren't in search of the truth. They're in search of something worse than that. Money, yeah. I think the media's the kind of a thing where the truth doesn't win, because it's no fun. The truth's no fun. — Jack White

Nashville has always felt perfect. I don't think Third Man Records could exist in any other town that I know of in America. Anything smaller or larger than the size of Nashville, and also the music - the attention that's paid to music in that town is sort of the right kind. It's not too hipster and it's not too fake; it's something in the middle, which is really good ground for a place like Third Man Records, that aims to be genre-less. It's great to be able to have that kind of access. — Jack White

Worry means tormenting yourself with disturbing thoughts or fretting about things we have zero control over. If you live in the north there is no need to worry about the snow. You will get plenty each year. If you live in California or Texas you needn't worry about rain because we won't receive any. — Jack White

Well, I sort of don't trust anybody who doesn't like Led Zeppelin. — Jack White

Passion, for me, is like a shark - it never stops moving. — Jack White

It's harder to put yourself in a place where you could easily be seen as a fake. But that's more interesting to me. — Jack White

As an artist, you take things from your environment, and there's going to be a style coming out of your environment. — Jack White

Maybe we should all just listen to records and quit our jobs — Jack White

You will face boredom and frustration your entire career as artists. You will be very frustrated seeking a voice/style that collectors can connect with. Once you accomplish that voice/style people are clamoring for, you will become bored doing it. — Jack White

We were like a white family from the 1920s or something. My parents had this bizarre, different way of looking at things from the people that surrounded us. I went to an all-Mexican grade school and an all-black high school, and not many people in those places liked the same stuff as me. — Jack White

Well, as a songwriter, it's really dangerous to use the word love in a song. It's a word that has been used in songs so many millions of times before, and it's the most popular topic to ever write about. — Jack White

Punk is an attitude, not a genre, age group, or time period. What's interesting is trying to define the blues and punk in different ways. They are very close cousins. — Jack White

Art is only worth what people will pay for it. Artists do not get paid by the hour. — Jack White

That's what happens nowadays with people working on computers. They can so easily fix things with their mouse and take out all the, 'Oh, somebody coughed in the background; we need to take that out' - or somebody hit a bad note. Those are all the best moments. — Jack White

I say this often, THINK. There is something in life called common sense. Webster's says common sense is sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts. Perhaps this is why in 1776, Thomas Paine used these words as a title for the most famous pamphlet ever written. — Jack White

I have three dads: my biological father, God and Bob Dylan. — Jack White

Like the eagle, we (artists) must be able to see clearly. — Jack White

With the White Stripes we were trying to trick people into not realising we were playing the blues. We did not want to come off like white kids trying to play black music from 100 years ago so a great way to distract them was by dressing in red, white and black. — Jack White

A songwriter's heart is pure when they have the desire to keep digging deeper into music. And invariably, when you dig deeper it always leads you into the past. — Jack White

I've always loved the word blunderbuss. I've always thought that it was a beautiful word and that it could mean several different things. — Jack White

I've always felt it's ridiculous to say, of any of the females in my life: You're my friend, you're my wife, you're my girlfriend, you're my co-worker. This is your box, and you're not allowed to stray outside of it. — Jack White

Happiness is more important than money any day. — Jack White

You can't do better than that. — Jack White

I've always been making up my own restrictions for myself, from day one, and it's compelling, because it forces me to think. That's always been a driving force for me. — Jack White

I don't think there is room for 'artistic temperament.' Professional artists understand art is a business. If businesses ran their companies like many artists do their careers, they would not stay open a year. — Jack White

You hear a lot of people, they turn 40 and it really bugs them and they get depressed or whatever. I don't know - I just don't feel that way. I feel 19 years old all the time. I mean, it's not a lie. I could easily say, God, I feel 70. Or maybe I seem like I'm 70 or 200 or something to other people, I don't know. My brain feels 19 all the time. And that's a good spot. — Jack White

I'm always surprised when anything about the band connects. But I love the fact that it's hard for people to understand. We've said before that it's always been a great thing to get certain people to go away thinking, 'Oh dear, she can't play the drums!' 'Fine, if you think it's all a gimmick, go away!' It weeds out people who wouldn't care anyway. — Jack White

I am a commercial artist because I paint to earn a living. We who earn money from what we produce are all commercial artists. — Jack White

We learn to beat fear by doing. — Jack White

Deadlines and things make you creative. — Jack White

I came up from growing up with a lot of Catholic guilt, a lot of punk rock, hipster guilt in the later years where I think people have thrown a lot of things on me. Where I always felt like I'm not supposed to tell the horn section what to play or I don't want to come off egotistical. — Jack White

The Bottom Line: If people don't LOVE our work, we will not be able to sell what we make. — Jack White

I have never in my whole life asked for an autograph. It seems a little ... unnecessary. — Jack White

We have a secret project at Third Man where we want to have the first vinyl record played in outer space. We want to launch a balloon that carries a vinyl record player. — Jack White

I hate irony, particularly when it is used because there isn't any message or to hide that someone hasn't any story to tell. Just like when someone only spews out a stack of cool words which don't mean anything and then has the gall to call it art. I always want to create a bridge between us and the listener, and I want it to be so that kids want to create for themselves a story or a context of the words. — Jack White

I probably could have a hip-hop-style entourage of 40 people coming with me to the club or whatever, and I don't do that. And I think sometimes maybe I should. It just makes things easier - if you don't like being by yourself, maybe just don't do it ever. — Jack White

Success is having a career that you love with every fiber in your body. — Jack White

I don't think about my mom when I'm onstage. I just don't really think about my kids when I'm working, and when we press stop and I walk outside, they're the first things I think about. — Jack White

If you saw me working with construction crews or graphic designers, you'd see how much I'm really hoping for them to bring something to the table and let God in the room and let things happen naturally. — Jack White

The true professional makes art when he is not feeling good, if the studio is too cold or too warm or the walls are falling down. We are painters and we paint. If I were a sculptor, I'd sculpt. — Jack White

An auctioneer is such a uniquely American thing. I keep thinking in my head, perhaps it's not as American as I think, but it feels so Southern. It feels so American. Like, hundreds of years of American tradition is involved in it. — Jack White

I believe I am a better director than actor. I enjoy acting if the part is right. Directing comes very naturally to me. I enjoy it. I am very confident in my work. — Jack White

There aren't that many things left that haven't already been done, especially with music. I'm interested in ideas that can shake us all up. — Jack White

It is the pursuit of happiness that brings us happiness, and not the happiness achieved. — Jack White

I grew up in the 90s in the time of grunge when if you didn't go on stage in jeans and a T shirt you weren't 'real.' That seemed ridiculous to me. — Jack White

My mother was 45 when she had me, so when I was in high school my parents were the same age as my friends' grandparents. — Jack White

The big picture is a nice way to think of things if you have the freedom to. — Jack White

The Eagle does not escape the storm. The Eagle simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It spreads its mighty wings and rises on the winds that bring the storm. — Jack White

Music is what I have to do, I only answer the questions so that I can do it. — Jack White

People talk about wanting amenities - downtown is the amenity. — Jack White

My mother's the youngest of 10 children too, so we have sort of a special bond in that we know what that feels like. It's a strange spot to be in. — Jack White

I think you can't really escape any kind of spiritual education as a child, whether it's New Age or Judaism or Buddhism or whatever it is. You can't escape it, even if you completely disagree with it, you still have it as a foundation that you base things off of. — Jack White

Nowadays, everybody assumes, when they wake up in the morning, if they have a question, it will get answered. Because they have the internet. No matter what the question is, someone will answer their question. — Jack White

It's funny because when you do become successful, you're forced to look backwards and try to crawl back into the womb where you first started to create. — Jack White

I have so many projects to work on I'm going to have to live to at least 120 to get some of them done. — Jack White

Fifteen minutes of fame doesn't make a career. An article in a magazine, newspaper, interview on television or multiple print ads may stroke your ego, but nothing much else. An artist's career is a lifetime venture. Just because an artist is on top doesn't mean they are sheltered from a crash. As has been stated, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. — Jack White

From now on take time to be amazing, tell those who matter, I LOVE YOU. — Jack White

I'd got accepted to the seminary in Wisconsin, and I was gonna become a priest, but the last second I thought, 'I'll just go to public school.' I had just gotten a new amplifier in my bedroom, and I didn't think I was allowed to take it with me. — Jack White

The Guinness book is a very elitist organization. There's nothing scientific about what they do. They just have an office full of people who decide what is a record and what isn't. — Jack White

Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the colors in the palette, that just kills creativity. — Jack White

I'd make a White Stripes record right now. I'd be in the White Stripes for the rest of my life. That band is the most challenging, important, fulfilling thing ever to happen to me. I wish it was still here. It's something I really, really miss. — Jack White

Relationships of any kind are powerful, and they always influence an artist. It's inescapable. — Jack White

Every time there's a list of the 100 greatest records of all time, all those albums were recorded in two days. Hardly any of them took a year, I'll tell you. In this day and age, I think it's important that people know that. — Jack White

Vinyl is the real deal. I've always felt like, until you buy the vinyl record, you don't really own the album. And it's not just me or a little pet thing or some kind of retro romantic thing from the past. It is still alive. — Jack White

The secret of a successful art career is to make more art that folks think they need than pieces they just want. When a piece of art emotionally connects with a person the work becomes a need. You are then on your way to becoming successful. — Jack White

Jesus Christ, is this an NPR convention? — Jack White

I'm excited by the band [White Stripes]. It really excites me. But it wouldn't excite me if there weren't those limitations, if we weren't living in that box, if we weren't trapped. Once that goes away, then I'll know that it's not worth doing it any more. — Jack White

It's hard to find other musicians that push you to go somewhere new all the time. — Jack White

I just think old old movies, they make you concentrate and pay attention so much more. They feel so warm. A lot of modern digital videotape, it's just too bright. Don't know why, it's not warm. — Jack White

The way I like to start a new project is to take a cover song and make a stab at it, ideally one that has nothing to do with the people in the room. — Jack White

I think I've been a good boy long enough and given everyone around me a fair piece of the pie as far as all of the fleeting glory and reward that comes from the heavens - or the music press, whatever you want to call it. — Jack White

Technology is a big destroyer of emotion and truth. Auto-tuning doesn't do anything for creativity. Yeah, it makes it easier and you can get home sooner; but it doesn't make you a more creative person. That's the disease we have to fight in any creative field: ease of use. — Jack White

I didn't really even think of recording under my own name for a long time. I thought, 'I've got the rest of my life to do that.' — Jack White

This generation is so dead. You ask a kid, 'What are you doing this Saturday?' and they'll be playing video games or watching cable, instead of building model cars or airplanes or doing something creative. Kids today never say, 'Man, I'm really into remote-controlled steamboats.' — Jack White

I certainly wouldn't want a song that I'd already written to be used on a commercial. That seems strange. — Jack White

If you don't have a struggle inside or around you, you have to make one up. — Jack White

It's hard for me to play seated theaters because people tend to sit down and get a little bit complacent, so it's less energy. It's just very dry and dead. People start to feel like they're watching a movie. The environment when they walk into it, it's not standing room only, smoking and drinking and rock 'n' roll. So it's a little bit dangerous to do that. — Jack White

Amy Winehouse: Did she invent white soul? Wearing a beehive? No. But she did something brand new and fresh, altogether as a package, and you see who's in her wake, from the Duffys to the Lana Del Reys ... Adele selling 20 million records? That would not have happened if Amy Winehouse was alive. — Jack White

The day that music is taken for free by the majority is the day that the phrase "sell out" doesn't exist any more. — Jack White

The main things to rebel against - over-production, too much technology, overthinking. It's a spoiled mentality; everything is too easy. If you want to record a song, you can buy Pro Tools and record four hundred guitar tracks. That leads to overthinking, which kills any spontaneity and the humanity of the performance. — Jack White