James Brown Quotes & Sayings

I'd like to cut down on the work a little bit. — James Brown

Sometimes you struggle so hard to feed your family one way, you forget to feed them the other way, with spiritual nourishment. Everybody needs that. — James Brown

I think what I came through is great, but my son can take it to another level, not having to fight racism. His mother's a Norwegian and I'm mixed up four or five times, so he can face the world. — James Brown

I'm a ghetto man who made good. I never forgot where I came from and who put me on top - God and Jack The Rapper. — James Brown

Thank God that I had the ability to understand that I had a different beat and that I was a drummer. — James Brown

I've got soul and I'm super bad. — James Brown

My son don't have to say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud. He don't have to be called those crazy names. — James Brown

For goodness sake, look at those cakes. — James Brown

Take those kids and raise them up, teach them how to drink out of a righteous cup. — James Brown

You got to live for yourself, yourself and nobody else. — James Brown

I started Michael years ago. I saw him in Gary, Indiana, and we'd have him on the talent shows. He kind of emulated me, and did the best he could. — James Brown

Music has to breathe and sweat. You have to play it live. — James Brown

Michael Jackson has a very good heart. He was crying when he was giving me the award, 'cause his mind went back over the early days. — James Brown

Tell the politicians and the hustlers: live and let live. — James Brown

I don't know karate, but I know crazy. — James Brown

Thank God for the journey. — James Brown

Got ants in my pants and I need to dance, so big fine mama, come give me a chance. — James Brown

You can't teach others if you are living the same way. — James Brown

What everybody's looking for today, they're looking for escape-ism. — James Brown

The hardest thing about being James Brown is I have to live. I don't have no down time. — James Brown

I think the best thing about being James Brown is looking at my little son. Hopefully I can make my son a role model to a lot of people. — James Brown

Money won't change you, but time will take you out. — James Brown

Like Christ said, love thee one another. I learned to do that, and I learned to respect and be appreciative and thankful for what I had. — James Brown

Sometimes I feel like I'm a preacher as well, 'cause I can really get into an audience. — James Brown

I'm kidding about having only a few dollars. I might have a few dollars more. — James Brown

When you touch me, good God. — James Brown

I'm the most sampled and stolen. What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine, too ... I got a song about that ... But I'm never gonna release it. Don't want a war with the rappers. If it wasn't good, they wouldn't steal it. — James Brown

Takes a man or a woman to say I'm sorry, and it takes a fool to walk away. — James Brown

I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know. — James Brown

Papa didn't cuss, he didn't raise a whole lot of fuss. But when we did wrong, Papa beat the hell out of us. — James Brown

If you don't get it the first time, back up and try it again. — James Brown

As I always said, if people wanted to know who James Brown is, all they have to do is listen to my music. — James Brown

I've been knocked down a lot of times. — James Brown

I don't know karate, but I know ka-razy! — James Brown

This is a revolution of the mind, get your mind together and get away from drugs. — James Brown

You got to use what you got to get just what you want. — James Brown

I used to play one job and have 125 pair of shoes on the floor. What was I doing? I couldn't wear but one pair. — James Brown

It doesn't matter how you travel it, it's the same road. It doesn't get any easier when you get bigger, it gets harder. And it will kill you if you let it. — James Brown

When God took it, he accepted it; when he brought it back, he accepted it. That's what's happening with me. — James Brown

Retire for what? What would I do? I made my name as a person that is helping. I'm like Moses in the music business. — James Brown

Our silence is deafening and deadly. — James Brown

When I'm on stage, I'm trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don't go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it. — James Brown

Some like them fat, some like them tall, some like them short, skinny legs and all. I like them all. — James Brown

My music wasn't written by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach or Schubert. It's written by God and me. They go "a one and a two and up." We start on the downbeat. Bam! And that's where we got them. — James Brown

I'm not going to be joining ZZ Top. You know they can't play my stuff. It's too complicated. — James Brown

Everybody over there, get on up. Everybody out there, get into it. Everybody right there, get involved. — James Brown

I was stillborn. The midwives laid me aside, thought I was really gone. I laid there about an hour, and they picked me back up and tried again, 'cause my body was still warm. The Good Lord brought me back. — James Brown

I only got a seventh-grade education, but I have a doctorate in funk, and I like to put that to good use — James Brown

You're like a dull knife, it just ain't cutting. — James Brown

Sometimes, you like to let the hair do the talking! — James Brown

I just thank God for all of the blessings. — James Brown

You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin', just talkin' loud and saying nothing — James Brown

I'm twice as old, but I feel good. — James Brown

I've outdone anyone you can name - Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Strauss. Irving Berlin, he wrote 1,001 tunes. I wrote 5,500. — James Brown

Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he's got it all. — James Brown

Don't terrorize. Organize. Don't burn. Give kids a chance to learn ... The real answer to race problems in this country is education. Not burning and killing. Be ready. Be qualified. Own something. Be somebody. That's Black Power. — James Brown

Don't let nobody take care of your business better than you. — James Brown

I named my new son James Joseph Brown II. I think he's going to be a lot better than I was. — James Brown

The white horse of heroin will ride you to hell. — James Brown

I want to say to you, Help yourself, so you can help someone else. — James Brown

I'd rather be Jack be smart, than Jack be quick. Watch out for the man with the big fat licking stick. — James Brown

In our advanced technological age, most people deny the possibility of miracles ... Miracles don't happen, we are told, because they contravene the laws of nature and worse, they sound religious! Yet we live and move in a sea of miracle. — James Brown

Get on up, stay on the scene, get on up, like a sex machine. — James Brown

I used to think like Moses. That knocked me down for a couple years and put me in prison. Then I start thinking like Job. Job waited and became the wealthiest and richest man ever 'cause he believed in God. — James Brown

The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing. — James Brown

I had to tell about my colonic, which expresses the fact why I'm so neat today as opposed to a few years ago. I never knew that the weight made that much difference. — James Brown

My expectations of other people, I double them on myself. — James Brown

I did the thing with bonds, which was about 30 million dollars, and didn't get none of the money on them. — James Brown

Music, it requires more than brawn. It requires a lot of heart. You gotta put love in there. — James Brown

We can never be like it was at Penn State with Joe Paterno. That was an anomaly in an of itself. — James Brown

I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself) — James Brown

I've been held responsible for taxes I know nothing about. — James Brown

I got a wife who likes expensive things, so she takes all the cash. — James Brown