Lydon Quotes & Sayings

Music can describe emotions far more accurately than words ever can. As soon as I realised that, I knew music was where I wanted to be. — John Lydon

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? — John Lydon

My way of thinking as I approach any human being on this planet is, 'What are you doing now?' That's what interests me. I don't come at anybody with a whole bunch of assumptions. — John Lydon

Turn the other cheek too often and you get a razor through it. — John Lydon

I like lime-flavoured yoghurt. The end. There is no religion. It's a man-made fabrication. Once you understand that, you'll be a happier individual. Atheism is as pointless as satanism. — John Lydon

I don't believe in pets. I like animals to be wild and free. — John Lydon

I'm sort of of the belief that people kill themselves from the inside out. When they're unhappy with what they're doing, or not achieving things - when your focus is off-kilter. The thing that keeps me ticking is my values. And I maintain them, because they're worthy. I like to wake up and feel I've done no wrong. I like that feeling. — John Lydon

I hate death; it takes people away from you. You're left feeling rudderless. — John Lydon

Being born into the Royal Family is like being born into a mental asylum. Marrying into it is not something to be taken lightly. — John Lydon

I love discordancy. It makes people ill at ease and wakes up a part of their brain that's normally asleep. — John Lydon

A record company used to be a very good thing, but they ended up soul-destroyingly trapping people in the accounting department. And you couldn't get any further, and the heads of each department were changing all the time, so you couldn't have any permanent relationship within the corporation. — John Lydon

Women fancy admiration means more than it does. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

It's no good being nice and young and naive. There's no good in that at all. You've got to do it all yourself, and you've gotta learn quick. And you can't look for sympathy either. — John Lydon

Love 'em. Kool & the Gang, love 'em. What more can I say? — John Lydon

Do what I want, be honest to myself and then it would do good for others, that's all, full on. — John Lydon

Periods of inactivity, I don't know such things. I'm consistently writing. My life is busy. It always is. There are hardly any moments for self-indulgent laziness. — John Lydon

Don't accept the old order. Get rid of it. — John Lydon

The sounds of anger are not melodic. — John Lydon

The so-called alleged 'art' of the video - well, the video has killed the radio star, but the video star killed the live musician, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. — John Lydon

I could take on England, but I couldn't take on one heroin user. — John Lydon

Books are like my one and only joy. — John Lydon

Do not descend, but rise above so ill-mannered a person. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

Let's face it, I ain't ever gonna be the best singer in the world, or the best anything. — John Lydon

All the things that you would have thought would have made me a professional A1 criminal ... wrong. I decided that was too lazy and easy, and because of the way British society is, quite frankly you were denied an education, so I got one of my own. — John Lydon

Tactical Urbanism is pure American know-how. It is the common sense that housed, fed, and prospered an entire continent of penniless immigrants. — Mike Lydon

I think I have something valid to say. My words are my bullets. I like to brag that somehow I got it right. — John Lydon

I mean, the genuine roots of culture is folk music. — John Lydon

When you grew up like me and my four brothers, you end up feeling somewhat inadequate, like somehow you don't count. — John Lydon

When you talk like an asshole and look like an asshole, you're an asshole — John Lydon

As a human being, I'm work in process. — John Lydon

There have been conversations here in the United States about why every ex-President opens a library when politicians do not read the books. Hello, America! Kind of explains your politics. For me, reading saved me, it brought me back. — John Lydon

I think there's something basically wrong with the general public that they do need their icons. — John Lydon

The record companies fell apart - quite deservedly. Their corrupting, all-binding contract nonsense had to stop. — John Lydon

You'll find that empty vessels make the most sound. — John Lydon

You never know how things will work out. After all the bad reasons in the world, some good came out. — John Lydon

..love is as complex an emotion as exists. There are many reasons why love does not prosper.
.. the waters are perilous, and you would do well to know that, because unlike your novels, not every story has a happy ending. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

Meat isn't murder, it's delicious. — John Lydon

People don't like other poor people, and rather than blame the people that make you all poor, you blame each other. — John Lydon

The only good political movement I've seen lately was Occupy Wall Street. They had no leaders, which was genius. But unfortunately it always ends up with some hippy playing a flute. — John Lydon

Move to Italy. I mean it: they know about living in debt; they don't care. I stayed out there for five months while I was making a film called 'Order Of Death,' and they've really got it sussed. Nice cars. Sharp suits. Great food. Stroll into work at 10. Lunch from 12 till three. Leave work at five. That's living! — John Lydon

Britain's an island; it's always had a constant ebb and flow of immigration - it makes it a better place. — John Lydon

Here's how I understand music. If you can play the same bunch of noise twice, it's music. To go beyond that is supercilious and pontificating. — John Lydon

I'm just permanently agitated by everything and everyone. — John Lydon

Every relationship must have a starting point so that past errors may remain in the past. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

I cannot alter the past, but the future is very much in my hands. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

People should never allow themselves to be dictated to by media. — John Lydon

'Lollipop Opera' is the backdrop to Finsbury Park. A place that is very thriving, interracial and lot of music stores, Greek, Turkish, all sorts of immigrant music. It's utter Englishness. It blends the Jamaicans, the Irish. It's like what Jim Reeves did with American country music. — John Lydon

I find Lady Gaga hilarious. And I kind of like her. My heart's warmed to her. — John Lydon

I don't have huge bank accounts. I'd love one. But it wouldn't change much. I don't have any expensive habits. I'm not a car collector or any of that nonsense. But I'd love to be incredibly wealthy for no reason at all. — John Lydon

I love Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart because they're bringing irony back into American humor, which is a delicious treat. The entire Colbert persona of being extreme right-wing when he's not at all is highly amusing. He does it so well, but sometimes a little too well. My wife is convinced he's completely that way. — John Lydon

I'm aware of my songs. I'm aware of them because they're about true emotions, true feelings, things that matter. — John Lydon

I'd rather give up my ears than my eyes, which might sound unusual for a musician. — John Lydon

Any new ideas go into PiL. My inspiration is everything that the human being gets up to. I don't listen to any music when I'm in PiL-zone, because influences can poison your well. Otherwise, I listen to anything. — John Lydon

My reputation is a media creation. — John Lydon

If you ever want to know why I'm not on a record label, look at 'The X Factor!' Honestly, of all the people that strive to break barriers in music and do good things and write great lyrics, not one of them would ever pass the first round on any of these competitions. — John Lydon

Occasionally, a re-enactment is a fine thing. I love Civil War re-enactments. — John Lydon

I've always said, I thought the Sex Pistols was more Music Hall than anything else - because I think that really, more truths are said in humour than any other form. — John Lydon

There are no limits to where our brains can take us. We are, if there be a God, God's gracious creation. — John Lydon

I like crazy people, especially those who don't see the risk. — John Lydon

Situationism is a ludicrous proposition. It's ill-formed and it's perfectly French. That Gallic disposition towards common sense. L'Anarchie! — John Lydon

I never wore a studded leather jacket, y'know. Ne-va! — John Lydon

The only notes that matter come in a wad — John Lydon

Me, as a human, I never want to take away another human being's choices or lifestyles or anything. — John Lydon

I love America. I love Americans. — John Lydon

I'm not this callous clown walking around laughing at life all the time. I've had some serious, serious problems in my life. But I've come out with a smile. — John Lydon

Does anyone truly understand females? ... Their behavior is opposite of everything in the natural order and flies in the face of logic. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

I wanted to wear the most impenetrable suit of armour ever known to mankind. 'Hello, Mr. Rotten ... ' You can't say anything about me. You can't put me down in any way shape or form - I'm rotten to the core ... you know, what's left for you? Pleasantries? I suppose the worst insult you could sling my way is 'Oh, he's really nice, him.' — John Lydon

Listen, you know this: If there's not a rebellious youth culture, there's no culture at all. It's absolutely essential. It is the future. This is what we're supposed to do as a species, is advance ideas. — John Lydon

We need wealthy dogs off the seats of power. They're taking us back to feudalism and I really don't want that. But I'm very far from being a socialist. — John Lydon

I don't believe in false memories, like I don't believe in false songs. — John Lydon

Live music is healthy. — John Lydon

I'm not able to tell you what the best song is yet, because there's more to come. I feel that in me. I can still feel the burning energy and the desire to create and create and create. — John Lydon

There is nothing sweeter than finding the right person to love and cherish and to share your hopes and dreams with. — Mary Lydon Simonsen

Just because people think politically different to you doesn't mean they're inhuman. — John Lydon

I'm not blowing my own trumpet here, but I made a rap song 20 years ago with Afrika Bambaataa. — John Lydon

Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won't understand how anyone can have a problem with how they're treated. — John Lydon

There's nothing glorious in dying. Anyone can do it. — John Lydon

Letting go is the lesson. Letting go is always the lesson. Have you ever noticed how much of our agony is all tied up with craving and loss? — Susan Gordon Lydon

I don't believe in anarchy, because it will ultimately amount to the power of the bully, with weapons. Gandhi is my life's inspiration: passive resistance. I don't want to live in the Thunderdome with Mad Max. — John Lydon

I have values. But morals are Christian. There's no religion here. Values. Don't hurt when you don't need to, but don't let anybody step over that line - it's an invisible line, but it's respect for somebody's space. — John Lydon

Look, if the Situationists achieved what they wanted, they would be very unhappy and they would have to be Situationists all over again. It's a never-ending process. — John Lydon

I don't listen to music. I hate music. — John Lydon

I love consumerism, TV culture, shopping malls. There's nothing I'd ever buy, but I like being there. It's wacky. — John Lydon

Words cannot express quite a lot of feelings, whereas a noise or tone or drone or sound, an accordion falling down a staircase, can somehow capture an emotion much better. — John Lydon

You can always wake up on the wrong side of the bed and, boo-hiss, everyone suffers. We can all be temperamental. — John Lydon

I've always despised the hippies. — John Lydon

If the Royal Family was going to assassinate someone, they would have gotten rid of me a long time ago. — John Lydon

My inspiration is everything that the human being gets up to. — John Lydon

I've helped launch 49 careers - those that have been in PiL. To me, they are my babies; whatever they get up to, they know I love them. They've been living in my pockets, and they should show more gratitude. — John Lydon

I've never done anything deliberately; I just speak my mind, and that is what I consistently do and will always do in any way shape or form that I can. — John Lydon

I've been in very many situations where I've not liked the other members of the band or they have not liked me. I grew up presuming that's the way music was made. It doesn't need to be that way. It's taken me years years to find that out. — John Lydon

If you have something to say then you want someone to pay attention or at least to have the opportunity for them to tell you to shut up and go away. — John Lydon

I nearly die of fear before I go on stage. Something wicked. I can't eat a thing the day before a gig. — John Lydon

I showed what I can do with butter, right? Eighty-five percent increase in sales. I'm very proud of them Country Life ads. They were funny and clever and classy like the Toblerone ads I grew up with. — John Lydon

Over the years, during television interviews, whenever the host or the reviewer or whoever gets cynical and nasty with me, I will behave accordingly. I will defend myself. — John Lydon

I love pop music. It's not easy to write a good pop song. — John Lydon

You know, I've been to some superstars' houses, and I've been really disgusted when I see their platinum discs hanging in the toilet. They're just there on the walls glaring at you when you're trying to be occupied with other things. — John Lydon

Love is what you feel for a dog or a pussycat. It doesn't apply to humans. — John Lydon

People think I hate the Royal Family, but that's not true. — John Lydon

I like America's diversity and its landscapes. — John Lydon