Top 21 Quotes & Sayings by William Christopher Handy

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American musician William Christopher Handy.
Last updated on December 21, 2024.
William Christopher Handy

William Christopher Handy was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musicians who played the distinctively American blues music, Handy did not create the blues genre but was the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking the blues from a regional music style with a limited audience to a new level of popularity.

The name of my ailment was longing, and it was not cured till I finally went to the department store and counted out the money in small coins before the dismayed clerk. When I came to the house, I held up the instrument before the eyes of the astonished household.
I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.
The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day. — © William Christopher Handy
The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day.
Nature was my kindergarten.
With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.
I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.
You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.
Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.
Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed.
Whenever I heard the song of a bird and the answering call of its mate, I could visualize the notes in scale, all built up within my consciousness as a natural symphony.
My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.
Saving was slow and painful.
Life is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in, you won't get anything out.
You can never tell what's in a woman's mind, And if she's from Harlem, there's no use o' tryin
A lean, loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept. His clothes were rags; his feet peeped out of his shoes. His face had on it some of the sadness of the ages. As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars. The effect was unforgettable.
I hate to see the evening sun go down.
You'll never miss the water 'til the well runs dry.
Where the Tennessee River, like a silver snake, winds her way through the clay hills of Alabama, sits high on these hills, my home town, Florence.
In the South of long ago whenever a new man appeared for work in any of the laborers gangs, he would be asked if he could sing. If he could he got the job. The singing of these working men set the rhythm for the work.
Sometimes I feel like nothin,' somethin' throwed away,
Somethin' throwed away.
And then I get my guitar, play the blues all day. — © William Christopher Handy
Sometimes I feel like nothin,' somethin' throwed away, Somethin' throwed away. And then I get my guitar, play the blues all day.
If my serenade of song and story should serve as a pillow for some composer's head, as yet perhaps unborn, to dream and build on our fond melodies in his tomorrow, I have not labored in vain.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!