When I was going blind, I didn't turn to God. It didn't seem to me then - and it doesn't seem to me now - that those items were His concern. Early on, I figured I better begin to learn how to count on myself, instead of counting on supernatural forces.

Ray Charles

Categorized in : Prayer Blind Supernatural Forces

Don't go backwards - you've already been there.

Ray Charles

backwards

Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.

Ray Charles

music wisdom funny

Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.

Ray Charles

eye should mean

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

Ray Charles

music inspiring inspirational

What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room.

Ray Charles

light soul rooms

Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap.

Ray Charles

love life mean

Live each day like it's your last, 'cause one day you gonna be right

Ray Charles

one-day each-day life

I'd like to think that when I sing a song, I can let you know all about the heartbreak, struggle, lies and kicks in the ass I've gotten over the years for being black and everything else, without actually saying a word about it.

Ray Charles

struggle song lying

I'm not into the money thing. You can only sleep in one bed at a time. You can only eat one meal at a time, or be in one car at a time. So I don't have to have millions of dollars to be happy. All I need are clothes on my back, a decent meal, and a little loving when I feel like it. That's the bottom line.

Ray Charles

clothes money sleep

Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy.

Ray Charles

crazy dream littles

It's like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.

Ray Charles

dukes kind two

There's nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, 'If you believe in Me, you ain't going to have no troubles.'

Ray Charles

new-testament trouble believe

What I've got to live up to, is being myself. If I do that, the rest will take care of itself.

Ray Charles

being-myself take-care care

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

Ray Charles

bad-ass badass music

The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.

Ray Charles

piano music believe

Do it right or don't do it at all. That comes from my mom. If there's something I want to do, I'm one of those people that won't be satisfied until I get it done. If I'm trying to sing something and I can't get it, I'm going to keep at it until I get where I want it.

Ray Charles

mom trying people

Affluence separates people. Poverty knits 'em together. You got some sugar and I don't; I borrow some of yours. Next month you might not have any flour; well, I'll give you some of mine.

Ray Charles

together giving people

Other arms reach out to me, Other eyes smile tenderly, Still in peaceful dreams I see, The road leads back to you.

Ray Charles

dream birthday romantic

My version of 'Georgia' became the state song of Georgia. That was a big thing for me, man. It really touched me. Here is a state that used to lynch people like me suddenly declaring my version of a song as its state song. That is touching.

Ray Charles

song men people

I really feel that if you're gonna be good, you gotta practice... Practice whatever the hell you do.

Ray Charles

hell be-good practice