Movin' on Up
A source page for quotes linked to Mahalia Jackson.
“God can make you anything you want to be, but you have to put everything in his hands.”
“I close my eyes when I sing so I can feel the song better.”
“If you don't like Louis Armstrong, you don't know how to love.”
“Someday the sun is going to shine down on me in some faraway place.”
“My hands, my feet, I throw my whole body to say all that is within me.”
“Blues are the songs of despair.”
“Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them.”
“If you believe in God, He will open the windows of heaven and pour blessings upon you.”
“When you sing gospel you have a feeling there is a cure for what's wrong.”
“Put your mind on the gospel. And remember - there's one God for all.”
“Blues are the songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope.”
“Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help.”
“Sometimes you ask God for something and you don't know what you're asking.”
“Do you know most of the Jewish songs have the same trend of sadness as Negro spirituals?”
“Gospel music rhythms are not African in origin, although I know that's what the jazz experts say.”
“I don't worry too much about the script, I just ad lib, like Pearl Bailey.”
“One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.”
“They thought I was a success as soon as I started paying the bills.”
“When you are through with the blues, you've got nothing to rest on.”