Virgil

I've mentioned my love of the music of the Rolling Stones. Actually I blogged about it once here: http://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?b=5150.

Well, on December 18th it was keith Richards' 65th birthday, which is quite amazing. I had been debating with myself on whether to blog about it, but the other day Motherhubbard quoted Keith on aging and it made me rethink about blogging. Keith Richards is a regular quote machine. He is completely uninhibited and whatever is on his mind he will tell you, and he will tell you with personality. That's what makes a great quote machine, not being inhibited and lots of personality.

Of course it is incredible that with all the drugs he's done he made it to 65. God knows what his liver is like. He must be the only living person without a functioning liver. I don't want to glorify his drug use. I frankly think he could have been greater if he had not taken them. But it made him who he is. So here are some of the great quotes that have come out of Keith's mouth over the years.

Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.

Getting older is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.

Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know?

I have no idea what the audience makes of me.

I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous.

I never thought I was wasted, but I probably was.

I only get ill when I give up drugs.

I say good luck to people who want to emulate me, but they better realize what they're getting into; they better know that there's more to this than attitude. It's about the music; it's about the blues. That's what sustains me.

I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police.

If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use two feet.

It's an addiction... and addiction is something I should know something about.

It's great to be here. It's great to be anywhere.

Rock and Roll: Music for the neck downwards.

Whatever side I take, I know well that I will be blamed.

You've got the sun, you've got the moon, and you've got the Rolling Stones.

The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father...He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive.

Oh yeah, I smoke like a chimney. I'm cast iron! And if I'm not, I'll see you in the next world.

Skulls remind us that underneath it all, we are all the same. Beauty is only skin-deep.

Fashion thinks more about me than what I think about it. I just wore what I wore and people noticed. The sexiest thing a woman could wear? Being stark f***ing naked.

Both are ways to make a good, dishonest living [rock star, pirate]

I don't wave a flag for anything. I'm a musician.

As you get older, younger people think you know where it's at. But it's a forlorn hope. Because everybody's growing up at the same time, you know? Somebody who's fifty, by the time he's fifty-five, he's done a whole lot more ****. That's what I've realized -- Jesus Christ, these people think I know what I'm doing. Okay, I'll fool them! But at the same time, you know it's a bluff. The important thing is what comes next, and are you ready for it?

I love to play lead, too, but I like to sneak in, which is why I love to play with Ronnie [Wood]. With a quick nod and a wink, we can switch over in what we call the ancient form of weaving. It's a druidic sort of thing, we like to think, very mystical -- ha!

I'm an unpure purist, something like that.

Electric is another instrument. Yeah, it looks the same and you've got to make the same moves, but you have to learn how to tame the beast. Because it is a monster.

I learned how to puke properly. First, find a receptacle if you can -- that's rule number one. You eject it in a stream -- a Technicolor yawn, parking a tiger. At the same time, you're taking a crap. Which is kind of difficult to do. If you can do that, I'll put you in Cirque du Soleil.

There's this perennial thing that people have -- how do you do it? Why do you do it? Like it's -- what do you do? How do you go to an office every day? Compared to that, my job is easy.

Women are a beautiful complication, and I look forward to far more beauties and far more complications.

Unless you really want to do this all the time, don't jump in the pond. There's piranhas in there, for chrissakes.

I've done a lot of dadding. Whoo, I tell you what -- it grows you up pretty quick when that little bugger starts waking up. Suddenly there's this little cute ball of stuff yelling its head off -- boom! Snap to! Oh, man, I better take care of this.

Daughters are far easier to bring up. My first was Marlon, my son, and he gave me a good fight, man. He would drag my *** sometimes, before I could talk to him and instill the wisdom of not doing that.

To me, smack is the big deal. That is such a cheeky, cheeky, cheeky little drug. That one can get you right by the tail before you know it, man. It's a real leveler. I'm a ****ing superstar, but when I want the stuff, baby, I'm down on the ground with the rest of them. Your whole lifestyle becomes just waiting for the man and talking to junkies about whether the ****'s good or not -- "It's not as good as the last lot, is it? I'm not going to pay him then." And guys pulling shooters on you, "Give me your stuff!" and all that. You just become a wreck. Which is kind of disgusting in a way, but at the same time, I can't say I regret going there.

Poison's not bad. It's a matter of how much.

Quite honestly, you're probably in a den of madmen. For some weird reason, we've been given extra leash.

You can't believe how great this job is. I'll do it as long as people want to listen to it.

Yeah and I'll keep listening. Those are just the quotes I found. You read an interview or see him interviewed and these great lines just come out. Some of them you have to put it in the context, but he's got such a wit.

Here are a couple of Keith songs that I really dig. The first is a Chuck Berry remake (Run, Run, Rudolph) perfect for the holidays: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym62kKIydo8

The other is probably my favorite of the Keith Richards songs where he takes the lead vocals, "Before They Make Me Run." http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=PuQq5Nreox0

Here are the lyrics to that song, it's so Keith:

BEFORE THEY MAKE ME RUN
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

Worked in bars and sideshows along the twilight zone
Only a crowd can make you feel so alone
And it really hit home
Booze and pills and powders, you can choose your medicine
Well it's another goodbye to another good friend

After all is said and done
Gotta move while it's still fun
Let me walk before they make me run
After all is said and done
I gotta move, it's still fun
I'm gonna walk before they make me run

Watched the taillights fading, there ain't a dry eye in the house
They're laughing and singing
Started dancing and drinking as I left town
Gonna find my way to heaven, `cause I did my time in hell
I wasn't looking too good but I was feeling real well

After all is said and done
I gotta move I had my fun
Let us walk before they make me run

After all is said and done
I did alright, I had my fun
I will walk before they make me run

Ok Keith, how about another record and tour. Please.