Doing the show was like painting the George Washington Bridge. As soon as you finished one end, you started right in on the other.
Related quotes
Why Washington Retreated
1775
Said Congress to George Washington:
"To set this country free,
You'll have to whip the Britishers
And chase them o'er the sea."
"Oh, very well," said Washington,
"I'll do the best I can.
I'll slam and bang those Britishers
And whip them to a man."
1777
Said Congress to George Washington:
"The people all complain;
Why don't you fight? You but retreat
And then retreat again."
"That can't be helped," said Washington,
"As you will quite agree
When you see how the novelists
Have mixed up things for me."
Said Congress to George Washington:
"Pray make your meaning clear."
Said Washington: "Why, certainly --
But pray excuse this tear.
Of course we know," said Washington,
"The object of this war --
It is to furnish novelists
With patriotic lore."
Said Congress to George Washington:
"Yes! yes! but pray proceed."
Said Washington: "My part in it
Is difficult indeed,
For every hero in the books
Must sometime meet with me,
And every sweet-faced heroine
I must kiss gallantly."
Said Congress to George Washington:
"But why must you retreat?"
Said Washington: "One moment, please,
My story to complete.
These hero-folk are scattered through
The whole United States;
At every little country town
A man or maiden waits."
To Congress said George Washington:
"At Harlem I must be
On such a day to chat with one,
And then I'll have to flee
With haste to Jersey, there to meet
Another. Here's a list
Of sixty-seven heroes, and
There may be some I've missed."
To Congress said George Washington:
"Since I must meet them all
(And if I don't you know how flat
The novels all will fall),
I cannot take much time to fight,
I must be on the run,
Or some historic novelist
Will surely be undone."
Said Congress to George Washington:
"You are a noble man.
Your thoughtfulness is notable,
And we approve your plan;
A battle won pads very well
A novel that is thin,
But it is better to retreat
Than miss one man and win."
Said Congress to George Washington:
"Kiss every pretty maid,
But do it in a courtly way
And in a manner staid --
And some day when your sword is sheathed
And all our banners furled,
A crop of novels will spring up
That shall appal the world."
Submitted by John Martin
poem by Ellis Parker Butler
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I grew up at 16 years old driving trucks across the George Washington Bridge.
quote by Don Sherwood
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Each painting has its own way of evolving...When the painting is finished, the subject reaveals itself.
quote by William Baziotes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It's not your painting anymore. It stopped being your painting the moment that you finished it.
quote by Jeff Melvoin
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It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
George Washington in letter to his niece Harriet Washington (30 October 1791)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Clown
(clarke / hicks / nash)
I see a clown painting his face once more
Before the show has started
He paints a smile on his face with his makeup now
Although hes broken hearted
But the rule of the clown is simple
And the show must go on as always
People are there to laugh at him
And he mustnt let them down
Hes lost someone dear to him
And hes crying now although he doesnt show it
He gives the show of his life though hes breaking down
Although youd never know it
But theres something different about his smile
An unfamiliar frown
Yes theres something different about him now
Hes painted his smile on upside down
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.
quote by Howard Hodgkin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Daylight Dreamer
Here's the half-finished painting of a girl that I started last December
Here's the first three pages of my novel bout I don't really remember
Here's my Martin guitar that I never quite learned how to play
That's the daylight dreamer wishful thinker's way
I had a Harley bike but I traded it off to a feller
For the Astroglass boat that's still sittin down in my cellar
I bought a tape recorder and found I had nothin' to say
That's the daylight dreamer wishful thinker's way
I got an exercise machine man I'd be glad to let you try it
This well it's a Leika Camera maybe you'd like to buy it
I can get you a real good deal
I just need enough money to buy myself some modeling clay
Yeah that's the daylight dreamer wishful thinker's way
On the day that I die they'll be talking about the dearly departed
And they'll say he never ever finished nothin' that he started
But I started this song man I'm gonna finish it today
Yeah that's the daylight dreamer
(How was it...daylight...oh wish...wishful...think...what were it...
I forgot I forgot the words
Listen... anyway... why don't we just take a break and finish it later you know
Cause I could sure use a sandwich
I wanna get myself a BLT or something
And listen... right near the restaurant there's a great old bookstore.
Right near the restaurant
They got all these great old books... great old comic books...they got Batman)
poem by Sheldon Allan Silverstein
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Yes, you know sometimes, we started out thinking out how strange our painting was next to normal painting, which was anything expressionist. You forget that this has been thirty five years now and people don't look at it as if it were some kind of oddity.
quote by Roy Lichtenstein
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Why I Am Not A Painter
I am not a painter, I am a poet.
Why? I think I would rather be
a painter, but I am not. Well,
for instance, Mike Goldberg
is starting a painting. I drop in.
"Sit down and have a drink" he
says. I drink; we drink. I look
up. "You have SARDINES in it."
"Yes, it needed something there."
"Oh." I go and the days go by
and I drop in again. The painting
is going on, and I go, and the days
go by. I drop in. The painting is
finished. "Where's SARDINES?"
All that's left is just
letters, "It was too much," Mike says.
But me? One day I am thinking of
a color: orange. I write a line
about orange. Pretty soon it is a
whole page of words, not lines.
Then another page. There should be
so much more, not of orange, of
words, of how terrible orange is
and life. Days go by. It is even in
prose, I am a real poet. My poem
is finished and I haven't mentioned
orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call
it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery
I see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
poem by Frank O'Hara
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Burn That Bridge
Burn that bridge
By: jimmy buffett, michael utley, will jennings
1984
Im not sayin Im scareda you
But your kinda love is somethin new
When I hold you were swayin in the wind
Of all the bridges Ive ever crossed
High and lonesome and wild and lost
I feel this time Ill take it to the end
We dont care what the people may say
If theres a price its the price well pay
Chorus:
And well burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to
Burn it down
Burn it down
We both done our share of runnin around
So we know enough to know the kind of love weve found
Its the real thing and weve got to see it through
Im a singer and a sailor on a midnight sea
(oh captain come and take me on your fantasy)
If were crazy that aint nothin new
cause we dont care what the people may say
If theres a price its the price well pay
Chorus:
And well burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to
Burn it down
Burn it down
Who knows how it started
Who knows it end
The point of no return is waiting
Just around the bend
Chorus:
And well burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to
Burn it down
Burn it down
Chorus:
Yes well burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to it
Burn that bridge when we come to
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
Burn it down
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When is a Painting Finished?
I paint.
On my easel
pictures in oil and acrylic grow
like stalagmites in limestone caves.
I think that painting is a magical act
that transforms invisible thoughts
and feelings into visible colors
and forms.
But I never can tell
when is the work finished.
After all it is always possible
to change a line, a hue, or a color
or even the whole composition.
Painters have different opinions
about this.
Some say that when the artist
successfully planted
all the details onto the canvas
the image expresses itself
as a severed autonomous entity,
which frees the painter from
the task of continuing to paint.
From then on the painting gains
an independent inner life of its own.
However, abandoning a work of art
involves a moral decision
ripened by the stiffening tension
between skill, creativity and integrity.
At what point does the polished image
meet the artist’s expectations?
And then, even if it does,
no single image can express
all that an artist wants to show,
and consequently his muses
compel him to carry on with his work
and create more paintings.
Hence the oeuvre of the artist
evolves as a set of different images
of the same single thrust and grind.
Many years ago I was wandering
through the countryside
of southern France in Provence.
Once I stopped to look at the road
where the village met the meadow.
A sturdy artist stood there
in front of his easel
painting the landscape
with skilful brushstrokes
on a well-stretched canvas.
I stared for a while
at the burgeoning picture
and then asked him:
“How do you know
when is the composition complete? ”
He gave me a piercing glance.
“Well”, he said,
“if you take a hammer
and hit me on the head
I know that the painting is finished.”
poem by Paul Hartal
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Artist Only
I'm painting, I'm painting again.
I'm painting, I'm painting again.
I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning again.
I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning my brain.
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter.
Pretty soon now, will be a quitter.
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter.
You can't see it 'til it's finished
I don't have to prove...that I am creative!
I dont' have to prove...that I am creative!
All my pictures are confused
And now I'm going to take me to you
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave.
quote by Paul Robeson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Washington
Eight years of peace and prosperity
Scandal in the White House
An election is what we need
From coast-to-coast to Washington
So America voted on a president
No one kept count
On how the election went
From Florida to Washington
Goddamn, said one side
And the other said the same
Both looked pretty guilty
But no one took the blame
From coast-to-coast to Washington
So a new man in the White House
With a familiar name
Said he had some fresh ideas
But it's worse now since he came
From Texas to Washington
And he wants to fight with many
And he says it's not for oil
He sent out the National Guard
To police the world
From Baghdad to Washington
What is the thought process
To take a humans life
What would be the reason
To think that this is right
From heaven to Washington
From Jesus Christ to Washington
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sad Lady
Written by John Mellencamp and George Green
Oh Sad Lady do you curse your name
and how many times have you been ashamed
Crazy Lady letting your emotions show
it's hard being a woman knowing what you know
Oh Sad Lady were you born in vain
nothing to live for and no one to blame
ain't no use in screaming or pulling on your hair
Crazy Lady dancing with a chair
(1st bridge)
Oh oh if you should get to know
Sad Lady
say maybe
Oh Sad Lady won't you dry your eyes
you go on living wishing you could die
'cause dying's not bad when living's not so good
Crazy Lady so misunderstood
(repeat 1st bridge)
(2nd bridge)
Tell me what you're thinking
as you lace up white shoes
tell me Sad Lady
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I've had 79 to 80 years of show business. I started when I was 5 with a man called Tom Mix. I didn't have time to go to school because I was in silent movies, I was in radio, I was in burlesque, I worked with the circus. I'm all show business!
quote by George Sidney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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From George Washington to George W. Bush, presidents have invoked God's name in the performance of their official duties.
quote by Linda Chavez
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Artists Only
Im painting, Im painting again.
Im painting, Im painting again.
Im cleaning, Im cleaning again.
Im cleaning, Im cleaning my brain.
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter.
Pretty soon now, will be a quitter.
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter.
You cant see it til its finished
I dont have to prove...that I am creative!
I dont have to prove...that I am creative!
All my pictures are confused
And now Im going to take me to you.
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Don't let that horse
Don't let that horse
eat that violin
cried Chagall's mother
But he
kept right on
painting
And became famous
And kept on painting
The Horse With Violin In Mouth
And when he finally finished it
he jumped up upon the horse
and rode away
waving the violin
And then with a low bow gave it
to the first naked nude he ran across
And there were no strings
attached
poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
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