The 10 best Patti Smith quotes
Patti Smith has always been known for carving out her own voice in music history. While she may have been adopted as one of the punks at the time, Smith never squarely fit into any one genre, taking influence from spoken word and relying on poetry to do most of the talking for her. Smith was going to be in charge of her own story, and there was no better person to tell her how to live her life than herself.
Throughout her history in both the written word and on record, Smith has been the one responsible for carving out different pieces of rock history. Whether talking about topics like love, unity, or the human condition, everything that Smith ever said was about trying to find compassion through art, trying to relate to someone rather than judging them at face value.
Smith always stuck to her principles, though, and some of her greatest utterances come from her shouting out her ideas into the world, offended parties be damned. Even though she shied away from the punk label, one of the most punk moves she ever made was making these kinds of bold declarations with zero fear for what anyone thought about her.
So, when looking through some of the best one-liners that Smith ever created, it’s important to understand the context in which she was saying them. She may have been looking for the right line for a verse or chorus, or she might have been looking to paint a picture in your mind, but every time, it felt like an epiphany going off in your head.
10 best Patti Smith quotes:
10. “We tried not to age, but time had its rage”
When you start out in rock and roll, it feels like nothing can phase you. Spoken by someone who has been around the block a couple of times, though, Smith knows that time can be the biggest hurdle for anyone to get over, being the one constant in life that will never go away. Friends come and go, and many try to adapt to the times, but no amount of money, fame, or love can buy a second of time back.
9. “How is it that we never completely comprehend our love for someone until they’re gone?” – M Train
Love has always been the throughline throughout all of human existence. When talking about the people that you care about more than anyone, Smith knows all too well about the tragedy of not saying everything you want to say to those you care about, having lost good friends along the way. If anything, Smith is here to remind us to let people know how you feel before time runs out.
8. “To be an artist was to see what others could not” – Just Kids
The entire artistic process is nearly impossible to define in layman’s terms. For Smith, though, artistry has always been reading between the lines of reality, picking out the subtle feelings of everyday life and putting them into context for the world to hear. Other jobs might be seen in the traditional sense, but what Smith is looking for has more to do with the future of human artistry.
7. “Well, I haven’t fucked much with the past, but I’ve fucked plenty with the future” – ‘Babelogue’
As the old saying goes, those who don’t look to the past are condemned to repeat it. Even though Smith is more than happy to appreciate those who came before her, she knows that what she does while she’s here has the potential to shatter everyone’s expectations of what the future should be. Smith did fuck with the future, and we have been feeling the aftershocks ever since.
6. “I was not gifted, but I was imaginative” – Just Kids
Most people think that musical talent is something that you’re born with. Not true. Even though Smith had a rudimentary approach to rock music in the beginning, she knew that the best art didn’t come from playing long sweeping solos. It was about what’s in your heart, and she had enough passion in her work to rival any of the greatest in her field.
5. “Freedom is…the right to write the wrong words”
Every great punk rock song is about having some sense of freedom. Although Smith had her flirtations with the genre of music, she thought of her art as the most open form of expression one could possibly have using just words. The words might come out wrong, and the songs might be out of key sometimes, but as far as Smith was concerned, it’s just the way it’s supposed to be no matter how it comes out.
4. “Love is an angel disguised as lust” – ‘Because the Night’
Rock and roll has never run short on love songs, but Smith never had time for mindless puppy love. While ‘Because the Night’ was written by Bruce Springsteen, Smith surpasses him with this one added line about the concept of love. Lust might be something that comes from deep within, but there’s a great reward awaiting someone willing to look beyond typical “loving” behaviour.
3. “Nothing can be truly replicated. Not a love, not a jewel, not a single line” – M Train
In a world dominated by getting the bottom line of every piece of rock history, Smith knew never to try to do the same thing on any one album. From the first time she entered the studio to the last time she took the stage, there was never a Patti Smith performance that you were going to see again. Art happens at the moment, and Smith had been happy to give fans pieces of her art whenever she could.
2. “Never let go of that fiery sadness called desire”
Like all wise sages before her, Smith knew that some of the greatest desires come from some tragic origin. As much as she may have carved herself into an icon, Smith reminds us that anything worth longing for in life comes from the sadness that came before. It’s never an easy life to live, but desire is what keeps us waking up every single day.
1. “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” – ‘Gloria’
From the first word she uttered, Smith was already ready to take on the entire world and more. Compared to the other rockers looking to make poetry out of nothing, this was about more than just rock and roll. This was life and death, and even if the afterlife had plans for Smith, she was going to come back sinful.
