Tracing Quotations
Heinrich Heine? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular adage comments on the comparative expressiveness of words versus music. Here are two versions: Many people have been credited with this saying including the famous German poet and critic Heinrich Heine. Would you please explore the attribution to Heine? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins”
Claude Debussy? Maurice Emmanuel? Léon Vallas? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Language is inadequate for conveying some deep emotions while music can arouse sensations and passions that are beyond words. Here are two versions of this sentiment: Many people have been credited with this adage including the famous French composer Claude Debussy. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Music Begins Where Speech Fails”
Richard Wagner? Henry Russell Cleveland? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Music can express thoughts and emotions which cannot be captured by words alone according to some romantic souls. Here are two versions of this sentiment: Many people have been credited with this adage including the famous German composer Richard Wagner. Would you please explore the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Where the Speech of Man Stops Short There Music’s Reign Begins”
Lady Bird Johnson? Barbara Rowes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The demands placed upon politicians are intense. Minimal time can be allocated for family and friends. Lady Bird Johnson who was married to U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) once made a statement similar to the following: A politician should be born an orphan and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Politician Ought To Be Born a Foundling and Remain a Bachelor”
C. P. Scott? Kenneth Adam? Bernard Levin? Harvey W. Wiley? Ivor Brown? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: While reading a book about woefully inaccurate predictions I came across a humorously incongruous statement about a wildly successful gadget: Television? The word is half Greek, half Latin. No good can come of it. British …
Peter Marshall? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I once heard an intriguing remark about action and autonomy. It was roughly the following: May freedom be seen, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right. These words were attributed to a U.S. religious figure, but I …
Albert King? Booker T. Jones? William Bell? Dick Gregory? E. K. Means? Sidney Sutherland? Sidney Skolsky? Bill Brisson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular blues song from the 1960s contains the following memorable lament: If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all. How old is this mordant quip? Would …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If It Wasn’t for Bad Luck I Wouldn’t Have Any Luck At All”
Harold Macmillan? Winston Churchill? Adam Raphael? Peter Kellner? Kenneth Fleet? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Public figures around the world have faced major difficulties such as economic crashes, epidemics, and wars. Several decades ago, a powerful British politician experienced a series of setbacks during a period of economic and social upheaval. A journalist asked him …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Events, My Dear Boy, Events”
Abe Martin? Kin Hubbard? H. L. Mencken? Jim Courier? George Young? Gary Shelton? Mike Lupica? Dale Bumpers? Shannon Sharpe? Question for Quote Investigator: Contract negotiations are tough, and disputes usually involve money. Yet, participants sometimes highlight other issues as paramount. Jaded observers have crafted the following dictum: When they say it’s not about the money. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When They Say It’s Not About Money, It’s About Money”
Charles M. Schwab? Reed Smoot? Pope John XXIII? Fliegende Blätter? Edgar Wallace? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A visitor to a large business watched as numerous workers moved purposefully along the hallways into offices. The visitor approached the leader of the company and asked: “This is such a busy place! How many people work here?” …
Continue reading “Dialogue Origin: “How Many People Work Here?” “About Half of Them””