In this country, dont forget, a habit is no damn private hell. Theres no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country its the worst kind of hell for those who love you. – Billie Holiday
Theres no damn business like show business – you have to smile to keep from throwing up. – Billie Holiday
If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, youre out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung. If you think you need stuff to play music or sing, youre crazy. It can fix you so you cant play nothing or sing nothing. – Billie Holiday
Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three. – Billie Holiday
It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more television addicts, more baseball and football addicts, more movie addicts, and certainly more alcohol addicts in this country than there are narcotics addicts. – Shirley Chisholm