Mavis Staples Quotes

• I'm singing these songs to inspire you, to keep you going, to lift you up and give you a reason to get up in the morning

  Mavis Staples

  Song, Morning, Giving

  15 Copy quote

• We stay strong. We stay positive, keep our heads up, love one another, spread love. The Devil can't win when you have God on your side.

  Mavis Staples

  Stay Strong, Winning, Your Side

  "Mavis Staples Interview: Staple Singers, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King, Jr., and that one time in Memphis". Interview with Ed Masley, www.azcentral.com. March 1, 2017.

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• There's still injustice happening in my world. I sing my songs at concerts and I'm so grateful that the people are ready to hear them.

  Mavis Staples

  Song, Grateful, People

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• Well Lord, I'm still on the case. I'm still doing what Dr. King and Pops want me to do. I'm still on that freedom highway, and I'm going to walk on it until Dr. King's dream is realized.

  Mavis Staples

  Dream, Kings, Drs

  Source: pitchfork.com

  9 Copy quote

• I won't wear rings and jewelry on the stage because I don't want you looking at my hands. I want you hearing what I'm saying.

  Mavis Staples

  Hands, Want, Hearing

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• Music is such a joy, just an absolute joy.

  Mavis Staples

  Joy, Music Is, Absolutes

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• My purpose: to lift your spirit and to motivate you.

  Mavis Staples

  Purpose, Spirit, Lift Your Spirits

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• I have fun just about everywhere I go.

  Mavis Staples

  Fun, Having Fun

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• I have to pinch myself sometimes. It's unbelievable, but it's not. Because I know that this would not be happening if it hadn't been for Dr. Martin Luther King.

  Mavis Staples

  Kings, Drs, Dr Martin Luther King

  Source: pitchfork.com

  10 Copy quote

• The Devil is a liar. He cannot win. And that's all we're seeing is a bunch of devils [Donald Trump]. So we have to pray and just look out for one another. Keep your chest out, stick your head up and walk tall.

  Mavis Staples

  Liars, Winning, Devil

  "Mavis Staples Interview: Staple Singers, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King, Jr., and that one time in Memphis". Interview with Ed Masley, www.azcentral.com. March 1, 2017.

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• We enjoyed the fact that we were called to the folk festivals and we got to know Joan Baez, Dylan. We were singing strictly gospel, but then after we started hearing songs that they would sing, we saw that those songs were very fitting for us because they were singing the truth, and truth is gospel.

  Mavis Staples

  Song, Singing, Festivals

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• There is a great feeling in a small venue, with the closeness of the people and the intimacy.

  Mavis Staples

  People, Feelings, Intimacy

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• I never sang for a Grammy, for money, for fame. That's my whole purpose for singing: for people, for the fans.

  Mavis Staples

  People, Singing, Fans

  9 Copy quote

• I'm old enough to be Obama's grandmom. But I still like seeing good-looking things. Nothing wrong with that.

  Mavis Staples

  Enough, Looking Good, Stills

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• I would get in fights a lot. My voice was so heavy, kids would say you sound like a boy, so I would start beating them up.

  Mavis Staples

  Kids, Fighting, Boys

  Source: pitchfork.com

  5 Copy quote

• My voice is my gift. And Pops had me using it in the right way. I had many offers to sing pop, to sing rhythm and blues. Pops said "Mavis, this record company want to give you a million dollars." I said, "No daddy, I want to sing with the family." And I did. I never wanted to branch out by myself. But I've had to now. It's my mission. I've been left here to do it. And I'm grateful.

  Mavis Staples

  Grateful, Voice, Daddy

  "Mavis Staples Interview: Staple Singers, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King, Jr., and that one time in Memphis". Interview with Ed Masley, www.azcentral.com. March 1, 2017.

  5 Copy quote

• If I wasn't my age, I would turn a flip. I would do some cartwheels. That's how I feel.

  Mavis Staples

  Age, Flip, Cartwheels

  Source: pitchfork.com

  22 Copy quote

• I just had a wonderful life, and I couldn't ask for anything else.

  Mavis Staples

  Wonderful, Wonderful Life, Asks

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• My uncle was 16, in junior high, and he heard me singing and snatched me off the stage. I thought he was happy and was going to pat me on the head and say I was good. But he took me home and told my grandmother this youngin' was at school singing the blues.

  Mavis Staples

  Uncles, School, Home

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• I started writing letters home to my mother, saying that I wanted to come home, grandma won't let me sing.

  Mavis Staples

  Mother, Grandma, Home

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• One day, when I was about eight years old, some kids pushed me on stage at school during a talent show because they knew I could sing.

  Mavis Staples

  School, Kids, Years

  Source: pitchfork.com

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• I'm so blessed that I can still be here to bring the music and have new generations of fans. My Pops would be so proud.

  Mavis Staples

  Blessed, Fans, Would Be

  "Mavis Staples Interview: Staple Singers, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King, Jr., and that one time in Memphis". Interview with Ed Masley, www.azcentral.com. March 1, 2017.

  5 Copy quote

• I'm just singing what I feel in my heart.

  Mavis Staples

  Heart, Singing, My Heart

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• Whenever somebody tells me they want me to stop singing, I'm gone.

  Mavis Staples

  Singing, Gone, Want

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• I feel so good singing songs that I sang with my father.

  Mavis Staples

  Song, Father, Singing

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