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Eric Clapton Quotes

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I tried when I was 13, when my grandparents gave me an acoustic

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I tried when I was 13, when my grandparents gave me an acoustic guitar, and I tried for a year. It hurt so much to play. I mean, the fingertips hurt so much, I gave up.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Risk is trying to control something you are powerless over.

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Risk is trying to control something you are powerless over.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: It’s taken me to be an older guy, an old man, to

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It's taken me to be an older guy, an old man, to have an old man's voice. Because I only liked old men's voices. As a kid, I didn't like pip-squeaked singers.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: But I did go to music really early on, even when I

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But I did go to music really early on, even when I was 4 or 5, I was responding to music probably in ways other kids were not.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: My driving philosophy about making music is that you can reduce it

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My driving philosophy about making music is that you can reduce it all down to one note if that note is played with the right kind of sincerity.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I’ve always wanted the sound of Muddy Waters’ early records – only louder

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I've always wanted the sound of Muddy Waters' early records - only louder

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.

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Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I saw you walking with your other man today. If I catch

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I saw you walking with your other man today. If I catch you one more time, I'm gonna blow you both away.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I am, and always will be, a blues guitarist.

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I am, and always will be, a blues guitarist.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing.

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I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing. I could never really find the right combination of flatpick or fingerpick, so playing fingerstyle is really the easiest way - though it's quite strenuous on the fingertips.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Having lovers and friends is all good and fine But I don’t

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Having lovers and friends is all good and fine But I don't like yours and you don't like mine.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Up until I became a father, it was all about self-obsession. But

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Up until I became a father, it was all about self-obsession. But then I learned exactly what it's all about: the delight of being a servant.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I mean, it didn’t matter to me that there were people, it

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I mean, it didn't matter to me that there were people, it didn't matter that I was shy Just the sound was so captivating that it helped me to get rid of those inhibitions.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: It’s been up to me to inspire me.

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It's been up to me to inspire me.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: In my lowest moments, the only reason I didn’t commit suicide was

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In my lowest moments, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink any more if I was dead.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I know there will be no more tears in heaven.

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I know there will be no more tears in heaven.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: And if I don’t be there by morning, she’ll know that I must’ve spent the night in jail.

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And if I don't be there by morning, she'll know that I must've spent the night in jail.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Only ask and you will get what you are needing, the rest is up to you.

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Only ask and you will get what you are needing, the rest is up to you.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: All I am certain of right now is that I don’t want

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All I am certain of right now is that I don't want to go anywhere, and that's not bad for someone who always used to run.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I never met Johnny Rotten, and I didn’t want to meet Johnny Rotten.

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I never met Johnny Rotten, and I didn't want to meet Johnny Rotten.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Plant your love and let it grow.

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Plant your love and let it grow.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: This moment in time, on this tour, you know, I’m discovering a

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This moment in time, on this tour, you know, I'm discovering a lot of new things. And to be 45 and doing that, it's a mixture of pleasure and pain, I can assure you.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I think I deliberately sold out a couple of times. I picked

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I think I deliberately sold out a couple of times. I picked the songs that I thought would do well in the marketplace, even though I didn't really love the song.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: My original interests and intentions in guitar playing were primarily created on

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My original interests and intentions in guitar playing were primarily created on quality of tone, for instance, the way the instrument could be made to echo or simulate the human voice.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I can’t play long solos anymore without boring myself.

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I can't play long solos anymore without boring myself.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: One of the most beneficial things I’ve ever learned is how to keep my mouth shut.

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One of the most beneficial things I've ever learned is how to keep my mouth shut.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I’d love to knock an audience cold with one note, but what

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I'd love to knock an audience cold with one note, but what do you do for the rest of the evening?

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I couldn’t believe how good Jimi Hendrix was It was a really

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I couldn't believe how good Jimi Hendrix was It was a really difficult thing for me to deal with, but I just had to surrender and say, 'This is fantastic.'

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I like solitude. I like the anomalous life. I like a quiet life.

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I like solitude. I like the anomalous life. I like a quiet life.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: To sing in a lower key is harder work. You have to use your diaphragm more.

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To sing in a lower key is harder work. You have to use your diaphragm more.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Musically, he was like an old man in a boy’s skin.

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Musically, he was like an old man in a boy's skin.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I have no problem with religion, and I grew up with a

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I have no problem with religion, and I grew up with a strong curiosity about spiritual matters, but my searching took me away from church and community worship to the internal journey. Before my recovery began, I found my God in music and the arts, with writers like Hermann Hesse, and musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: My definition of Blues is that it’s a musical form which is

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My definition of Blues is that it's a musical form which is very disciplined and structured coupled with a state of mind, and you can have either of those things but it's the two together that make it what it is. And you need to be a student for one, and a human being for the other, but those things alone don't do it.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: It sounds strange for me to be saying this, but I’ve come

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It sounds strange for me to be saying this, but I've come around to the idea that sex really is for procreation.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Loose ladies on the road will drive you crazy, every no, becomes a maybe.

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Loose ladies on the road will drive you crazy, every no, becomes a maybe.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Oh yeah, I mean, it wasn’t a very good guitar, most good

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Oh yeah, I mean, it wasn't a very good guitar, most good guitars have got thrust rods in the necks that you can adjust or that'll keep them in shape, you know keep them straight. This one just, well it turned into a bow and arrow after a couple of months.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I found my God in music and the arts, with writers like

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I found my God in music and the arts, with writers like Hermann Hesse, and musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter. In some way, in some form, my God was always there, but now I have learned to talk to him.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Yeah, it is, because it’s a real discovery of your inner resources,

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Yeah, it is, because it's a real discovery of your inner resources, you know. That's what my character is all about and what my playing is all about. But to get up there and just go inside and draw out something that makes you feel good first and foremost.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I always respected that B.B. sees music in a very open, free way.

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I always respected that B.B. sees music in a very open, free way.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I just like the company of beautiful women. I have a weakness in that department.

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I just like the company of beautiful women. I have a weakness in that department.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: There are people these days who can do things on the guitar

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There are people these days who can do things on the guitar which are beyond my reach. There's one guy who plays with Queen who can do things I would dream of doing. I sincerely mean that.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Music will always find its way to us, with or without business,

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Music will always find its way to us, with or without business, politics, religion, or any other bullshit attached.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: From the beginning, I knew intuitively that if nothing else, music was

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From the beginning, I knew intuitively that if nothing else, music was safe, and that nobody could tell me anything about it. Music didn't need a middleman, whereas all the other things in school needed some kind of explanation.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Like a fool, I fell in love with you, Turned my whole world upside down

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Like a fool, I fell in love with you, Turned my whole world upside down

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Music became a healer for me. And I learned to listen with

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Music became a healer for me. And I learned to listen with all my being. I found that it could wipe away all fear and confusion...

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: My identity shifted when I got into #‎ recovery . That’s who I am

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My identity shifted when I got into #‎ recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have that identity than to be a musician or anything else, because it keeps me in a manageable size. When I'm down on the ground with my disease-which I'm happy to have-it gets me in tune. It gives me a spiritual anchor. Don't ask me to explain.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: But the guitar, when you think about it, is the most versatile,

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But the guitar, when you think about it, is the most versatile, really. I mean you can pick it up and take it with you wherever you go.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: The point of being at home is to be with my family as much as possible.

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The point of being at home is to be with my family as much as possible.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: I admire Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather, but they might blow

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I admire Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather, but they might blow me away quite easily if we were to jam together.

—Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Picture Quote image saying: Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying around, I’d rather

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Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying around, I'd rather lie around. No contest.

—Eric Clapton