I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.
William Christopher Handy

I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.
William Christopher Handy

Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.
William Christopher Handy

Life is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in, you won't get anything out.
William Christopher Handy

My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.
William Christopher Handy

Nature was my kindergarten.
William Christopher Handy

Saving was slow and painful.
William Christopher Handy

Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed.
William Christopher Handy

The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day.
William Christopher Handy

The name of my ailment was longing, and it was not cured till I finally went to the department store and counted out the money in small coins before the dismayed clerk. When I came to the house, I held up the instrument before the eyes of the astonished household.
William Christopher Handy


Whenever I heard the song of a bird and the answering call of its mate, I could visualize the notes in scale, all built up within my consciousness as a natural symphony.
William Christopher Handy

With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.
William Christopher Handy

You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.
William Christopher Handy