I mean Black Flag happened. I was lucky. I don't think I could have put together something with one percent of that oomph on my own.
— Henry Rollins
I want to learn more about the world. It makes me want to get up and go.
I'm most comfortable on stage.
War is very sad and small life is pathetically fragile at times.
I know I was a generic dysfunctional child, but I think a lot of people are.
I think politicians get hamstrung by the nature of politics when the private sector can really do great things.
I have always thought that change you can see and feel is best.
Now, if someone wants to spit on me, I just roll up the window of my BMW 540i.
I'm not artistic nor am I all that creative.
And I laugh at myself when I screw things up, which happens all the time.
There's no rule that you have to like Henry Rollins the musician or the actor.
You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.
I forged myself out of a vacuum. I crawl along the highway on hacked off stumps year after year. Some wonder how and why. I never do.
I think about the meaning of pain. Pain is personal. It really belongs to the one feeling it. Probably the only thing that is your own. I like mine.
To hate is to show you still care, who needs that, focus on what's really important.
Hope is the last thing a person does before they are defeated.
The blues is losing someone you love and not having enough money to immerse yourself in drink.
You don't have to twist my arm to work.
I don't want to fail the audience. I don't want to let them down.
If I had to perform in a comedy club I would bomb; I would be trying too hard.
I get angry about stuff, I get very emotionally intense about stuff and that's how I get it out - with books, with the band, on my own onstage, but it's always kind of a wail.
The world's a better place since I chose music.
I never thought about getting any tattoos removed.
I've made some great mistakes in my life, but, you know, they were honest mistakes.
And I love the hate mail I get, the unsigned, misspelled letters I get telling me to go back to Russia or wherever.
I think more tolerance, more people having more access to a chance to be literate, and a chance to stay healthy makes for a more peaceful planet.
But I have a good life. I enjoy what I do. I am married to work.
I'm very boring.
I don't want to pass through life like a smooth plane ride.
I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn't matter - it's only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you.
Don't do anything by half. If you love someone, love them with all your soul. When you go to work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts.
Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.
Sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes it feels real good.
It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.
I'd like to talk to Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'cause I live in California and I just want to see that canned, chemical filled body in my office.
Most Americans are very cool people.
There is no way you are going to be forgiven for blowing up a village and killing a bunch of people.
Most poets are elitist dregs more concerned with proving their skill with a dictionary than communicating ideas with impact.
Most of the people who call me a sellout were 7 when I was down face-first in the punk trenches.
I have not the smarts or patience for political office.
Maybe I'm ego-tripping, but I don't find myself a particularly horrible person, so I don't think I need to hold back anything I think or feel.
There's a lot of mountain climbers trapped inside of bodies of people behind the counter at Kinko's.
I guess, topic to topic, you could consider me a left-leaning person.
I'm mellower now, I'm over 50. But I don't think I'm too mellow. I'm still angry at a lot of things.
I just travel the world with my backpack and my cameras and a bunch of Clif bars.
When you start to doubt yourself the real world will eat you alive.
Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress people just isn't worth the time and effort.
Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.
Keep your blood clean, your body lean, and your mind sharp.
Nothing brings people together more, then mutual hatred.
