Top 40 Carole King Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever changing view.”

— Carole King

2. “I still believe that everyone is beautiful in some way and by seeing the beauty in others we make ourselves more beautiful.”

— Carole King

3. “Way over yonder is a place I have seen In a garden of wisdom from some long ago dream.”

— Carole King

4. “Do the things you believe in, in the name of love. And know that, you aren’t alone. We all have doubts and fears.”

— Carole King

5. “Now and forever, I’ll remember all the promises still unbroken and think about all the words between us that never needed to be spoken.”

— Carole King

6. “You’re beautiful as you feel.”

— Carole King

7. “You can’t talk to a man, with a shotgun in his hand.”

— Carole King

8. “Not only do you want to leave the audience wanting more, you want to leave yourself wanting more.”

— Carole King

9. “You make me feel like a natural man.”

— Carole King

10. “Once the inspiration comes, that directs where the perspiration goes.”

— Carole King

11. “Doesn’t anybody stay in one place any more?”

— Carole King

12. “Today’s records, even though they may be lyrically repetitive and not saying anything particularly heavy, they have energy.”

— Carole King

13. “In my career I have never felt that my being a woman was an obstacle or an advantage. I guess I’ve been oblivious.”

— Carole King

14. “Now my tapestry’s unraveling.”

— Carole King

15. “Being alone gave me a chance to process what my senses took in without having to factor in other people’s opinions.”

— Carole King

16. “I just want to give it all that I got. I just don’t want to waste it...”

— Carole King

17. “I’m like a plant, I reach for the sun...”

— Carole King

18. “I think Madonna has a great deal of intelligence and capability. I have a lot of respect for her. She’s taken her career and maximized it with intelligence and creativity.”

— Carole King

19. “Traveling around sure gets me down and lonely, nothing else to do but close my mind. I sure hope the road don’t come to own me, there’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find. But you’re so far away.”

— Carole King

20. “I went to London and performed in Eric Clapton’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall. I’ll work with him any time he asks me.”

— Carole King

21. “I just sort of try to be a good person; try to write music that lifts people and makes me feel good to sing.”

— Carole King

22. “The writing of You’ve Got a Friend was one of the most incredible experiences because it was mostly inspiration. It just came to me almost as we hear it.”

— Carole King

23. “I write heavily under the influence of James Taylor.”

— Carole King

24. “Eric Clapton is my dream guitarist.”

— Carole King

25. “When I was younger, I was kind of fearless. I think it takes more courage to do things when you know more. I was completely naive, and I was like, why can’t I do anything I want to do? You know, go for it.”

— Carole King

26. “Sometimes I get a lyric, and the lyric, you know, comes off the page, and goes into my brain and comes out with a melody. Other times, I may create a melody first.”

— Carole King

27. “I listen to both oldies and contemporary stations. I enjoy listening to current stuff because there’s an energy to it that’s inspiring.”

— Carole King

28. “I used to hate the sound of my voice.”

— Carole King

29. “It’s very difficult for me to evaluate my own stuff.”

— Carole King

30. “It’s a very worthy cause. This should happen, and I do believe that tenacity counts. Not going away matters.”

— Carole King

31. “I’d like to know that your love Is love I can be sure of...”

— Carole King

32. “I’m really getting better at guitar. I’m not trapped behind a piano. You can get out and move with a guitar and still direct the band.”

— Carole King

33. “One of the things that I try to be conscious about in crafting a song is the concept of bringing it home. I like to bring it somewhere familiar, someplace that people feel it’s resolved, it’s settled.”

— Carole King

34. “It is very common with artists who are of a generation that has already gone by to get overly concerned with, Oh my God I have to sell to the younger generation.”

— Carole King

35. “I went to the High School for Performing Arts in New York for acting. I’ve studied it on and off for years and have done some theater and film.”

— Carole King

36. “I didn’t want to be an artist.”

— Carole King

37. “I love that I wrote with all kinds of different people.”

— Carole King

38. “Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I’m sensitive. Wait until they hear my new album.”

— Carole King

39. “The downside of videos is that it will put my vision in front of other people, so they might not get the chance to create their own.”

— Carole King

40. “I’m a songwriter first.”

— Carole King

41. “Scary in the idea it could be a little overwhelming to have 70 or 100 clowns in a public space. Intriguing in that it could be something interesting. I’m up for any kind of public art.”

— Carole King

42. “That’s one of the things I love about being a songwriter first, last and always, because whether I do it or not, if someone does a great job on it, my work is done.”

— Carole King