Top 70 Shel Silverstein Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, So just give me a happy middle And a very happy start.”

— Shel Silverstein

Featured in: Cute Quotes, Quotes About Giving

2. “The Voice There is a voice inside of you That whispers all day long, “I feel this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.” No teacher, preacher, parent, friend Or wise man can decide What’s right for you – just listen to The voice that speaks inside.”

— Shel Silverstein

3. “If you are a dreamer come in.”

— Shel Silverstein

4. “Underneath my outside face There’s a face that none can see. A little less smiley, A little less sure, But a whole lot more like me.”

— Shel Silverstein

5. “She had blue skin, And so did he. He kept it hid And so did she. They searched for blue Their whole life through, Then passed right by- And never knew.”

— Shel Silverstein

6. “There is a place where the sidewalk ends, And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind.”

— Shel Silverstein

7. “If you are a dreamer come in If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer If youre a pretender com sit by my fire For we have some flax golden tales to spin Come in! Come in!”

— Shel Silverstein

8. “How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give ’em.”

— Shel Silverstein

9. “It’s amazing the difference A bit of sky can make.”

— Shel Silverstein

10. “But all the magic I have known I’ve had to make myself.”

— Shel Silverstein

11. “And all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet.”

— Shel Silverstein

12. “I asked the Zebra, are you black with white stripes? Or white with black stripes? And the zebra asked me, Are you good with bad habits? Or are you bad with good habits?”

— Shel Silverstein

13. “I’d rather play tennis than go to the dentist. I’d rather play soccer than go to the doctor. I’d rather play Hurk than go to work. Hurk? Hurk? What’s Hurk? I don’t know but it MUST be better than work!”

— Shel Silverstein

Featured in: Soccer Quotes

14. “Early bird Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird And catch the worm for your breakfast plate. If you’re a bird, be an early bird – But if you’re a worm, sleep late.”

— Shel Silverstein

15. “Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

— Shel Silverstein

Featured in: Book Quotes

16. “There is a place where the sidewalk ends.”

— Shel Silverstein

17. “And the tree was happy.”

— Shel Silverstein

18. “If the track is tough and the hill is rough, THINKING you can just ain’t enough!”

— Shel Silverstein

19. “When I am gone what will you do? Who will write and draw for you? Someone smarter – someone new? Someone better – maybe YOU!”

— Shel Silverstein

20. “I was always prepared for success but that means that I have to be prepared for failure, too.”

— Shel Silverstein

21. “Don’t be dependent on anyone else. I want to go everywhere, look at, and listen to everything. You can go crazy with some of the wonderful stuff there is in life.”

— Shel Silverstein

22. “The Yesees said yes to anything That anyone suggested. The Noees said no to everything Unless it was proven and tested. So the Yesees all died of much too much And the Noees all died of fright, But somehow I think the Thinkforyourselfees All came out all right.”

— Shel Silverstein

23. “No teacher, preacher, parent, friend, or wise man can decide what’s right for you.”

— Shel Silverstein

24. “A spider lives inside my head Who weaves a strange and wondrous web Of silken threads and silver strings To catch all sorts of flying things, Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles And specks of dried-up tears, And dust of dreams that catch and cling For years and years and years...”

— Shel Silverstein

25. “This bridge will take you halfway there – the last few steps you will have to take yourself.”

— Shel Silverstein

26. “How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em.”

— Shel Silverstein

27. “Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless. Christmas dinner’s dark and blue. When you stop and try to see it From the turkey’s point of view.”

— Shel Silverstein

28. “Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy.”

— Shel Silverstein

29. “I know a way to stay friends forever, There’s really nothing to it, I tell you what to do, And you do it.”

— Shel Silverstein

30. “G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

— Shel Silverstein

31. “TREE HOUSE A tree house, a free house, A secret you and me house, A high up in the leafy branches Cozy as can be house. A street house, a neat house, Be sure to wipe your feet house Is not my kind of house at all- Let’s go live in a tree house.”

— Shel Silverstein

32. “To me, freedom entitles you to do something, not to not do something.”

— Shel Silverstein

33. “Tell me I’m clever, Tell me I’m kind, Tell me I’m talented, Tell me I’m cute, Tell me I’m sensitive, Graceful and wise, Tell me I’m perfect – But tell me the truth.”

— Shel Silverstein

34. “We can’t hold hands – Someone might see. Won’t you please Hold toes with me?”

— Shel Silverstein

35. “Listen to the voice that speaks inside.”

— Shel Silverstein

36. “At night my mind does not much care if what it thinks is here or there. It tells me stories, it invents and makes up things that don’t make sense. I do not know why it does this stuff. The real world seems quite weird enough.”

— Shel Silverstein

Featured in: Real Quotes

37. “Although I cannot see your face As you flip these poems awhile, Somewhere from some far-off place I hear you laughing – and I smile.”

— Shel Silverstein

38. “FROZEN DREAM I’ll take the dream I had last night And put it in my freezer, So someday long and far away When I’m an old grey geezer, I’ll take it out and thaw it out, This lovely dream I’ve frozen, And boil it up and sit me down A dip my old cold toes in.”

— Shel Silverstein

39. “Talked my head off Worked my tail off Cried my eyes out Walked my feet off Sang my heat out So you see, There’s really not much left of me.”

— Shel Silverstein

40. “So please get your rags And your polishing jars, Somebody has to go polish the stars.”

— Shel Silverstein

41. “When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?”

— Shel Silverstein

42. “Comfortable shoes and the freedom to leave are the two most important things in life.”

— Shel Silverstein

43. “He wasted his wishes on wishing.”

— Shel Silverstein

44. “My beard grows down to my toes, I never wears no clothes, I wraps my hair Around my bare, And down the road I goes.”

— Shel Silverstein

45. “And he didn’t really know where he was going, but he did know he was going somewhere, because you really have to go somewhere, don’t you?”

— Shel Silverstein

46. “Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends.”

— Shel Silverstein

47. “We’re all worth the same When we turn off the light.”

— Shel Silverstein

48. “INVISIBLE BOY And here we see the invisible boy In his lovely invisible house, Feeding a piece of invisible cheese To a little invisible mouse. Oh, what a beautiful picture to see! Will you draw an invisible picture for me?”

— Shel Silverstein

49. “If you’re behind the times, they won’t notice you. If you’re right in tune with them, you’re no better than they are, so they won’t care much for you. Be just a little ahead of them.”

— Shel Silverstein

50. “My skin is kind of sort of brownish pinkish yellowish white. My eyes are greyish blueish green, but I’m told they look orange in the night. My hair is reddish blondish brown, but its silver when its wet, and all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet.”

— Shel Silverstein