This my collection of legendary American country songwriter Harlan Howard quotations
Harlan Howard has been writing songs since he was twelve years old.
This prolific Detroit-born country songwriter’s compositions were recorded by many well-known artistes, that include: Charlie Walker, Ray Price, Guy Mitchell, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kitty Wells, Willie Nelson, Kitty Wells and others.
Among the many popular hit songs which Harlan Howard wrote and co-wrote are: “Heartaches by the Number“, “Everglades”, “I Fall To Pieces“, “Cry Softly Darling”, “Foolin’ Around”, “He Called Me Baby”.
Being a prolific and successful tune smiths in the field of country music, Howard was labeled as the “Dean of Nashville Songwriters“.
Harlan Perry Howard was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.
He died at the age of 74 on March 3rd, 2002.
The source of his widely-quoted line “Country song is three chords and the truth” has NOT been verified.
Similarly, there are many so-called Harlan Howard quotes, found online, which are not verified as authentic.
Beware.
Do not simply share or use those quotations which do not cite their proper sources.
Country Songwriter Harlan Howard Quotations
Anyway, here are some country songwriter Harlan Howard quotations sourced from various sources over the Internet.
“The toughest songs in the world to write are love songs.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk About The Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch.4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 26)
(The quote is also found in: Performing Songwriter, Harland Howard By Lydia Hutchinson, September 8, 2014 – From Performing Songwriter Issue 75, January/February 2004) source
“..I’ve trained myself to listen to everything that’s said. I read the paper from front to back. Even there in the news, you might find something that’s interesting. A title, an idea—all these things are floating around.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk About The Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch.4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 25)
“I was touched by the words of the songs that Ernest Tubb sang. He was singing about serious relationships, and that blew me away because, for some reason, I think that’s what I wanted to do.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk About The Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch. 4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 24)
“She’s been walked on and stepped on so many times, and I hate to admit it, but that last footprint’s mine.” – Harlan Howard
(Song Lyrics Of ‘Life Turned Her That Way’ By , 1965)
“I got a cow that’s gone dry and a hen that won’t lay, a big stack of bills that get bigger each day.” – Harlan Howard
(Song lyrics Of ‘Busted’ By , 1962)
“I’ve been wanting to do this since I was 12, so it’s a lifetime hobby and quest…” – Harlan Howard
(harlanhoward.com, 31 May 2006)
“I never knew there was that much money in songwriting. I was just writing because I loved it. I never thought I’d be able to quit the factory and make a living full-time as a writer.” – Harlan Howard
(harlanhoward.com, 31 May 2006)
“I like to give artists a song they have to sing the rest of their lives. Songwriting is both my living and my pleasure, so I’m a happy man.” – Harlan Howard
(harlanhoward.com, 31 May 2006)
“The amazement is I had so many years to be a virgin. I’d never even held a girl’s hand. What did I know about ‘those sleepless nights’?” – Harlan Howard
(With Hits By The Number, Harlan Howard Enters Hall of Fame By Bruce Weber, The New York Times, September 29, 1997) source
“People drink, they cheat, they do all these things. Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. It’s almost like 50 percent of the country fans are not being represented, people whose marriages fell by the wayside. And that’s where I come in.” – Harlan Howard
(Performing Songwriter, Harland Howard By Lydia Hutchinson, September 8, 2014 – From Performing Songwriter Issue 75, January/February 2004)
“If you really want to be a songwriter, you do it.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch. 4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 28) source
“I’m more like a home writer. I’ve got a little corner of the house and a big old Gibson guitar that makes me sound good.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch. 4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 28) source
“All these years, from age twelve to now, I’ve trained myself to listen to everything that’s said. I read the paper from front to back. Even there in the news, you might find something that’s interesting.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch. 4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 25) source
“When you want to be a writer, you listen close.” – Harlan Howard
(In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process By Bill DeMain, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Ch. 4, Harlan Howard, Interview 1996, P. 25) source
“I’d rather get into a song about a relationship that’s a little bit shaky or even tragic. That in my mind represents country music and the drama of the man-woman thing.” – Harlan Howard
(Performing Songwriter, Harland Howard By Lydia Hutchinson, September 8, 2014 – From Performing Songwriter Issue 75, January/February 2004)
All these country songwriter Harlan Howard quotations are authentic and they all linked to reliable sources.
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