25 Janis Joplin Quotes From The Iconic Singer

These Janis Joplin quotes reveal how the singer felt about her rise to fame, life, and herself and others.

Janis Joplin is one of the most recognized names of her time.

If you are a rock and roll or blues fan, you are likely a fan of this American singer and songwriter.

Joplin had an electrifying stage presence and a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice.

She released two albums when she was the lead singer of a band called Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Some of her most popular songs include Mercedes Benz, Down on Me, and Ball and Chain.

Before her stardom, she was just a girl from Port Arthur, Texas.

She made friends with the outcasts, and her parents felt she needed a lot of attention.

She was bullied in high school and struggled with her self-image.

This led to her struggles within her relationships, with both men and women, and drug use.

Enjoy these Janis Joplin quotes!

Don’t forget to also check out these Jimi Hendrix quotes on peace, music and love.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Janis Joplin quotes on that feeling you get while performing

1. “On stage, I make love to twenty-five thousand people, and then I go home alone.” ― Janis Joplin

2. “When everything is together- the band, me, the audience, it’s boss! It’s just like magic.” ― Janis Joplin

3. “Singing, it’s like loving somebody, it’s a supreme emotional and physical experience.” ― Janis Joplin

4. “I can’t talk about my singing. I’m inside it. How can you describe something you’re inside of?” ― Janis Joplin

5. “I have to have the ‘umph.’ I’ve got to feel it because if it’s not getting through to me, the audience sure as hell aren’t going to feel it either.” ― Janis Joplin

6. “Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers. You can fill your life up with ideas and still go home lonely. All you really have that really matters are feelings. That’s what music is to me.” ― Janis Joplin

7. “When I sing, I feel like when you’re first in love. It’s more than sex. It’s that point two people can get to they call love when you really touch someone for the first time, but it’s gigantic, multiplied by the whole audience. I feel chills.” ― Janis Joplin

8. “Playing is just about feeling. Playing isn’t necessarily about misery. Playing isn’t necessarily about happiness. But it’s just about letting yourself feel all those things that you have already on the inside of you, but you’re all the time trying to push them aside because they don’t make for polite conversation or something.” ― Janis Joplin

9. “I read a story about some old opera singer once, and when a guy asked her to marry him, she took him backstage after she had sung a real triumph, with all the people calling for her, asked, ‘Do you think you could give me that?’ That story hit me right, man. I know no guy ever made me feel as good as an audience. I’m really far into this now, really committed. Like, I don’t think I’d go off the road for long now, for life with a guy no matter how good. Yeah, it’s the truth. Scary thing to say though, isn’t it?” ― Janis Joplin

Short Janis Joplin quotes to live by

10. “Rock on out.” ― Janis Joplin

11. “You got to get it while you can.” ― Janis Joplin

12. “The more you live, the less you die.” ― Janis Joplin

13. “Wait a minute, maybe I can do anything.” ― Janis Joplin

14. “You know you’ve got it if it makes you feel good.” ― Janis Joplin

15. “It’s hard to be free but when it works, it’s worth it!” ― Janis Joplin

16. “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.” ― Janis Joplin

17. “Don’t go looking for Mr. Right. Look for Mr. Right Now.” ― Janis Joplin

18. “You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow.” ― Janis Joplin

19. “Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers.” ― Janis Joplin

20. “You can feel all things at once, so why not wear all things at once?” ― Janis Joplin

21. “You are what you settle for. You are only as much as you settle for.” ― Janis Joplin

22. “Freedom is just another word for when you have NOTHING left to lose.” ― Janis Joplin

23. “If you’ve got a today, don’t wear it tomorrow. Tomorrow never happens. It’s all the same day.” ― Janis Joplin

24. “Honey, if you’ve had your eye on a piece of talent and that chick down the road has been getting all the action, then you know what you gotta do… Try A Little Bit Harder.” ― Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin quotes about who she used to be before the fame

25. “I started singing rhythmically, and now I’m learning from Otis Redding to push a song instead of just sliding over it.” ― Janis Joplin

What did you learn from these Janis Joplin quotes?

By August of 1969, both Janis and her lover Peggy Caserta were addicted to Heroin.

The night she died, she was supposed to have a menage a trois with Caserta and Seth Morgan.

Both people ended up not spending time with her beforehand and bailing on the plan.

She was disappointed; she mentioned it to the drug dealer who sold her the dose she would OD on later that night.

The official cause of death was a Heroin overdose, likely exacerbated by the amount of alcohol Janis had consumed.

She was found on the floor of her bathroom and joined Jimi Hendrix, who had died 16 days before, at the age of 27.

Fans and people within the music industry were devastated, and the world lost an original voice.

She also could captivate her audience and leave them, begging for more.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these Janis Joplin quotes and sayings?

Let us know your thoughts below.

Feel free to also share your favorite Janis Joplin song in the comments below!