“Chip said it was his piano hands - one ain't never doing the same thing as the other.”

“Ain't no man can outrun his fate.”

“Chip recons that he is charming as hell, and who am I to poke holes in his theory. That means that sometimes lies leave his mouth dressed like truth. He just can’t help it.”

“Folks think a lifetime is a thing stretched out over years. It ain't. It can happen quick as a match in a dark room.”

“It ain't really Czechoslovakian,' I said, coughing. 'We used to call it the Cheque. Like, you drink it up now, you pay for it later.”

“Ain't no glory made from being dependable.”

“There's all sorts of ways to live, Chip. Some of them you give a lot. Some of them you take a lot. Art, jazz, it was a kind of taking. You take from the audience, you take from yourself.”