"I never had a mother, a father, a brother, a sister. I had a grandmother, and she was a saint. She raised me. But I never had a mother."

"My husband. He baits your hook for you? Sure, I'm afraid of them, they wiggle."

"I'm not a symbol. I'm a woman."

"I ain't got no education, but I got sense."

"I never had a lesson in my life. I never learned to read music. I can't read music. I play by ear, and I sing by ear."