Yoko Ono

“The art world was not initially really accepting my kind of work. I was ahead of my time.”

“I always believed that my work should be unfinished in the sense that I encourage people to add their creativity to it, either conceptually or physically. Back in the 1960s, I was calling fo...”

“All I can say is, it's not very easy for a woman to be associated with The Beatles.”

“If a woman writes about a domestic situation, everyone automatically assumes that it's about her.”

“When Orientals are attacked, they don't hit back.”

“In the '60s, people were still very protective of each field that they belonged to. Avant-garde artists didn't know about rock or pop or jazz. And the jazz people of course didn't want to kn...”

“You can't always be in awe of someone's talent, living with them.”

“Women have become stronger, and there's a backlash. Men have become terribly possessive. I find it much easier to get on with women.”

“My father was a banker, but he was an independent spirit. He was a very good pianist and very much into music.”

“Many of my songs were dance orientated from way back. That's because I love dance! When I hear a dance number, just hearing the first eight bars, it immediately makes my bod start moving and...”

“I realized that if my thoughts immediately affect my body, I should be careful about what I think. Now if I get angry, I ask myself why I feel that way. If I can find the source of my anger,...”

“When I speak out against the guns or against the big corporations, some of my friends say, 'Oh Yoko, be careful. These people have all the power.' But, you know, most people don't speak out...”

“Words are power. And a book is full of words. Be careful what power you get from it. But know that you do.”

“I did not break up the Beatles. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to blame me for breaking the Beatles up, you should be thankful that I made them into myth rather than a crumblin...”

“What the Beatles did was something incredible, it was more than what a band could do. We have to give them respect.”

“No one person could have broken up a band, especially one the size of the Beatles.”

“Being alone is very difficult.”

“When I got pregnant, I had to concentrate on being pregnant for a whole nine months, even though I knew it was ruining my career at the time.”

“You change the world by being yourself.”

“Events are the best teacher for us. You try to learn from people, there is always some bend to it.”