A biography for Oscar Hammerstein IIhasn’t been written yet.
“The number of people who will not go to a show they do not want to see is unlimited.”
“Do you love me because I'm beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?”
“There is nothin' like a dame.”
“You gotta have a dream. If you don't have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true?”
“If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?”
“If you become a teacher, by your pupils you'll be taught.”
“A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it, A song's not a song 'til you sing it, Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, Love isn't love 'til you give it away!”
“Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star.”
“I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn't write anything without hope in it.”
“Sentiment has never been unpopular except with a few sick persons who are made sicker by the sight of a child, a glimpse of a wedding, or the thought of a happy home.”
“What is a sophisticate? He is a man who thinks he can swim better than he can and sometimes he drowns.”
“All the sounds of the earth are like music.”
“The dearest things I know are what you are.”
“You've got to be taught to hate and fear.”
“Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions.”