Words can greatly impact people. Often we hear a quote, a phrase, or lyrics, and it strikes us in our heart and soul. When this happens, we want to share this quote with others. Many people decide to share quotes they enjoy over social media, such as Facebook, but when we find something we truly love and that resonates within us, we might want to get a tattoo of that quote. Sometimes a person will love a book passage so much that they get an entire page or several paragraphs tattooed.
While some people don’t like word or quote tattoos, it’s indisputable that these are some of the most popular tattoos. Chances are if someone is heavily tattooed, they will have at least a word tattooed somewhere on their bodies. Quote and phrase tattoos go back pretty far in time, as early tattoo enthusiasts would get phrases with their tattoos. For example, a sailor might have a tattoo of a mermaid with a phrase related to the sea. “Sink or swim”, “Sailor’s ruin”, and “Steady as she goes” were popular phrases for sailor tattoos, and people still get these phrases tattooed.
As a tattoo and quote enthusiast, I’ve scoured my resources to find more inspiring quotes for tattoos. If you find something here that resonates within you, feel free to get it inked. Even if these specific quotes do not fit what you’re looking for, I hope that you find inspiration here that leads to your perfect quote tattoo.
“I’ll lead you all in the dance.”
This quote comes from a lovely poem by Sydney Carter.
The whole poem:
I danced in the morning
When the world was begun
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth-
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance then wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
“These foolish things remind me of you.”
This is a song lyric from a song by Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey, and Harry Link from 1935. The longer quote goes:
“A cigarette that bears a lipstick’s traces,
An airline ticket to romantic places,
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
remind me of you”
“You might as well live.”
From a poem by Dorothy Parker, and popularized in the movie “Girl Interrupted”. The entire poem serves to encourage people to continue living instead of killing themselves. It goes:
“Razors pain you
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.”
“Truth exists; only lies are invented.”
This quote is from Georges Braque’s “Day and Night Notebooks”. It’s even more beautiful in the original French: “La vérité existe; on n’invente que le mensonge.”
“I have been one acquainted with the night.”
This is a quote from a poem by Robert Frost. For those of us that love the dark, either the long or short version of this quote is fantastic.
“Wonderful thanksgiving for the life I have had”
This is a great reminder to be thankful for the life you’ve been given and to live life in a way that you leave behind many loved ones. The full quote, by Lord Louis Mountbatten reads, “I can’t think of a more wonderful thanksgiving for the life I have had than that everyone should be jolly at my funeral.”
“Hell, madam, is to love no more.”
A good reminder to live with as much love as possible, this is a quote from Georges Bernanos. The original French: “L’enfer, madame, c’est de ne plus aimer.”
Published on June 23, 2015 by Ms Spooky Tina E
