Find the perfect quote to float your boat. Shmoop breaks down key quotations from The Piano Lesson.
Memory and the Past Quotes
Boy Willie: "Uncle Doaker tell me your mama got you playing that piano." (1.1.208)
Arts and Culture: Music Quotes
Doaker: "Berniece ain't gonna sell that piano." (1.1.100)
Race Quotes
Doaker: "Some white fellow was going around to all the colored people's houses looking to buy up musical instruments." (1.1.112)
Slavery Quotes
Boy Willie: (Sings) "O Lord Berta Berta O Lord gal oh-ah/O Lord Berta Berta O Lord gal well" (1.2.95)
The Supernatural Quotes
Boy Willie: "The Ghosts of the Yellow Dog got Sutter." (1.1.39)
Rules and Order Quotes
Berniece: "[The Sheriff] might be looking for [Lymon] about that truck. He might have stole that truck. […]" Doaker: "Now they might have stole them watermelons, but I don't believe they stol...
Spirituality Quotes
Avery: "The train stopped and these three hobos got off. They told me they had come from Nazareth and was on their way to Jerusalem." (1.1.255)
Women and Femininity Quotes
Boy Willie: "All [Lymon] want to talk about is women. […] Talking about all the women he gonna get when he get up here." (1.1.94)