82 Bill Hicks Quotes

Joan Agie
Sep 29, 2023 By Joan Agie
Originally Published on Oct 11, 2022
Read the best Bill Hicks quotes about his life, success, and his thoughts on society, here.
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Read time: 9.9 Min

On December 16, 1961, Bill Hicks was born in Valdosta, Georgia.

Hicks was a renowned stand-up comedian and social critic, best known for his dark comedy that covered a wide array of social issues. In addition, he also published several famous albums, such as 'Dangerous', 'Relentless', and 'Arizona Bay'.

Bill Hicks was not only famous for his comedy but he is also well-known for his creative music. Bill Hicks' quotes often sound bitter, but they are filled with symbolism and metaphors.

Bill Hicks Quotes About Life

Read the best Bill Hicks quotes about life, in this section.

"Oh sorry, I was taking life seriously."

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are…” - 'Revelations', 1993.

"Do I have a message? Yes, I do. Here’s my message: as scary as the world is – and it is – it is merely a ride …"

"What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, or take into my body as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?"

"It's all about money, not freedom. You think you're free? Try going somewhere without money."

“I do not believe making money in order to consume goods is mankind’s sole purpose on this planet.” - 'Love All The People'.

"Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive."

"Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the Weather."

''I'm totally confused about what I'm going to do with my life."

Famous Bill Hicks Quotes

(Read the best quotes from the renowned American stand-up comedian Bill Hicks, in this article.)

This section contains some of the most famous Bill Hicks quotes that you will ever read.

“I was in Nashville, Tennessee last year. After the show, I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm alone, I'm eating and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: 'Hey, whatcha readin' for?'” - 'Dangerous', 1990.

"I, like all artists in Western cultures, am a shaman...come in the guise of a comic...to heal perception by using...'jokes'."

"I am a misanthropic humanist... Do I like people? They're great, IN THEORY."

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out."

"As long as one person lives in darkness then it seems to be a responsibility to tell other people."

"How do I know the Bible isn’t the word of God? Well if it was the word of God it would be clear and easy to understand…considering God was the creator of LANGUAGE!"

“Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.” - 'Bill Hicks: Revelations', 1993.

"You know what I hate about working? Bosses...The very idea that ANYONE could be my boss, well...I think you see the conflict."

"Music is a great energizer. It's a language everybody knows."

"Listen, the next revolution is gonna be a revolution of ideas."

“Writing, acting, music, comedy. A deep love of literature and books. Thank God for all the artists who've helped me.” - 'Love All The People'.

"I believe it is our own misperceptions of who we really are that lead to every self-created hell you’ll find in this world."

"When did mediocrity and banality become a good image for your children?"

“Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again.” - 'Rant In E-Mirror', 1997.

"We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free."

“I’m just trying to rid the world of all these fevered egos that are tainting our collective unconscious…” - 'Rant In E-Minor'.

"Good comedy helps people know they’re not alone. Great comedy provides an answer."

“Lift me up out of this illusion, Lord. Heal my perception, so that I may know only reality.” - 'Love All The People'.

"This is where we are at right now, as a whole. No one is left out of the loop. We are experiencing a reality based on a thin veneer of lies and illusions."

“Ever noticed that people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved?” - 'Arizona Bay', 1997.

"Wouldn’t that be news-worthy, just the once? To base your decision on information rather than scare tactics and superstition and lies?"

"Here you go, America! You are free to do what we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!"

"All day long you see those commercials: 'Here's Your Brain, Just Say No'...and the next commercial is: 'This Bud's For You.'"

"Rock stars hawking Diet Cokes - are demons set loose on the Earth to lower the standards for the perfect and holy children of God!"

"My voice was not heard, the questions were not asked that I wanted to see asked."

"I don’t care if you’re obscene, filthy, horrendous – as long as you’re honest."

Funny Bill Hicks Quotes

Get ready for a good laugh, for here are the funniest Bill Hicks quotes you will ever read.

"I never got along with my dad. Kids used to come up to me and say, "My dad can beat up your dad." I'd say Yeah? When?"

"I don't get along with anything, I really don't...I'm, I'm, maybe I'm just a, you know, incredibly tasteful human being."

"That’s starting to depress me about UFOs. The fact that they cross galaxies…and always end up in places like Fyfe, Alabama."

"Children are smarter than any of us. Know how I know that? I don’t know one child with a full-time job and children."

"The role of the comedian is to say ‘Wait a minute’ when a consensus starts to form."

"I need my sleep. I need about eight hours a day, and about ten at night."

“I’m just skin covering coffee and some real nervous teeth.” - May 26, 2020.

“Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner, and health-nut dude. The plot thickens.” - 'Love All The People'.

“The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's, infinite love. That's the message we're brought up with? Believe or die! Thank you, forgiving Lord, for all those options.” - 'Love All The People'.

"Laughter makes the bitter swallowing of truth, for some, a little easier."

"People often ask me where I stand politically. It's not that I disagree with Bush's economic policy or his foreign policy, it's that I believe he was a child of Satan sent here to destroy the planet Earth. Little to the left."

"Speaking of Satan, I was watching Rush Limbaugh the other day."

“How many people disapprove of the job the Conservatives are doing? Seventy percent. Of those same people, how many will vote for them again? ...Seventy percent.” - 'Shock And Awe', 2003.

"It’s always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it’s just hilarious."

"Dinosaur fossils were placed in rocks by prankster God just to make human beings think the world is older than it is."

"Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye."

“I'm glad mushrooms are against the law, because I took them one time, and you know what happened to me? I laid in a field of green grass for four hours going, 'My God! I love everything'.” - 'Shock And Awe', 2003.

“Women priests. Great, great. Now there's priests of both sexes I don't listen to.” - November 21, 2012, www.theguardian.com, Suzanne Moore.

"You think when Jesus comes back, he really wants to see a cross? That’s like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on."

"Hitler had the right idea, he was just an underachiever."

"I go to dance clubs…about once a year just to justify the other 364 days I spend in my apartment going ‘God, what idiots!"

"It's my object to be stared at like a dog that's just been shown a card trick."

"Okay, I got one word to ask you, a one-word question, ready?"

Bill Hicks Quotes About Success

In his lifetime, Hicks gave several inspirational speeches on success. Here, you will find the best Bill Hicks quotes about success.

"If you are living for tomorrow, you will always be one day behind."

"No one can give you any answers. There aren’t any. You have to discover for yourself-you must learn to navigate the mystery."

"I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative. I don't like anything in the mainstream and they don't like me."

"Folks, it’s time to evolve. That’s why we’re troubled. You know why our institutions are failing us, the church, the state, everything’s failing? It’s because, um – they’re no longer relevant. We’re supposed to keep evolving."

'The Voice of Reason is in us all...and everyone can recognize it because it makes sense and everyone benefits from it equally."

"I left in love, in laughter, and in truth, and wherever truth, love, and laughter abide, I am there in spirit."

Best Bill Hicks Quotes About Society

Hicks is considered to be one of the greatest social critics of all time. This section contains the most famous Bill Hicks quotes about society.

"What kind of people are these with such low self-esteem that they need a war to feel better about themselves?"

"It's an insane world, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

"People in the United Kingdom and outside the United States share my bemusement with the United States that America doesn't share with itself."

"I’m an American who loves an America which doesn’t exist, which is a land of freedom and free ideas.'

“Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.” - Bill Hicks, '2012 Crossing Over: A New Beginning'.

"It has become more and more obvious that there is one political party in America, and that is The Business Party."

"I'd...bet enthusiasm for 'ethnic cleansing' will wane if only sticks and rocks are available for the warring parties."

"It's a war on personal freedom."

"Humanity is just a virus with shoes."

"It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter because it's just a ride"

"It seems to me that there will be a point in our development or our evolution where you put your guns aside."

"All your beliefs, they’re just that. They’re nothing. They’re how you were taught and raised. That doesn’t make ’em real."

"We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution."

"When you're...stepping over a guy on the sidewalk...does it ever occur to you to think, 'Wow. Maybe our system doesn't work?'"

"The puppet on the right shares my beliefs, the puppet on the left is more to my liking. Hey...there's one guy holding up both!"

“If you’re so pro-life, do me a favor: don’t lock arms and block medical clinics. If you’re so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries.” - 'Muzzled', Michael A. Smerconish.

"I was always 'awake'...Some part of me clamoring for NEW insights and NEW ways to make the world a better place."

“Well we looked at all the people in the Bible and we added 'em up all the way back to Adam and Eve, their ages: 12,000 years.” - 'Love All The People'.

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Written by Joan Agie

Bachelor of Science specializing in Human Anatomy

Joan Agie picture

Joan AgieBachelor of Science specializing in Human Anatomy

With 3+ years of research and content writing experience across several niches, especially on education, technology, and business topics. Joan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Anatomy from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, and has worked as a researcher and writer for organizations across Nigeria, the US, the UK, and Germany. Joan enjoys meditation, watching movies, and learning new languages in her free time.

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