10 Quotes & Sayings By Rod Mckuen

Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He was named after his father, who served in the 5th Infantry Division during World War I. His parents were both college graduates. While attending high school in Pittsburgh's North Side, he began writing poetry at the age of 12, when he won a local talent contest with his poem "Knocking on Heaven's Door" Read more

After graduating from high school in 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. Following World War II, McKuen worked as a copywriter for the Cushman Motor Company. In 1956, he began writing his most famous song, "Convoy", which was later made into a movie with the same title.

He wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 poems and songs, including "A Teenager's Prayer", "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today" and "Love Song of Robert Browning". McKuen had received eight honorary doctorates by the time of his death in 2001 at age 76.

Unless you call attentionto your presencewho will know you're there?...
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Unless you call attentionto your presencewho will know you're there? Even a countryhas to weave and wave a flagas proof of its existence. Rod McKuen
The journey back is always longer than the forward run.
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The journey back is always longer than the forward run. Rod McKuen
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I have fallen in love with the world And I am aware that I have chosenthe most dangerous lover of them all. Rod McKuen
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I went back to look for you. Not understanding the language of hello, I thought I’d speak it just the same. Rod McKuen
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No map to help us find the tranquil flat lands, clearings calm, fields without mean fences. Rolling down the other side of life our compass is the sureness of ourselves. Time may make us rugged, ragged round the edges, but know and understand that love is still the safest place to land. Rod McKuen
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Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it. Rod McKuen
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Looking back few friends had webut I've got him and he's got me. And when the golden minute comeswhen we no longer wake to smellthe river where the wild swans sailedthe orchard where the blossoms fell, we'll smile a little thinkin' of that. Me in my shirt-tails, him with his whiskersme and the cat. Rod McKuen
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I try not to put messages in my songs. My only message is man's communication with his fellow man. I want to narrow the gap of strangeness and alienation. Rod McKuen
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We need sex education in schools, but we need it at home first. We need parents to learn the names of the teachers who are teaching their children. We need families to question day-care centers, to question other children and their own as to what goes on. Rod McKuen