The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Quotes With Page Numbers
“But better off sad than dead.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 1, Page 11
“Snow lands on top”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Coriolanus Snow, Chapter 1, Pages 14, 131, 174
“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird, Chapter 2, Pages 32, 33, 34, 369
“What young brains lack in experience they sometimes make up for in idealism. Nothing seems impossible to them.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 6, Page 99
“There is a point to everything or nothing at all, depending on your worldview.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 7, Page 116
“What are lies but attempts to conceal some sort of weakness?”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 8, Page 120
“Afraid of everything. If the people who were supposed to protect you played so fast and loose with your life . . . then how did you survive? Not by trusting them, that was for sure. And if you couldn’t trust them, who could you trust? All bets were off.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 8, Page 121
“For a moment he laughed, forgetting where they were, how depressing the backdrop. For a moment there was just her smile, the musical cadence of her voice, and the hint of flirtation. Then the world exploded.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 9, Page 143
“You’ve no right to starve people, to punish them for no reason. No right to take away their life and freedom. Those are things everyone is born with, and they’re not yours for the taking. Winning a war doesn’t give you that right. Having more weapons doesn’t give you that right. Being from the Capitol doesn’t give you that right. Nothing does.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 11, Page 163
“Wars are won by heads not hearts.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 11, Page 164
“The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings,” she said.
“The mockingjay?” He laughed. “Really, I think you’re just making these things up.”
“Not that one. A mockingjay’s a bona fide bird,” she assured him.
“And it sings in your show?” he asked.
“Not my show, sweetheart. Yours. The Capitol’s anyway.”~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Characters: Lucy Gray Baird and Coriolanus Snow, Chapter 11, Page 172
“And try not to look down on people who had to choose between death and disgrace.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Tigris, Chapter 12, Page 179
“Courage in battle was often necessary because of someone else’s poor planning.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 12, Page 185
“Well, as they said, it’s not over until the mockingjay sings.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 13, Page 199
“You can blame it on the circumstances, the environment, but you made the choices you made, no one else. It’s a lot to take in all at once, but it’s essential that you make an effort to answer that question. Who are human beings? Because who we are determines the type of governing we need. Later on, I hope you can reflect and be honest with yourself about that you learned tonight.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Dr. Gaul, Chapter 16, Page 247
“Coriolanus could see that Festus was falling for her. Did you tell your best friend his crush was a cannibal? Never a rule book when you needed one.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 16, Page 255
“I’m planning to,” said Sejanus. “I’m planning to build a whole new beautiful life here. One where, in my own small way, I can make the world a better place.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Sejanus, Chapter 22, Page 346
“You’re mine and I’m yours. It’s written in the stars.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird, Chapter 24, Page 390
“The strain of being a full-fledged adult every day had grown tiresome.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 27, Page 436
“Deep in the meadow, under the willow A bed of grass, a soft green pillow Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it’s safe, here it’s warm Here the daisies guard you from every harm Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true Here is the place where I love you.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird singing, Chapter 27, Page 440
“Trust is important.” “I think it’s more important than love. I mean, I love all kinds of things I don’t trust. Thunderstorms . . . white liquor . . . snakes. Sometimes I think I love them because I can’t trust them, and how mixed up is that?”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird, Chapter 27, Page 444
“Everyone’s born as clean as a whistle—
As fresh as a daisy
And not a bit crazy.
Staying that way’s a hard row for hoeing—
As rough as a briar,
Like walking through fire.This world, it’s dark,
And this world, it’s scary.
I’ve taken some hits, so
No wonder I’m wary.
It’s why I
Need you—
You’re pure as the driven snow.”~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird singing, Chapter 29, Page 482
“Before need, before love, came trust.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Chapter 29, Page 484
“People aren’t so bad, really,” she said. “It’s what the world does to them.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird, Chapter 30, Page 496
“I think there’s a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you’ve stepped across the line into evil, and it’s your life’s challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Character: Lucy Gray Baird, Chapter 30, Page 496
“She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Narrator, Epilogue, Page 518