Harold and Maude quotes

View Quote A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an "L". Give me an "I". Give me a "V". Give me an "E". L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room.

View Quote Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They’re so tall and simple.
What flower would you like to be?
Harold: I don't know. One of these, maybe.
Maude: Why do you say that?
Harold: Because they’re all alike.
Maude: Oooh, but they’re not. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals. All kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world's sorrow comes from people who are this, [she points to a single daisy] yet allow themselves be treated as that [she gestures to a field of daisies].

View Quote Ah, me. Free as a bird. You know, at one time I used to break into pet shops and liberate the canaries, but I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing. Ah, my. How the world still dearly loves a cage.

View Quote "Well if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on somethings. I'm just acting as a gentle reminder, here today, gone tomorrow so don't get attached to things. Now with that in mind I don't mind collecting things. I've collected quite a lot of stuff in my time. Yeah, this is all memorabilia — but it’s incidental, not integral, if you know what I mean."

View Quote Harold: This is real nice. Makes me want to do somersaults.
Maude: Well, why don't you?
Harold: I'd feel stupid.
Maude: Harold, everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves.
You just can't let the world judge you too much.

View Quote Harold: You hop in any car you want and just drive off?
Maude: Well, not any car -- I like to keep a variety. I'm always looking for the new experience.
Harold: [smiling] Maybe.
[sobering] Nevertheless, I think you're upsetting people. I don’t know if that's right.
Maude: Well, if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on some things, I'm merely acting as a gentle reminder: here today, gone tomorrow, so don't get attached to things. Now, with that in mind, I'm not against collecting things...

View Quote Harold: Maude.
Maude: Hmm?
Harold: Do you pray?
Maude: Pray? No. I communicate.
Harold: With God?
Maude: With Life.

View Quote Harold: I am sure picking up on vices.
Maude: Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much life. Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you’re bound to live life fully.

View Quote Psychiatrist: Uh, tell me, Harold, what do you do for fun? What activity gives you a different sense of enjoyment from the others? What do you find fulfilling? What gives you that... special satisfaction?
[long pause]
Harold: I go to funerals.

View Quote I'll never understand this mania for black. Nobody sends black flowers, do they? Black flowers are dead flowers. Who sends dead flowers to a funeral? It's absurd.

View Quote [to a police officer after they find her car parked on the street] Turn the radio off, it saves battery.

View Quote Maude: Here we are. Oat straw tea and ginger pie. Excuse the mismatched saucers.
Harold: This is definitely a new experience for me.
Maude: Oh, wonderful. Try something new each day.
After all, we're given life to find it out. It doesn't last forever.

View Quote Maude: What a fuss this is -- so unnecessary.
Harold: Don't die, Maude, for Christ’s sake.
Maude: Oh, Harold -- oh, don't upset yourself so.
Harold: I love you. I love you!
Maude: Oh, Harold... That's wonderful. Go and love some more.

View Quote Don't get officious. You're not yourself when you're officious. That is the curse of a government job.

View Quote Grab the shovel, Harold.