Praise and Damnation Keith Richards' Lost Weekend

Never bear a grudge, or you'll end up like Kirk Douglas in that movie.

A prisoner of his own past.

What's the point of disliking somebody or hating...?

I mean, you end up, like, sour, you know? And it's...

It ain't going to do you any good, you know what I mean?

It might make you feel better, "Oh, I hate that motherfucker, grr!"

But in reality...

nothing comes out of that.

How important is it to be honest with yourself?

Oh, I never... Never go there!

No, I'm most brutal on myself, actually.

I mean, I really don't think much of meself.

I just know that a lot of other people do.

I could be a lot better, I could apply myself more to my work.

Room for improvement, as it would come up on the school report card!

I don't really judge myself much, you know, but, I mean...

I would hate to be a guy that thought he was great.

You know?

Worrying about self-esteem or, you know,

what other people think about you, basically a waste of time, you know?

It's... Get on with it.

You've got the one life - that we know of.

It always works for me to just be me.

I don't really care what people think I am.

I've read the best things about me and the worst things about me.

I mean, sort of set-up for that situe and...

and you live with it, you know?

And I think no more about the praise than I do about the damnation.

What about the idea of retiring?

What else am I going to do?

I mean, as long as I've got the boys with me

and you still feel that, like,

you're really bringing this band to its peak

and especially... musician-wise, especially.

Why would you want to quit?

It gets boring, you know, doing nothing.

OWL HOOTS

There's no such thing as getting old.

Only people who've got a problem think, "Oh, I'm getting old."

No, I'm evolving. That's what we do.

You know, you get born and you evolve -

until you croak, and, uh...

You know, I'm evolving.

Halfway through the game, I'd say.

It does help to do it gracefully!

But, I don't know, some people think I'm graceful,

other people think, you know, something else.

I'm doing it gracefully in my own way,

and it ain't that tough. All you've got to do is stick around.

Are you afraid of anything?

Does anything worry you? There must be things. You're a human being.

You know, that's...

That's a tough one.

As a kid? Nobody's invincible.

So what do you think of all of this, what's your greatest achievement?

Breathing.

You know, still being alive.

It's lovely to be here. It's lovely to be anywhere.

There is that bit of me that's sort of like,

"In defiance of all your predictions I'm still here", you know,

but at the same time, I'm only 72

and I aim for another 30 years yet.

I'm going to leave you with Hoagy singing How Little We Know

with Lauren Bacall from the movie To Have And Have Not.

You all set, Slim?

Sure, but don't make it sad, Cricket. I don't feel that way.

You don't look that way, either. Let's go.

Top note, boys.

BAND PLAYS

# Maybe it happens this way

# Maybe we really belong together

# But after all

# How little we know

# Maybe it's just for a day

# Love is as changeable as the weather

# And after all

# How little we know

# Who knows why an April breeze never remains?

# Why stars in the trees hide when it rains?

# Love comes along, casting a spell

# Will it sing you a song?

# Will it say a farewell?

# Who can tell?

# Maybe you're meant to be mine

# Maybe I'm only supposed to stay in your arms a while. #

As others have done.

# Is this what I've waited for?

# Am I the one?

# Oh, I hope in my heart that it's so

# In spite of how little we know. #

APPLAUSE

Hey, you made it.

A big up to all of the survivors.

Thanks for hanging with me for the whole weekend.

This is Keith Richards, signing off right now.

Happy trails to you all, until we meet again.

MUSIC: Jumpin' Jack Flash performed by Ananda Shankar

# All right now

# In fact it's a gas

# Cos it's all right

# It's all right now

# But it's all right

# I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas, gas, gas. #