"I went to jail at 16 for stealing tires off Cadillacs. When I got out I said, Never again"
About this Quote
The pivot is the cleanest possible moral arc: “When I got out I said, Never again.” No courtroom sermon, no elaborate self-analysis. The power is in its compression. White’s future persona - the velvet voice, the orchestral seducer, the guy who made romance sound like a slow-moving limousine - depends on control, patience, and polish. Jail represents the opposite: chaos, consequence, being trapped in a narrative you didn’t write. “Never again” is less about virtue than authorship. It’s the moment he decides to stop being acted upon and start curating a life.
Context matters: mid-century Black Los Angeles offered plenty of spectacle and very few safe ladders. White’s line quietly acknowledges how close the routes to fame and ruin can run. He’s not asking for absolution; he’s sketching the origin of discipline. The subtext is entrepreneurial: if you want the Cadillac, don’t steal the tires - build the engine that makes people hand you the keys.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning from Mistakes |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
White, Barry. (2026, January 16). I went to jail at 16 for stealing tires off Cadillacs. When I got out I said, Never again. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-jail-at-16-for-stealing-tires-off-131826/
Chicago Style
White, Barry. "I went to jail at 16 for stealing tires off Cadillacs. When I got out I said, Never again." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-jail-at-16-for-stealing-tires-off-131826/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I went to jail at 16 for stealing tires off Cadillacs. When I got out I said, Never again." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-jail-at-16-for-stealing-tires-off-131826/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.






