My voice is my instrument. ... It is not in the throat, from where it appears to come. It is in my feet and how they touch the floor, in my legs and how they lift and sink with the rhythm of the song. It is in my hips and belly and lower back.

It doesn't take long to sum up the major theses of most popular music: he loves me; he left me; I need him; I needed him, but now I need his best friend. Rather limited scope.

In my life, the stories I have heard from my family, my friends, my community, and from willing strangers all over the world have been the true source of my education.

The greatest warriors are the ones who fight for peace.

Poverty without a people's government looks like hopelessness, but to see poverty in organized communities is to see relief-in-progress.

I am selfish. I reach for the world I want to live in. And I believe in leaving our best we can do to our children

When an audience comes to one of my concerts, I hope they'll see themselves, somewhere, in one of the songs.