Lucinda Williams Quotes

I love Emmylou Harris's version of my song, 'Sweet Old World.' Her intonation is great.

I grew up in a very literate, very independent household where people spoke their ideas and were very supportive of helping each other find their own way

I don't want to beat people over the head with my political views. It's more about the humanitarian aspect of it.

When the muse hits me, or the mood, or whatever it is, I get my guitar out and I empty it out. I just start going through things to see what's going to happen.

Sometimes I feel like I just open myself up like I'm a vehicle for something coming through me. It's like a meditative state I have to be in.

The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle.

I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I've been spending more time alone than I'd like.

I have had to come to terms with wearing glasses.

Believe it or not, people went so far as to suggest that I might not be able to write songs anymore because now I am married. I tried to explain again that there are other things to write about besides boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy breaks up with girl, girl is sad.

I mean, whose songs don't focus on tragedy and loss?

If you come into success too soon, you'll burn out and be finished before you know it. If you let the maturation process happen naturally, you'll be happier with yourself in the end.

Of course, Im older now. Im in a different place in my life than when I wrote the songs for Car Wheels or Essence or whatever. Different things were going on.

I have to try different things to see what works best. Other people get impatient with that.

As it turns out, now is the moment you've been waiting for

I guess you could write a good song if your heart hadn't been broken, but I don't know of anyone whose heart hasn't been broken.

Above all, the listener should be able to understand the poem or the song, not be forced to unravel a complicated, self-indulgent puzzle. Offer your art up to the whole world, not just an elite few.

I'm trying to learn how to tap into the power of my own being. I know it sounds corny.

I grew up around poets and novelists and my dad wrote poems about everything - from a cat sleeping in a window to a car wreck he passed on the highway. I learned not to censor myself: that was one of things I learned in my apprenticeship, my creative-writing apprenticeship with my dad.

What I do as a songwriter is a constant force in my life, that I'm grateful to have.

Sometimes I dream song ideas. I write a song in my dream, the melody and everything. But then sometimes I can't remember them. I think later on, I probably do.

I feel like it's really kind of a sit-down album, much in the same way I imagine Billie Holiday or someone sitting down in the studio and singing.

I didn't grow up in a mom-and-pop, Ozzie and Harriet type of environment, but who did.

Any time there's a major change, whether it's going into a relationship, getting out of a relationship, moving to a new city, a death - that usually provides a catalyst for an explosion of creativity.

I think in the world of rock music or whatever it's called - anything outside of Nashville - there's a lot more freedom within that industry to do whatever you want to do.

The more I separate myself from my upbringing, the more I appreciate what it's done for me.

Sade's stuff is real deceptive. She's got stuff about prostitutes, poverty and people on the streets.

RB Morris is the greatest unknown singer-songwrit er in the US.

We just did a few takes of a song and just picked the best one. It was real organic and genuine.

I started writing more with my voice in mind.

Some of their best songs don't have bridges and choruses. So that made me think I should trust my instincts. My songs were okay, I figured. I didn't need to change anything.

It's always been hard for me to do without sounding precious or too corny or whatever.

Just because I'm talking about something that might have been a sad or painful situation doesn't mean that I'm sad or tortured 24 hours a day any more than anybody else is.

I'd rather play a few nights at the Fillmore than play one night at an arena.

It's really about living in your head... just looking out at the world, then going back into your head and tossing around a lot of ideas and coming out with something interesting to say.

Offer your art up to the whole world, not just an elite few.

When I started out playing guitar and singing, I was about twelve, going on thirteen. The role models for me back then were the folk singers. They all had these high, really nice voices and ranges, like Judy Collins and Joan Baez, and then later, of course, Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt. I decided early on that I was going to learn how to write songs really, really well, because I didn't want to have to compete as a singer. I didn't feel that it was my strong point.

I'm always writing ideas down and then I stick em in my pocket and put em in that folder so I don't lose them. Like, somebody might say something, and I'll go, oh that's a good line, and that goes in the folder, too. It's kind of an ongoing process for me.

There's this whole idea that you've got the blues and you're going to write. Bullshit. When I feel really bad, all I want to do is sit in front of the TV with the remote control and check out.

I'm just like everyone. I like to feel togetherness with someone.

I'm an artist first and foremost. So things are gonna go up and down and sideways and whichever way all through life.

First thing, I throw on some jeans, a T-shirt and my Keds sneakers and make coffee. That is actually my favorite time of day. That is when I do my songwriting, when I am in writing mode.

I'm polite. I guess that's the dichotomy within me. I don't like to piss people off just for the sake of pissing them off. I pick my battles.

Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it.

I'm in a contented, loving relationship, but that doesn't mean I'm not struggling with other things that are going on around me in the world.

I'm dealing with things as they come along, and I'm talking about it

I can speak for most songwriters - those breakup love songs are so easy to write, as far as the inspiration and all that.

It's easier to write songs when you're single.

It's just the more you do it the better you get, or at least that's how I feel in my case. I think it's a combination of confidence and just having done it this long and just learning. I'm always learning. I'm still honing my craft.