The way I make music is unique to myself and the way I have lived my life - no one else would tell that story in the same way that I do.

If I ever meet a writer or a painter, I don't presuppose that they are like the work they are presenting.

You know if I see a work that really I am very affected by and inspired by then it makes me want to try things with my work that maybe I hadn't considered trying before and I think that is the biggest complement that you can pay somebody.

I long ago learned that you can't expect people to interpret the songs in the way they had meant for you, as the writer.

I had a chip on my shoulders 'cause I felt like I was being overlooked.

I think you have to be very careful getting the balance right if you're going to talk about grand themes like war, death and nationhood. You need to use the right language or don't do it at all.

I'm a very private person, so obviously I don't enjoy talking about more personal matters. But at the same time I care very much about my work and I would like people to know that it exists. So I appreciate that there's a meeting point, where I would like people to know about the work that I'm doing, and that requires me to talk about it.