"I feel a lot more comfortable being me these days. I'm constantly told that my work is good. A lot of fans and a lot of other artists say my songs and albums mean a lot to them. Isn't that what's important?"

"I'm trying to get out of my own way."

"I'm fascinated by the whole concept of snake handling. When you read about the Pentecostal snake handlers, what strikes you the most is their commitment."

"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."

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

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

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

"I usually have an idea of how I want a song to sound, but I don't always know how to get there."

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

"People let their own hang-ups become the obstacles between them and personal happiness."

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

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

"The old jazz singers or old blues singers, you always just saw them kind of sitting down and singing. They weren't worried as much about their voice sounding perfect. They would make the song kind of fit their voice."

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

"In so many interviews, they bring up the sexual aspect of the record. I've had some journalists say it sounds like I'm lying down in bed singing with a microphone. It gets so old!"

"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."

"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."

"I'm not just a doormat. I'm not just being stepped on all over the place. If you look at the bulk of my material, it's about trying to find some strength through that."

"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 mean to complain. I wouldn't trade my life for anything."

"I started writing more with my voice in mind."

"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."

"I have such a great band. We had played all this material on the road. I just wanted to let it fly."

"So few people are truly themselves when they're in the spotlight."

"The man I lived with is a Christian, so I would talk to him about it. What would this person do in the Bible? What's the story around this person? Generally, when people talk about characters in the Bible, there's one thing they're known for, like Job."

"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 write first for myself as a therapeutic process, to get stuff out and to deal with it."

"You can't really praise somebody's work and then criticize the process."

"You should put time into learning your craft. It seems like people want success so quickly, way before they're ready."

"I am trying to get right with God. I'm sort of making a statement about the excessiveness."

"I've had trouble being in relationships and writing. This has been a real problem for me. I don't know if it's because I'm not free to fantasize or create these fantasy things about other people."