My inspiration comes from God, so I always have to be open, kind of like being an antenna. I like to write songs people love.
Do I appreciate the idea of jealousy, revenge and all these so-called dark qualities? Yes. Do I write these songs in order to engage in some public war with someone? No.
You know, I've sung a lot of emotional songs in my life, but when you're writing it yourself, it's very difficult to decide what to reveal.
Since I was a child, my whole life has revolved around music. It's often while listening to a song that ideas for my fashion collections formed.
The things in my songs are the edited highlights of my life. I don't go seeking out strange sexual experiences every day of the week.
By the end of the writing process, which is about 80 songs per album, I look at the material and think, what's going to make a difference in someone's life.
The thing is, my life is a country song. I don't need to be manufactured, and I don't need anyone to tell me what to say or what to sing.
You know, that single girl life and that sense of isolation - that doesn't leave you just like that. And that's what that song is about. I remember that, and that is imprinted on me, that sense.
If you want break it down, rock and roll is about saying what you can't say in normal life to girls, so you have to say it in songs.
Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.
Pop songs are not as graceful as they used to be. Performers today haven't gone through the regimen of learning how to write. And of course, everyone wants to own copyrights.
It's interesting to do other people's music - that's how I learned to play, by learning other people's songs. It's nice to delve into how other people got to where they are.
I don't write songs about a specific, elusive thing. I write about love, and everyone knows what it is like to have your heart broken.
Hall & Oates is one of the few musical groups as satisfying now as it was back then. There's something incredibly musically satisfying about their songs. Nothing has diminished my love for them.
Singing songs like 'The Man I Love' or 'Porgy' is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck.
I'm really a singer, so I love songs and I love singing. I like rap music, but I didn't grow up freestyling.
I could sing you a thousand and one doo-wop songs. I love the simplicity in that music. It's not super-poetic, it's just from the heart.
I've always been a fan of country music. It's America's music - I love the songs, love the lyrics.
I love songs because by nature they are concise; they sum up. I try to use as few words as possible. It's usually funnier that way, anyway.
The most personal track would have to be 'Love The Way We Used To.' It's one of the songs that I listen to outside of all the records that I wrote.
The compelled mother loves her child as the caged bird sings. The song does not justify the cage nor the love the enforcement.
