Nick Cave Quotes

I write with all my heart

When you write a song, you don't ask if it's good or not, or if it's gonna sell. When you write a song, you ask whether you've reached deep inside your heart and whether it's honest.

You may choose your words like a connoisseur, And polish it up with art, But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays, Is the word that comes from the heart.

What I say is from my heart. You must be sincere. So when I sing a song, people are supposed to feel it.

The tongue should express what is in the heart.

Everything I say, it comes from the heart. It's all real.

My interest is in what's true, where is the life, where is the heart and what inspires.

if it doesn't come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don't do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don't do it.

Yes, you've got to sing from the depths of the heart.

It's very easy for me to play silly, but to reveal something closer to you, that's so much harder.

Everything must come from the heart, must be lived.

It's amazing that you can listen to any song and you can always tell when there's some substance beneath it and when there isn't. Even if it's poetically written and technically brilliant, I'd rather hear something that's all over the place but has some soul to it.

Be sure that you speak with unfeigned lips.

Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood.

I want the kids who watch 'One Tree Hill' to know that it's all pretend, and that the person at the core of that character values morals, honor and things like that. You want to inspire them to look beyond what is superficial and try to find that greater thing.

Everything I do is a matter of heart, body and soul.

Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.

I am not interested in slickness for the sake of slickness.

Soul is about authenticity. Soul is about finding the things in your life that are real and pure.

I've never been no superficial cat.

As a songwriter, it's very hard to listen to music that's not coming from the heart and soul, personally.

Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.

The externals are important but I'm not interested in superficiality.

Everything I say comes from my heart - and it's the truth.

If it doesn't come from your heart, music just doesn't work.