Gordon Lightfoot Quotes

If something happens to me, you're going to hear about it. I only know how to write songs about my life.

I have a song I wrote called “Autobiography.” I came from a very intense living situation, with having a parent on drugs and not having a lot of money. So I always want to talk about the real things. But I think 90 percent of my music, I want it to be 'feel-good music'. I'm already recording tracks for my album, but when it comes time to actually say, 'this is the album,' I may be in a completely different space than I'm in right now.

I think that, when you're writing your songs, there's always a debate about whether, is that you in the song? Is it not you in the song?

If I found out some gal was trying to steal my guy, I'd want to give her a black eye! Instead, I wrote this song. At the time I was writing each song [on this album], you could figure out the frame of mind I was in by listening closely. With every song I've ever recorded, I'm in it. I wouldn't write about it if I wasn't in it.

'Taxi Driver' wasn't autobiographical in terms of the actual events, but I did draw on my own mental state.

There are certain topics songwriters stay away from because it's hard to go there. I didn't sit down and go, 'I want to write something about my dad now.'

Artists who write songs... what they're going through usually comes through in their music.

All my songs come from me because I only seem able to write about myself and my experiences.

A lot of times, I'm singing things that are observational and am definitely including myself.

I don't know, I've always written songs that are mainly about attitude, not me personally.

I don't write about anything I haven't been through.

For me personally, I'm always writing from what's happening in my emotional life. Even without thinking about it a lot of the time, it comes out in the songs that I'm writing.

I kind of think that's the best way to operate; even when I'm in sessions writing with other artists, I'm always pulling from the kind of emotions that are the most raw in my own life and offering them up in the studio.

I think it's difficult to be honest about certain aspects of my work without acknowledging that I have experienced or felt or questioned certain of the themes in the books.

I think all of my songs are either based on personal experience or will be based on personal experience, because I do write a lot of songs prophetically.

Writers - human. I shudder to think how I must sometimes appear to others.

I don't think I've ever written about me. I'm not a character in any of my plays, except that boy, that silent boy that turns up in Three Tall Women.

I'm not writing just classic-sounding songs, but songs that come from experience.

I made songs really for myself - I didn't ever expect to put it out there.

The music I play and write is all reflective of myself and the experiences in my life. I feel like my whole journey is just collecting stories and songs along the way.

I only write about stuff I know. I don't have a lot of experience with boys and stuff so I write a lot of songs about interesting and strange subjects that people wouldn't write songs about.

It ( In My Life ) was the first song that I wrote that was really, consciously about my life.... up until then, it had been all glib and throwaway.

I'll let the record [Who You Selling For] speak for itself. I don't want to get too in-depth with my personal opinions of it and where the songs came from because I think it messes with the listener to know the inside mindset of the writer. For example, I watched a Pink Floyd documentary the other day, and I learned that "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" was about [frontman] Syd Barrett. I didn't want to know that!

Sometimes I was in a mood to write a song as if I was writing in my journal and reveal certain parts of me that I was ready to reveal.

If I feel like I'm going too far in one direction, I just can it. It's a weird thing. Some of my songs might be cheesy; I try and keep it light. It's hard to explain.