Sophie Quotes

I write a lot of lyrics and I'm involved in the producing process, because it's like, if I'm singing it, I want it to be something that I can relate to.

I would start seeing, in just the sense I was saying now, the kind of record it was going to be and what the arrangement demands, and what my vocal part should be in the record. This was all emerging as the song was emerging.

I think you can have the greatest lyrics in the world and if it doesn't have the best tune in the world it will suck. I mean if the music wasn't important it would just be a poem.

Aretha Franklin's 'Let Me in Your Life' is one of the few recent R&B albums that places the emphasis entirely and deservedly on a voice. Many R&B producers have been making records on which the singer is outshined by the song, the arrangement and the sound.

I've never considered myself a lyricist, but I have stuff to say.

There's two facets to writing a song. There's you sitting in your room writing the sentiments of the song; the lyrics, the melody and the changes, and then there's the part where you go into the studio and you put clothing on it.

I try to focus on the melodies and try to make everything else minimal. The melody and the lyrics are most important to me.

I've become more interested in creating a band sound than trying to outshine the other guys.

My voice isn't an instrument I can just hang up on a hook.

A lot of my solo albums were produced by different people who had their idea of what songs I should do, and they had me doing a lot of ballads.

I don't want people to just hand me music and be like, 'Here, you sound good on this. Sing it.' I want to be able to say, 'This is me.'

People tend to put too much focus on the lyrics. It's not the be-all and end-all of our songs.

My music-making process is pretty fun and easy.

I privilege the music over the lyrics.

Singing your own songs is all about individual expression.

I got a couple on per album but my problem was that I wanted to sing the songs and not let Roger sing them.

When you find a song that you love, you just have to do it - why would I try to match it? When I wrote more of the songs in the '90s - 'Nick of Time' and other songs I was surprised I came up with - it was because nobody else was saying what I wanted to say.

But then you have to write a song, so at that point, I picked up the reins and started to write lyrics.

I will concentrate on playing guitar, on lyrics and on singing. I am a part of things; I am not the encompassing 'Smog.'

It is rare that even a jazz musician finds an individual voice.

I always write the pieces I want to write.

I don't think I really make singer-songwritery-type music - it's not my strong point.

The quality of the writing, really. Simple as that. Beautiful words. It's very nice as a singer to do great songs, which have wonderful lyrics and strong feelings underneath the song.

In songwriting, I needed language. And I always believed in singing about what I do.

If you've got a good song, it's easy to play. But you can't make a bad song sound good no matter who you have to play on it.