Conor Oberst Quotes

I don't want to say it's nice to see people cry, because of course it isn't, but there's something really emotional and lovely about seeing the impact you're having on someone's life.

My main goal as a songwriter is to make something that inspires people. To write things about my life that people can relate to. Whether it's a whole record or just one song for someone, I hope it can do that for them. Knowing that I have the ability to do that is inspiring to me.

I was raised in a very humble environment, and I was always taught to be humble to the things that are happening in my life because they're blessings. They're blessings in every way. Whether you're able to help someone get through a tough time in their life through your music or through comedy, or whatever it is, you're just a channel.

I would go so far as to say I would not have the life that I have right now if it wasn't for Gabe Liedman. He is the first person I met in my adulthood that I felt was truly delighted by me and understood me and also was curious about me.

How many millions of times have I sung 'Love Changes Everything?' But when I see how it matters to people, it gives me the impetus to rediscover it and remember how lucky I am to have a song like that.

Christina Grimie was one of my favorite people, not only because she was caring, she was humble, and she always felt like people mattered... but because the first thing she said when she met me was, 'Oh em gee - your videos are really gross, but for some reason, I love you.'

People often reach out and comment on how they relate to my lyrics, which makes me feel very warm inside.

I show them the funny part, the silly part, the laughing part, the crazy part and then the really deep, deep part where I'm talking from my heart to these people. Because I've been through everything they've been through.

I guess initially I was amazed that somebody would see something within my work that they could really relate to, but the more it's happened, the more people have come forward, I've really realized that we're all kind of going through the same thing at the same time.

Sometimes, reading my own media, the negativity can upset me, but I just deal with things on a positive basis. I mean, I have up to 20,000 people singing my words back to me on a nightly basis - they share my hopes and fears, and they relate to my own life experiences. Life can be pretty isolating, but that connection is always amazing.

Just to know that someone who's 15 years old is listening to my music and the work that I've done - it's definitely a blessing.

Knowing that people make my songs their own is what keeps me going.

I mean, any movie or story that makes you accept and be grateful for something about your life is doing something right.

My fans mean everything to me - especially the sisters! When you're on 'The View' or you're doing movies and stuff, you're a little bit insulated. It means so much to me when a woman comes up to me and says, 'Sherri, you said what I feel.' That just means so much to me to know that I have that support.

People come up to me and say, 'Can I just thank you for writing my life?' And I reply, 'I'm glad someone else is as idiotic as I am.'

My day one fans - my fans from my mix tape days - know my life now. They know where I've been. You don't want to have a disconnection with those fans. You have to give them all of you because they feel like they've known you.

My grandmother had a great saying. It always stuck with me: 'People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.' They've got to see it and feel it. And it's for real. And that's all. Be who you are.

It is my really sincere desire that we get an opportunity to play long enough for people to really grab on and become fans, because I think it's a great project.

With 'A Northern Light,' I've already heard from teenage readers, teachers, librarians - it's been so gratifying. It's amazing that you can take something that matters so deeply to you and make it matter to someone else.

I think I take little pieces of inspiration, then kind of do what's real to me and what's going on in my life or what I observe from other people's experiences and hope other people connect with it, too.

I just have a great life. I know great people. I've had great relationships - all different kinds of relationships.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

When a young reader tells you that they'd never finished a book outside of school until they read yours, or that they really needed to hear something that one of your characters says or thinks... that's just rewarding and humbling.

Although it sounds cliche, the main thing I want to do is touch people with what I do. I want everything I do to be meaningful, and I want it to be about more than just myself, or the money.

To be honest with my music... for me to expect anyone to connect it has to come from a place of honesty.