Lyrical Theme Quotes

Was 'Crucify Your Mind' dedicated to anybody? No, it was a generalization. 'A Most Disgusting Song' is like that, too.

I usually start with a lyric and see where that takes me.

I'm not interested in how well someone can sing. It's what you're singing that interests me.

My music and lyrics became an extension of this Indian philosophy.

I always start with the music and then try to figure out what I want to write about lyrically.

My first single was based around the mishearing of the words 'make believe' - 'I thought she said maple leaves.' That kind of stuff is very central to my music and my life.

And I'm the biggest country fan there is, but I'm always a little cautious of a slower song or just a song with subject matter.

'The Driver' kind of set the tone for what I wanted to say, and lyrically, it especially did.

When I put out 'Toot It and Boot It,' did anything sound like that?

I've always had a tendency to keep an emergency exit in a song. I can't remember ever writing a song that is completely and thoroughly depressing; there's always been a way out somehow. A sense of hope in song, regardless of the subject matter.

I was thinking of the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and when I was thinking "Uptown Girl!" I was trying to sing like Frankie Valli. They had a song called "Ragdoll," which was about a poor girl and a rich guy. So I just flipped it around and made it about a rich girl and a poor guy.

To me, country songs are simple.

When it comes to the lyrics, I write about my own perception of things and use characters for that.

I would love to write a song that's exciting, bright, and has a fresh melody and lyrics.

The rule of songwriting: say what you want to say, say it again, say it a different way, then say it again.

The melody will tell me what the song should be about, the tone of the song. That's when the intellect comes in. Because I have a list of possible titles and concepts, and I expand on that.

I was just reading some poetry, and it talked about how things start as one thing and change into another, and I just thought, what a great concept for a song.

I liked the idea of having a record that's reggae-influenced but not musically, just lyrically. I think there's so much about Rasta culture that's interesting. Just the idea of preaching one-ness, that we're all in this together. Which I suppose is at the root of most any religion. You're gonna find it, if taken in the right context.