I was a pretty insecure kid, didn't have a lot of friends, and was picked on a lot, and music gave me confidence.

I think I've become a much better singer and a much better player. Years and years of playing a couple of hours every day will do that.

I kind of have a happy magnet. I can't stand being depressed, so I work my ass off to get out of it as soon as possible.

The more we take the less we become, the fortune of one man means less for some.

I'm not a media darling. I'm not on the cover of all these magazines. I just quietly do my thing.

It's a very romantic sentiment, but to think that you would die if you didn't write, well, I would definitely choose to not write and live.

I think a lot of contemplation happens in bathtubs. It does for me. Nothing like a hot bath to ease the tension and think about what's going to happen next.

I don't tend to question things that much. If it feels right, I go for it.

I write music all the time. When I talk about having writer's block, it's more to do with lyrics than anything else.

I've always been incredibly lucky that the music that I make, other people like it.

I go out on the road for much longer than I probably should and lose more of myself than I should.

I'm really lucky that my record companies have been patient with me and leave me alone and give me the time to make it right in my mind.

I've heard myself referred to as a quiet superstar, and I don't quite know what that means.

'Time after Time' is one of the best pop songs ever written, in my opinion. It's an incredible, beautiful, timeless song.

Deadlines are meant to be broken. And I just keep breaking them.

It's an amazing luxury to say I'm 31 years old and I'm gonna take a year off. That's pretty amazing.

I play piano every day.

Time is a beautiful thing. It's like when you meet an old lover on the street six years later and they don't look so ugly anymore.

Trying to force creativity is never good.

Nothing outside of my child is important.

We try to create this interesting appearance to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

Water is very forgiving. Everything lifts in water.

They are very personal, emotional songs - people react to them very strongly.

I try so hard to live in the moment - I don't think ahead very much.

People's ignorance really pisses me off. Stupidity is when you can't help it-ignorance is when you choose not to understand something.

I think often sadness is a great place to get songs from.

Happiness is like a cloud, if you stare at it long enough, it evaporates.

We showed the industry that female artists could attract the same audiences as the big male stars.

I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to go crazy. I don't party like I used to.

It's a big challenge for me to keep my integrity and some of my privacy intact.

I sort of feel like music saved my life when I was young. This is the one thing that I knew I was good at.

I was a pretty insecure kid, didn't have a lot of friends, and was picked on a lot, and music gave me confidence.

I don't think about what other people want from me.

If you love large, you've got to hurt large. If you've got a lot of light, you've probably got an equal amount of darkness.

And music has always been incredibly cathartic for me, whether it's writing my own stuff or singing other people's music; it's very freeing.

Change and growth is so painful. But it's so necessary for us to evolve.

Coming to terms with the fact that my marriage was a failure was devastating and very difficult.

Coming to terms with the fact that my marriage was a failure was devastating and very difficult. I blamed myself for a lot of things. It took me a very long time to get over it.

For me, that's one of the best validations as an artist. To have a stranger come up to you and say that something you've created and put out there in the world has had some sort of impact on other people's lives.

Half the bloody world is going through a divorce; more than that are having children. All of us have parents who are dying or have died. It's just the life cycle.

Having the opportunity to express myself through music has been extremely cathartic for me my entire life.

I can look back over my earlier music, and it takes me back to the place I was emotionally.

I didn't get hugely famous really quick. It was a slow, gradual process, so I was able to sort of grow into myself and figure out who I was and what I wanted without the glaring spotlight on me telling me who I was.

I don't court paparazzi. I definitely don't like that part of it.

I have a full life: I have two amazing kids, I have great friends, great family. And right now, that's plenty for me to manage. A new relationship just seems like way too much work.

I have the ability, no matter what's going on in my life, to find something - my cup is always half full.

I like the idea that we build up these walls or rules or laws to maintain our reality, and when they fall away, you're left with a whole bunch of illusions.

I like the idea that we build up these walls or rules or laws to maintain our reality, and when they fall away, you're left with a whole bunch of illusions. Smoke and mirrors.

I spent a lot of years on the road, and what happens is you find out who your real friends are and you find out where your strengths and weaknesses lie in communication. I've had the same friends for 20 years now and I can count them on one hand.