"At some point I thought that, as I got older, I’d come to terms with a lot of things. I’d solve some big problems, and eventually I’d become content. It’s almost more depressing to think that the older you get, the more your problems multiply. When I’m old, I’d like to wake up in the morning and not really do anything — just be happy to exist. I’d like to look at my accomplishments and sit back and revel in my own achievement. But I don’t think that’ll ever happen. Before I made a living playing music, I used to work shitty job after shitty job and think “Man, as soon as I’m able to make a living in music, it’s really going to come together then, it’s really going be amazing.” I remember hoping there’d be 10 people at a show in 1998 when there was an incredible write-up in the local weekly. I don’t want to go back to that period of being obscure and having nobody know who I am, let alone have to struggle to get people to come to the show. I remember what it was like, and it was shitty."

"I find it very hard to accept the wonderful things in my life. My life really is great: I do exactly what I want to do for a living, I have a wonderful person to share my life with, I have a great family, I have great friends. But somehow there’s a void. I’m the last person who should be complaining or wondering why I’m perpetually unhappy. I would like to think that my lack of contentment is part of what makes my work the way it is, and for the better. I would rather make great records than make great relationships. When I’m at odds with myself, I would rather fuck up every relationship I’ve ever been in and write great records. And not because I need a breakup to provide me with material. Not like that."

"You touch her skin And then you think That she is beautiful But she don't mean a thing to me"

"And tiny vessels oozed into your neck And formed the bruises That you said you didn't want to fade But they did and so did I that day"

"If there's no one beside you When your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark"

"Our Youth is fleeting Old age is just around the bend And I can't wait to go grey And I'll sit and wonder Of every love that could have been If I'd only thought of something charming to say"

"I wish the world was flat like the old days Then i could travel just by folding a map No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways There'd be no distance that could hold us back"

"I am waiting for something to go wrong I am waiting for familiar resolve"

"I once knew a girl In the years of my youth With eyes like the summer All beauty and truth In the morning I fled Left a note and it read Someday you will be loved."

"And it's strange They are basically the same So i don't ask names anymore"

"I don't think there's necessarily a story, but there's definitely a theme here. One of my favorite kind of dark jokes is, "How do you make God laugh? You make a plan." Nobody ever makes a plan that they're gonna go out and get hit by a car. A plan almost always has a happy ending. Essentially, every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time. I really like the idea of a plan not being seen as having definite outcomes, but more like little wishes."

"I feel like there's a lot of beauty in the darkness of Narrow Stairs, but that's not really a place I'm ready to go to for a while. I'm interested in taking a different approach and having the next record be different in tone — I'm just not interested in making another dark, dark album."

"It wasn't quite what is seemed: a lack of pleasantries (My able body isn't what it used to be) I must admit I was charmed by your advances Your advantage left me helplessly into you"

"You'll be loved you'll be loved Like you never have known The memories of me Will seem more like bad dreams Just a series of blurs Like I never occurred Someday you will be loved"

"How I wish you could see the potential The potential of you and me It's like a book elegantly bound, but In a language that you can't read just yet You got to spend some time, love You got to spend some time with me And I know that you'll find love I will possess your heart"

"If you're wondering by now who I am, look no further than the mirror, Because I am the greed and fear - and every ounce of hate in you."

"If you gave me a fresh carnation, I would only crush its tender petals..."

"I am out of season all years round - watch machinery roar to my empty sound. Touch my heart and feel winter, hold my hand and be doomed forever."

"A whole street's belief in Sunday's roast beef gets dashed against the Co-op, To either cut down on beer or the kids' new gear, it's a big decision in a town called malice."

"Some people might say my life is in a rut, but I'm quite happy with what I've got."

"You'll see kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns - And the public wants what the public gets - but I don't get what this society wants."

"I first felt a fist - and then a kick, I could now smell their breath, They smelt of pubs - and Wormwood Scrubs - and too many right-wing meetings."

"If you see me in the street - look away, 'cause I don't want to ever catch you looking at me, Mr Clean. 'Cause I hate you and your wife, and if I get the chance I'll fuck up your life."

"Those braying sheep on my TV screen - Make this boy shout! Make this boy scream!"

"When you're knocked on your back and you life's a flop, When you're down on the bottom and there's nothing else but to shout to the top!"

"The lords and ladies pass a ruling That sons and girls go hand in land From good stock and the best breeding Paid for by the servile class."

"Is happiness real? Or am I so jaded I can't see or feel - like a man been tainted. Numbed by the effect - aware of the muse Too in touch with myself - I light the fuse."

"The more I see - the more I know, The more I know, the less I understand."

"I play out my role, I've even been out walking - They tell me that it helps, but I know when I'm beaten..."

"Days of speed and slow time Mondays - Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday..."

"It's so hard to understand why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam."

"If we get through for two minutes only it will be a start!"

"The fingers feel the lines, they prod the space - your ageing face, The face that was once so beautiful, is still there but unrecognisable..."

"Two lovers kissing amongst the screams of midnight, Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude."

"The morning slips away in a Valium haze and catalogues, And numerous cups of coffee, In the afternoon the weekly food is put in bags - as you float off down the high street. The shop windows reflect, play a nameless host to a closet ghost - A picture of your fantasy, a victim of your misery..."

"Life is a drink and you get drunk when you're young."

"Why I’m telling you this is because that’s where this music comes from, that’s where my art comes from. You’re talking to a miracle; I am a miracle. I’m not halfway there, you know, dut-dut-dut-dut-da, drink a beer, hang out with my buddies, smoke a joint and get together with the band, wanna be a rock star; no. I am a very troubled individual who has been handed these obstacles in life, and overcome my fears to be honest with myself, so I can be honest with you. That’s not exploitation, it’s liberation."

"The key is so distant, I've opened doors. Know when to listen, know what to listen for."

"I've finally found the reason, I don't need an excuse. I've got this time on my hands, you are the one to abuse."

"I have nothing to hide."

"I'm sick. It's passed down through my family. I am an addict. I'm sick."

"Well, I'm not the same and I'm born again; it's the same ol' saying."

"I'm a lot happier, man. I've been through so much shit. I've just let go. Ever heard of that term "Let Go"? Ever understood it?"

"Dancing with the wind: the fire burns, the water drowns."

"There is genius and then there is madness and a fine line, it is said, divides them. One day you're recording a four-track demo tape of your own music in your sister's basement. Practically the next day, you're opening gigs for Metallica and your debut album is on fire, heading for platinum sales; that's madness. Genius, many people claim, is what got you there...at 17 years of age. -- David Lilly"

"Knowing what I know now, to see everything that he’s gone through, it’s a tough deal. Even if you’re successful, it’s just a different world. It’s not real. You’ve got to separate the business from what’s real. Failure is an event, not a person. -- Gary Meeks"

"Then I would sing a little in the synagogue. See, if you're a singer, you love to turn your own ears on. You look for those rooms where the reverb is great. I remember the synagogue had a lot of wood and it was a great room. And it was a captive audience and you could sing these minor key songs and make them cry, and that was a thrill."

"Records have images. There are wet records and dry records. And big records."

"We human beings are tuned such that we crave great melody and great lyrics. And if somebody writes a great song, it's timeless that we as humans are going to feel something for that and there's going to be a real appreciation."

"No days you can borrow, no time you can buy. No trust in tomorrow. It's a lie."