Guitarists From The United States

"“…A lot of the ‘yous’ in my songs are abstract ideas about music...I will neglect everything else, including me as a person, just to get to keep making music…And even if it actually sometimes hurts, it doesn’t matter as long as I get to be a musician.”"

""I think the theme that I unfortunately saw—unfortunately for me—was the theme of loneliness or the idea of being alone…And the idea of being alone, not because the world is forcing you to be alone but because you are the person causing your aloneness…”"

"“I was always bothered when people say, ‘I cry to your music, it sounds like a diary, it sounds so personal,’…Yes, it is personal. But that’s so gendered. There’s no feeling of, ‘Oh, maybe she’s a songwriter and she wrote this as a piece of art.’”"

"“I write personal stories about relationships, and living in this world and being a human being…but I happen to live in a world which views me as an Asian American. So my experiences are tainted by that, even if I’m not conscious of it. Someone said ‘the personal is political’, where it seems like me just being honest about my experiences as a human being and as a person translates as being political about being an Asian American person. I’m not in this to be political or a social activist, it just happens that my being honest is a very political thing.”"

"“The phrase ‘Be the cowboy you want to see in the world’ has been an inside joke between me and myself…I would always kind of say it to myself in situations where I feel like I’m sort of trapped in my own mind. Like, ‘Oh, what would a swaggering, western movie cowboy do in this situation?’”"

"“It's not like [the album’s protagonist] is a fictional character, but I noticed a personality in me that was very obsessed with control and feeling like I have power — because I am powerless and don't have a lot of control. So I kind of investigated that person in me. What is the exaggerated form? Well, it's a woman who's incredibly controlled, severe, and austere. But maybe there's some kind of deep desire or emotion that's whirling around in her and trying to get out. Maybe she's losing control.”"

"“I like to say something in as little time as possible…I don’t think I have the fundamental confidence necessary to write a four-minute meandering song. Number one – because I'm impatient. But number two – because I’ve never been someone who is listened to. No one would stop to listen to me. I'm not a white guy noodling on a guitar for 45 minutes. No one would stay for me. I learned from a young age to be concise because there’s a very small window for me to grab someone's attention.”"

"“I think it's a very feminine album…There can be something incredibly violent about being a woman and having desires as a woman – not so nice, not so soft. And I think that's an interesting experience to draw on…""

"I think there is in my previous albums a very useful romanticization or glorification of a sadness...wherein Be the Cowboy, there's a realization that no one gives a shit that you're sad, and you're still sad. Your sadness is no longer profound, and you're still sad. It's that kind of growing up and realizing that it's not cool anymore to be sad, but you're still sad."

"“In tenth grade—this says a lot about how developmentally delayed I was—I had in my mind that it was the proper thing for me to have a love interest. And you’d see in movies where two characters instantly see each other and are, like, I’m in love!, and then it just cuts to them on a date or interacting...A lot of my adolescence was like that. Me thinking I was doing the right thing by re-creating a movie scene that I’d seen but then realizing that’s not how it happens in real life.”"

"“When people looked at me they couldn’t recognize any of the history of me, like, ‘Where is she from? What’s her ethnicity? Who is she?’ I just didn’t make sense to anybody.”"

"“By the time it was done my heart was pounding like I just saw the rest of my life. I was fucking doomed.”"

"“I’ve always grown up feeling lonely or other, but through my music, I can be like: ‘Look, we’re the same, we’ve felt the same thing, so we’re not so different. I belong here.’ It’s almost like a hungry monster that’s just a constant need to feel connection.”"

"(By this time, David Crosby had “discovered” you singing in a club in Coconut Grove, Florida. What was he like back then?) He was tanned. He was straight. He was clearing out his boat, and it was going to be the beginning of a new life for him. He was paranoid about his hair, I remember. Having long hair in a short hair society. He had a wonderful sense of humor. Crosby has enthusiasm like no one else. He can make you feel like a million bucks. Or he can bring you down with the same force. Crosby, in producing that first album, did me an incredible service, which I will never forget. He used his success and name to make sure my songs weren’t tampered with to suit the folk-rock trend."

"I don’t know if I have two weeks left of life or 10 years, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do with the time. If you sit there on your butt and worry about dying, then you fucking wasted it. I haven’t been wasting it. I’m having a really good time, and feeling wonderfully about it. Sooner or later, something is going to break. Right now, my life is pretty great."

""It can't happen here" is number one on the list of famous last words."

"He was searching Blindly night and day This life, there must be more Breaking beauty, Just to stay awake His heart was like a stone"

"And on the last day He walked out in the sun He only just discovered the sun On the last day And on the last day When all his work was done He only just discovered the sun On the last day All this rapture Right here all along In scraps he tore away All this color In his final breath Exhaled the dark and gray"

""I'm a Democrat for the reinforcement of the Patriot Act. It's not strong enough. The A.C.L.U. can eat their heart out, but they are living in the 1970's. We should all have ID's. You betcha. What do you have to hide? Some friends of mine on the left side think I'm crazy"."

""I'm a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel"."

"I connected with the 'older' generation's music and I find that hard to be seen as extraordinary, because the music is so good!" he explains. I think what all those artists have in common is that their music Is timeless. A Neil Young song or a Bob Dyian song, whether or not they are singing it, can transiate to any generation.""

"I'm really into this kid Brett Dermen, who I heard at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. He may get lumped in with the Jack Johnson feel-good/barefoot thing, but he's so much different than that. He's timeless — he's probably twenty-five, but he seems like he's twenty-five in 1972. He paints these gorgeous pictures, musically, where you think, "I want to hear his voice, I want to hear that guitar, and I want to hear those melodies." I put him on as a head clearer."

"Following the stars through the honky-tonks and bars Dream away on a country music pride Start the evenin' by myself You can bet by the hour of twelve Gonna have a pretty painted lady by my side Talkin' about a pretty pained lady by my side Painted lady, tell me of the past gone by Hold me like the open range and ride me high Listenin' to the days when your dress was made of calico or gingham And a man was a manI can feel the pain, I can see the fears On the painted cheeks that hide the tears Of a lovely, lonesome cowgirl in disguise"

"South of Oklahoma, east of New Mexico, West of Louisiana, where all them Cajuns go We gotta a little place called Texas Where the women grow on trees There right there for the pickin' Just as easy as a man could please You'd better run take hold You're gonna get young 'fore ya get old Them Texas women is Texas gold Kisses that are sweeter than cactus"

"I don't want your pork chops I don't want your turnip greens I think that I'll pass up the cornbread 'Cause a piece of watermelon is what I need And it's so strong 'cause it's been so long Since I've tasted that dear forbidden fruit And my heart sighs as I realize That that watermelon time is a-gettin' due And I'm a watermelon man"

"She is one from the mountains She is one from the plains She is one with the woodlands And she's at home on the range And all these things of beauty They left a kiss on her I'll tell you, sirI say Lord she's as sweet as one of her pecan pies Listenin' to her laughter I get hypnotized Goodness knows I love my Angel Eyes I love my Angel Eyes oh, yes I do"

"Wish I was a millionaire I'd play rock music and grow long hair Tell you boys about a new Rolls-Royce Pretty women would call on me I'd give ‘em all the third degree Give ‘em satin sheets To keep ‘em off the streetsHallelujah, let me sock it to ya Praise the Lord..."

"It ain’t no big secret the trouble you're in You wear a thin mask and it smiles and it grins ..., it’s heard at the parties yes and over the phones Because it's cellophane city and everyone knows There's no secret, nothing, and that's how it goes Cellophane city, you try as you may There's no secret, nothing, it's all on display"

"You sure looked good, bound for Shilburn Town Tryin' to drive that car while the rain came down And you sure looked fine Oh yeah, readin' highway signs And you sure looked good up on Crystal Beach Reelin' in them fish, with your hair all bleached And you sure looked fine Hey, yeah, with your hooks and lines La, da, di, dumb, da, la, da, di, dumb, day Every move you make, everything you say Well, you sure are fine Oh yes and you blow my mind"

"My problems are few If I don't stop to think The red golden leaves Scream the song of the sun The high rolling hills Give it all in the fall The hot days are gone... now"

"I'm traveling alone Up the highway of sight The blue shadows fall On the graveyard of stone The mild afternoon Puts the coffee cup down My eyes see the moon... rise And all I am is energy And now I'm in this form I came shooting down the universe at birth"

"There's a light There's a fire shining Day and night It came burning through Shine on me Shine on down you keep me High and dry I'm in love with you"

"Wait till the sidewalk shivers the beggars Robbed in their blankets they try to hang on Light from the street lane seems to shine better After the autumn has been here and gone ... God help the lost and lonely, God help the poor Cold days and ice nights only Hard times for sure, hard times for sure"

"You know you make your own decisions and you live the life you choose I watch it from the sidelines and it sure gives me the blues You know you're sure to find me waiting, should you ever come around"

"Meet me in the middle of the day Let me hear you say, "Everything's okay" Bring me southern kisses from your room Meet me in the middle of the night Let me hear you say, "Everything's alright" Let me smell the moon in your perfume ... Oh, Gods and years will rise and fall And there's always something more Lost in talk, I waste my time And it's all been said before..."

"The better you know your character, the more naturally it comes. But at the same time I don’t know that I ever want it to be easy, because the minute it gets easy I think I get too comfortable. And so I always am trying to search for what I can do to make my performance better"

"Waking up and trying to think, what went down, what'd we do? I rub my eyes and I shake my head and feel the sun Plane takes off on the old runway, snow fell light on the ground today Lost an hour that I gained before, headed back to my New York door. Fare thee well, adios, adieu and best of luck to all of you I ain't no saint and I don't pretend to be, but I hope you all found a friend in me City lights blink and shine, down below, let it change It's often said that life is strange, oh yes, but compared to what?"

"If you were there behind every family's closed doors, everyone's a little wacko. Chances are that your family is no weirder than the next family, or than the other girl at school's family. Everyone can be quirky at times, and I embrace that, personally."

"Summer's end's around the bend just flyin' The swimmin' suits are on the line just dryin' I'll meet you there for our conversation I hope I didn't ruin your whole vacationWell you never know how far from home you're feelin' Until you've watched the shadows cross the ceilin' Well I don't know, but I can see it snowin' In your car the windows are wide open"

"When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band Check into a swell hotel, ain't the afterlife grand?"

"I remember everything Things I can't forget The way you turned and smiled on me On the night that we first met And I remember every night Your ocean eyes of blue How I miss you in the morning light Like roses miss the dew"

"I've been down this road before I remember every tree Every single blade of grass Holds a special place for me And I remember every town And every hotel room Every song I ever sang On a guitar out of tune"

"Love and devotion, deep as any ocean don't play by anybody's rules With your carousel of horses and your unforeseen forces, you're running with the caravan of fools Caravan of fools, caravan of fools You're running with the caravan of fools"

"The dark and distant drumming The pounding of the hooves The silence of everything that moves Late at night you'll see them decked out in shiny jewels the coming of the caravan of fools"

"I woke up this morning to a garbage truck Looks like this ol' horseshoe's done run out of luck If I came home, would you let me in? Fry me some pork chops and forgive my sin?"

"Some humans ain't human Some people ain't kind You open up their hearts And here's what you'll find A few frozen pizzas Some ice cubes with hair A broken Popsicle You don't want to go there..."

"You're feeling your freedom And the world's off your back Some cowboy from Texas Starts his own war in Iraq]] Some humans ain't human Some people ain't kind"

"Surround me with your boundless love Confound me with your boundless love I was drowning in the sea, Lost as I could be When you found me With your boundless love"

"A bitter wind blows through the country A hard rain falls on the sea If terror comes without a warning There must be something we don't see What fire begets this fire? Like torches thrown into the straw If no one asks, then no one answers That's how every empire falls."

"Padlock the door and board the windows Put the people in the street "It's just my job," he says "I'm sorry." And draws a check, goes home to eat But at night he tells his woman "I know I hide behind the laws." She says, "You're only taking orders." That's how every empire falls."