singer-songwriters-from-australia

"I was writing my own songs and when I was younger, all I wanted to do was perform, so when I said ‘this is what I want to do’, mum and dad were very sceptical. But they were really supportive and I think I’m lucky to have grown up around people who are as passionate about music as I am. And they understand and support me, which is… well I’m really lucky."

"'And for the first time in my life, I began to realize that my completely numb and unexplored feelings about what Michael did to me might be a problem and maybe I need to speak to somebody about it.'"

"I said what I understood and I said what I was able to say."

"'I've lived in silence and denial for 22 years and I can't spend another moment in that.'"

"'I have never forgotten one moment of what Michael did to me, but I was psychologically and emotionally completely unable and unwilling to understand that it was sexual abuse.'"

"'I'm never going to go away with this for the sake of money. I'm never going to be silenced for money. That's not going to happen.'"

"'From seven years old, from day one of the abuse, Michael told me that we loved each other and this was love, this was an expression of our love.'"

"'The idea that I would make all of this up and put myself, my wife, my son, my entire family through this extremely stressful and painful experience all for money is incomprehensible.'"

"'And then he would follow it up with, "but if you ever tell anyone what we are doing both of our lives and careers would be over"'."

"You can reach the darkest point in our life and come back, and come good, even better."

"People need to understand that as well, that some of the families, maybe a lot of the families: what they did [was] out of the goodness of their hearts, and out of love."

"[Music] gives a lot of young people who can’t express themselves in any other way – which is probably why they’re in the youth justice system in the first place – it gives them a voice."

"You realise everybody suffers…I’m able to have that hope, you know. I’m able to hold on and see the light in the darkness."

"If you are going to take your clothes off for something, it better be a good cause."

"There's an old Australian stockman, lying, dying... and he gets himself up on one elbow, and he turns to his mates, who are gathered 'round him and he says..."

"There's an old Australian stockman -- er, , trying, dying. They get themselves up on their collective elbows, revert to their sixties instrumentation, and they try again."

"I'm Jake the Peg, diddle-iddle-iddle-um, with my extra leg, diddle-iddle-iddle-um."

"There's no doubt in my mind that going vegetarian has made me feel better not only physically, but also because I learned about the suffering of animals who are raised and killed for food. I feel good knowing that I'm not contributing to that."

"Can you see what it is yet?"

"It can take up to 100 chinchillas to make one coat and Jennifer Lopez has one made of 80 of them, all killed by electrocution or having their necks snapped. … Besides, wearing fur makes you look like an old woman!"

"There is no kind way to rip the skin off animals’ backs. Anyone who wears any fur shares the blame for the torture and gruesome deaths of millions of animals each year. … Saving animals is as simple as choosing synthetic alternatives instead of real fur."

"She was an office girl ("My name is Betty") Her fav'rite group was Helen Reddy"

"Oh yes, I am wise But it's wisdom born of pain Yes, I've paid the price But look how much I gained If I have to, I can do anything I am strong I am invincible I am woman"

"As a moral issue, abortion will be debated as long as humankind is able to debate. I respect all points of view as being valid to the holder. What concerns me is abortion as a legal and political issue. I am against all reproductive laws for the same reason I am against the draft. I believe that legal ownership of one’s body is the most basic civil and human right. Without it, we are all slaves to whatever government is in power at any given time."

"...I don’t think of myself as a pop star. I started out as a jazz singer. And I love having the chance to just jump in and sing songs that touch me or move me."

"I definitely knew her song, "I Am Woman." I didn't know a lot more than that. I'm so thrilled that I got to learn a whole lot more about her over this process. I now am her biggest fan and I could probably start a museum, I’ve done enough research on her. That's what's really interesting, is that not a lot of people in my generation know a lot about her life. But that being said, her song "I Am Woman," the words are on most placards at any women's march. Her story is so incredible, and to look back and honour all the amazing work she did, and what she did for women and just the music industry in general. I mean, she had four gold records in a year. She was the first Australian to win a Grammy, and people don't know that. So it feels like a really lovely thing to be able to share that."

"The number-one rule for a celebrity is keep moving."

"Would you take better care of yourself Would you be kinder to yourself Would you be more forgiving of your human imperfections If you realized your best friend was yourself"

"I’d gotten involved in the Women’s Movement, and there were a lot of songs on the radio about being weak and being dainty and all those sort of things. All the women in my family, they were strong women. They worked. They lived through the Depression and a world war, and they were just strong women. I certainly didn’t see myself as being dainty."

"I’m bothered by all these talent shows because it keeps people who are professional out of work, and these poor souls that are going on there are not getting paid, and people like Rupert Murdoch are making lots of money that they shouldn’t be."

"There’s a moment before I walk out on stage, where it’s like electricity. And then you just go out there and it’s home. The stage is home to me."

"(The Queen of Housewife Rock) means I’ve reached a lot of people in a simplistic manner who would never go to a lecture or read an article on Women’s Lib. My basic audience is women who have had their heads turned around by the knowledge that something’s going on out there—that they can stay married and have their own identities. I’m not for the swinging singles. I have a career and marriage happening all at the same time, and that’s the example I set."

"We have to keep everybody happy. This is a house full of big egos."

"Years back I didn't wear makeup or use a hairdresser. Then, about four years ago, I became very tired of the way men and the media were trying to present feminists - as drab, un-attractive, shrill and ugly. So I changed. Some feminists have criticized me for it, but there's a lot of compromise in this business."

"I would like to thank Jeff Wald because he makes my success possible, and I would like to thank God because She makes everything possible."

"History will be much kinder to Richard Nixon than his contemporaries have been. Truths will come to light that will reveal him to be a more honorable man than some who have come to that office after him."

"I believe that we are consciousness, consciousness is energy, and energy can never be destroyed. It can be transformed, but it can never be destroyed."

"The word failure is not in my vocabulary. I learn something every day. It's human to make mistakes."

"That's a pig show. The lowest."

"Movie-making is not my favorite medium, because you’re on the set for 12 hours and you might only film for three minutes. It’s very much hurry up and wait. So, although I loved doing the film, it wasn’t quite what I expected."

"and she believed that she was god."

"Music is a Place to take Refuge. It's a Sanctuary from Mediocrity and Boredom. It's Innocent and it's a Place you can loose yourself in Thoughts, Memories and Intricacies."

"If you read about African music, they believe that during the process of making this music that you come into contact with spirits from another plane. They say that this place is like a mirror of the world we live in…With the best music, you don't find the composer or the musicians within the work, you find yourself, your own feelings."

"I sing in the language of the Heart. It's an invented language that I've had for a very long time. I believe I started singing in it when I was about 12. Roughly that time. And I believed that I was speaking to God when I sang in that language."

"I have never dared to face the disappointments that my true vocal range may bring. I have many fundamentals in my voice that give the appearance of it being very deep or very high, when in fact I believe it's quite narrow and limited."

"Walk a mile in these Louboutins, But they don't wear these shits where I'm from. I'm not hating, I'm just telling you. I'm tryna let you know what the fuck that I've been through."

"I'm so fancy, You already know. I'm in the fast lane, From L.A. to Tokyo. I'm so fancy, Can't you taste this gold? Remember my name, 'bout to blow."

"Let ya hair down and shake that shit, shake that shit, shake that shit. Sweat it out, go nuts in this bitch. Dip it, spin it, and watchin' my hips; I see you watchin' my hips."

"You used to dealing with basic bitches, Basic shit all the time. I'm a new classic, upgrade your status From a standby to a frequent flyer."

"The kid can sing better than nearly anyone I know, he’s a charming, good, well-natured likeable kid, he’s now a songwriter."