"they told you life is hard it's misery from the start it's dull and slow and painful I tell you life is sweet in spite of the misery there's so much more be grateful"

"I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness I want to thank you I want to thank you for your generosity the love and the honesty that you gave me"

"you've been so kind and generous I don't know how you keep on giving for your kindness I'm in debt to you for your selflessness, my admiration and for everything you've done you know I'm bound... I'm bound to thank you for it"

"I need a lullaby a kiss goodnight angel sweet love of my life o, I need this"

"o, I need the darkness the sweetness the sadness the weakness I need this"

"contempt loves the silence it thrives in the dark with fine winding tendrils that strangle the heart they say that promises sweeten the blow but I don't need them no, I don't need them"

"your face saving promises whispered like prayers I don't need them"

"take a look at my body look at my hands there's so much here that I don't understand"

"don't spread the discontent don't spread the lies don't make the same mistakes with your own life"

"people ruthless, people cruel see the damage that some people do full of hatred, full of pride it's enough to make you lose your mind"

"I know that it will hurt I know that it will break your heart the way things are and the way they've been and the way they've always been"

"people struggle, people fight for the simple pleasures in their lives but trouble comes from everywhere it's a little more than you can bear"

"Ophelia's mind went wandering you'd wonder where she'd gone through secret doors down corridors she'd wander them alone"

"Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest a god damned hurricane your common sense your best defense lay wasted and in vain"

"Ophelia was a circus queen the female cannonball projected through five flaming hoops to wild and shocked applause..."

"Ophelia was a bride of god a novice Carmelite in sister cells the cloister bells tolled on her wedding night"

"o, I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle know this child will be able laughed as she came to my mother know this child will not suffer laughed as my body she lifted know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith she'll make her way"

"people see me I'm a challenge to your balance I'm over your heads how I confound you and astound you"

"newspapers ask intimate questions want confessions they reach into my head to steal the glory of my story"

"doctors have come from distant cities just to see me stand over my bed disbelieving what they're seeing they say I must be one of the wonders of god's own creation and as far as they can see they can offer no explanation"

"have I been blind have I been lost inside myself and my own mind hypnotized mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?"

"I've walked these streets in the mad house asylum they can be where a wild eyed misfit prophet on a traffic island stopped and he raved of saving me"

"So their eyes are growing hazy 'cause they want to turn it on so their minds are soft and lazy Well, hey, give 'em what they want"

"If lust and hate is the candy if blood and love tastes so sweet then we give 'em what they want Hey, hey, give 'em what they want"

"these days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face and when you do you'll know how it was meant to be see the signs and know their meaning"

"you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky it's true, that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you"

"these are days you'll remember"

"let me have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning please don't hide them just because of tears"

"speak to me don't mislead me, the calm I feel means a storm is swelling there's no telling where it starts or how it ends"

"trouble me disturb me with all your cares and you worries trouble me on the days when you feel spent"

"hey Jack now for the tricky part when you were the brightest star who were the shadows? of the San Francisco beat boys you were the favorite now they sit and rattle their bones and think of their blood stoned days"

"hey Jack Kerouac I think of your mother and the tears she cried, she cried for none other than her little boy lost in our little world that hated and that dared to drag him down her little boy courageous who chose his words from mouths of babes got lost in the wood hip flask slinging madman, steaming cafe flirts they all spoke through you"

"talk, talk, talk about it you talk as if you care but when your talk is over tilt that bottle in the air tossing back more than your share"

"don't talk, I will listen don't talk, you keep your distance I'd rather hear some truth tonight than entertain your lies"

"what a cold and rainy day where on earth is the sun hid away?"

"the color of the sky as far as I can see is coal gray lift my head from the pillow and then fall again with a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather a quiver in my lips as if I might cry"

"these sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels have all been one rude awakening that was due to me in this city of fallen angels"

"where is the halo that should glow 'round your face and where are the wings that should grow from your shoulder blades?"

"see them walking, if you dare if you call that walking stumble, stagger, fall and drag themselves along the streets of heaven"

"heaven, is this heaven where we are?"

"threats like, "if you don't mind I will beat on your behind" "slap you, slap you silly" made me say, "o, what's the matter here?""

"I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses he's their kid I stay out of it, but who gave you the right to do this?"

"If I could calm or restrain you for the sake of pity save the pistol save the cynic's tongue save the cool white stare treat me to an honest face sometime"

"I saw my first Henry Darger collage/paintings in the early 1980’s when the tale of Henry’s life was just emerging through rumor and scattered fragments of his book. He lived and died a recluse in Chicago where no one knew of his writings or paintings. There was a folk art gallery in New Orleans that had acquired a small pile of Realms of the Unreal illustrations. I was on tour with REM at the time, Michael Stipe and I visited the gallery where we had a first look at these images of seven little horrified girls pursued by a purple and orange winged cats or evil professors on horseback or resting peacefully under giant sunflowers. I was completely captivated and intrigued."

"For the time being I am enjoying my chance to enjoy civilian life off the road. If I combined all the months that I have lived out of a van or tour bus it would amount to twelve solid years. That would be twelve years of driving or flying an average of 100 to 400 miles per day and sleeping in a different city every night. It was a very unique lifestyle that I adapted to and even enjoyed with it’s surreal pace. It’s also a lifestyle that can take a toll on the body and relationships with the people that you are constantly leaving behind."

"I don’t want to overdo discussing my experience of motherhood, its too private and profound to parade around. I will say that carrying a child, giving birth to a child and raising that child up has made me feel more engaged and connected to others. I have a greater understanding of people (living past & present). We all begin so pure, so innocent and so hungry for physical and emotional comfort. It’s so important that every baby be generously cherished, fed and comforted. I can see now how withholding these essentials can do irreparable damage. Now (post-baby) when I encounter a sad or aggressive character, I wonder what the first three years of his or her life were like. Imaging them alone, crying in their cribs has given me much more compassion."

"I don’t listen to anything on the radio but NPR and occasional oldies programs. I can’t comment on the content or format of most commercial radio but I have read the statistics about the step-by-step deregulation of FCC rules that has allowed monopolies like Clear Channel to buy up massive shares of the airwaves. This has damaged our business (music) and our culture (American). The internet is offering bold alternatives but a transistor radio is only $25.00 and not everyone is hooked up through a computer and high speed connection."

"After spending nearly 20 years contracted to a major label, I have mixed feelings about their demise. These companies have profited immensely from your insatiable desire for listening and helped musicians for several decades to reach you. They grew fat and excessive. They exploited and they monopolized. They edited and censured. They’ve been rapidly losing their means of production, distribution and promotion to the internet. They have been economizing by dropping artists, cutting staff and folding into one another but they can’t keep up with the pace of disintegration. You might not have ever heard my name if Elektra Records hadn’t made me one of their artists for hire. I’m both grateful and resentful and you probably are too."