I think the reason kids get into drugs and smoking is they don't have anything to do.
— Richard Thompson
Well, first of all it's entertainment. That stops us becoming too pretentious or thinking we're great artists.
It's fun to sing sad songs. And it's fun to listen to sad songs. Enjoyable. Satisfying. Something.
The thing I do, really, is a communication with audiences more than any achievement through records.
I have to remind myself not to set boundaries.
I just like to entertain myself by sitting down and writing songs.
All audiences should be slightly off balance.
I probably wrote three-quarters of the songs without an instrument in my hands.
I want people to come to my music without prejudice. I want them to get the music first. And who I am isn't that important. If they like the songs to me that's a good thing.
I'm always making a conscious effort to be viable and accessible.
As the writer, you're always a presence in the song. If you get close to what human beings are like, you're writing about common experience. We all do much the same things, so if you nail somebody, then you've also nailed yourself.
When you stand up acoustic in front of an audience, you really are a man without any clothes on. And that can be fun - it depends how much of an exhibitionist you are, I suppose. I quite enjoy it.
The best thing you've got going for you is individuality.
To stand up on a stage alone with an acoustic guitar requires bravery bordering on heroism. Bordering on insanity.
It's amazing what some people read into songs.
I try to make songs visual and tactile to kind of put you into the action.
People want to hear about the extremes of human nature. They want things that are larger than their own lives, and more romantic, and not necessarily of their own experiences.
There's a part of me that wishes I'd never said one single solitary word on any subject publicly. Then I could have been the tortured poet, and there's so much mileage in that. But it's too late to stop now.
I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me.
You want the audience to be uncomfortable.
I like the idea of playing in unison with yourself.
Amplifying acoustic instruments more than a little is really cheating, and everything becomes a compromise.
What I wanted to hear didn't exist, so it was necessary for me to go out and create it.
But music can save your life sometimes. It probably saved me from working in a bank or something. That's a kind of salvation right there.
I try to look for the good in everybody, regardless of the way they're labeled.
