Quotes by Natalie Merchant

“Be true to yourself, and, um, dont worry about some large companies quarterly profit index.”

“I would say Id rather dig a ditch, you know, do hard, manual labor than write lyrics.”

“Im on this search trying to figure out exactly who I am and what I have to say to people.”

“I dont want to live in a culture of despair. Id like to live in a culture of hope.”

“Its funny, I remember doing the Johnny Carson show, and, uh, I couldnt afford my rent.”

“My sister works in an inner-city school in Greenville, South Carolina, and she brought many of her at-risk kids to our show yesterday to the sound-check. It was amazing how these kids opened up with music. Music teaches so much about focus and concentration and group dynamics and appreciation for subtlety and beauty. And thats being taken away from schools.”

“Im in the public eye. Ive sold 14 million records -- so 14 million individuals have bought my records and have sat down and intimately listened to them. And if I think about that many people paying attention to me, Id better say something worthwhile. I do have a personal ideology when it comes to the work that I do and the art that I make. And its based on just wanting to say something that has substance and to try to move people with music -- and give them an idea of the glimpse I have into whats possible for us.”

“I just want to be known as a good songwriter who wrote songs that were enduring. I hope my music gives people a glimpse of how empathetic we were and how desirous we were of a better society.”

“That kind of violence is dangerous to me, to be beamed out via satellite to the rest of the country. Since I dont watch television very much, when I do check in, Im horrified. But I dont think it took a massacre in a high school in America for me to see that theres too much violence or that children arent being taught to use their own judgment when they watch television.”

“Retrospective 1990-2005 [Limited Edition]”

Poetry comes alive to me through recitation.