There seems to be a great propensity in this business to write tear-jerkers, 'You-left-me' songs. I thought, 'Why don't I count my blessings by looking at what I have?' I'm pretty much an optimistic guy.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I can say I'd honestly rather be happy than have 30 to 40 songs that I've written about these thrilling, exciting, horrible, unhappy times.
By the end of the writing process, which is about 80 songs per album, I look at the material and think, what's going to make a difference in someone's life.
My first instinct when I write songs is not a negative one. It's something positive... Everything I've ever done has some form of hope in it, I think.
This music business can suck all the love out of you, all the compassion for people - you can start to think you're better than them. But I want to continue to let people know that I'm no better and no worse, I'm just like you.
I'm fortunate that I've been in this business long enough that I've earned the right to be left alone by my record company.
Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fifteen years after having written one, it still works for me - I'm not cringing.
The thing is, unfortunately, I write the best songs when I'm miserable.
Things can turn ugly so quickly in the music business, especially if you have an unexpected success.
The saddest songs are written when a person is happy.
I think that, whatever happens, I'm just happy I've written those songs and I've made an album. That's really big for me, and I'm proud of that.
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