Tracy Chapman

“I could make records at home in a vacuum, but that is not the situation. I'm just taking it one phase at a time.”

“A lot of kids spent more time out of school than in, but I always loved school and thought it was my way out of Cleveland, and out of poverty.”

“I mentioned that I received a scholarship to Episcopalian school, and the model for the school was 'From each according to his or her ability and to each according to his or her need.' And it's something that is still really important to me in thinking about how I prioritize what I do with my life.”

“Everyone is looking for connections between the songs. I don't usually approach a record as a concept. There's no overriding theme I'm trying to represent. It's all about the individual songs.”

“I love living in California and being able to go to the beach or go to the woods.”

“With other people, you're always swapping music. Somebody is always listening to something you've never heard. It's a great way to hear all sorts of new things.”

“Love's a recurring theme through my work.”

“I may be revered or defamed and decried; But I tried to live my life right.”

“Growing up in Cleveland, I learned about singing from my mother, who had once sung professionally and who admired Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin.”

“I'm not sure about anything as far as religion and spirituality go.”

“As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library.”

“I always considered trying to make a living playing music. But it was always really clear to me, at the various stages in my life, that it really wasn't a possibility unless some phenomenal thing happened.”

“I don't try to project any image at all, other than the person that I am.”

“It all comes together. It's - that's the way it's always worked for me with songwriting.”

“So much has happened to obscure the dialogue about race and about gender and discrimination in general, especially where those things touch on economics.”

“There are some concerns that are universal. Everyone wants to be loved, and everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere in the world. Everyone wants to do something and feel like they have a sense of purpose. These are just the things that I think about and the things that make their way into my songwriting.”

“Some things remain fragments, just the lyrics and melodies or a line or two or a verse.”

“I see some recurring themes: things that feel threaded together, some symbolic references, and songs about some of the big questions, like death. There are a lot of references to weather, too!”

“There have been some gains made in terms of more equality for women in the workplace and in the way the legal system deals with issues of violence against women.”

“We do need to think about how we have security - everyone has a right to that - but we also need to think about how we maintain civil rights and personal freedom.”