It is true that I have had heartache and tragedy in my life. These are things none of us avoids. Suffering is the price of being alive.
Judy CollinsRead
I don't know where my songs come from... If I knew, I'd know too much, more than we are allowed on this plane.
Interpretation
The origin of creativity is often mysterious and beyond our understanding.
Judy Collins reflects on the elusive nature of artistic inspiration, suggesting that the source of her songs is unknown. This highlights the idea that creativity often emerges from a place beyond conscious thought, and acknowledging this mystery can be a part of the artistic experience.
In practice
During a workshop for aspiring musicians, this quote can inspire participants to embrace the unknown in their creative processes.
It is true that I have had heartache and tragedy in my life. These are things none of us avoids. Suffering is the price of being alive.
I have friends who've tried suicide many times and haven't succeeded. I myself made an attempt, so I had a connection with that sort of group of people who have tried suicide at one time in their lives.
Music can speak louder than words, and I will use my music to speak out on behalf of children everywhere.
Most of what we take as being important is not material, whether it's music or feelings or love. They're things we can't really see or touch. They're not material, but they're vitally important to us.
A song has to take on character, shape, body and influence people to an extent that they use it for their own devices. It must affect them not just as a song, but as a lifestyle.
What lists and awards don't measure - and I feel this strongly - is the lasting value of any work of art. They're a snapshot of a moment, and one should always consider their judgments in that context.
I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
Fashion is a language. Some know it, some learn it, some never will - like an instinct.
Art is on the side of the oppressed. Think before you shudder at the simplistic dictum and its heretical definition of the freedom of art. For if art is freedom of the spirit, how can it exist within the oppressors?
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
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