Quotes from Tori Amos

From the ancient Inanna forcing herself to the underworld to visit her sister, Ereshkigal— passing through the seven gates of the underworld and then being hung on a hook, rotting— where she had to look at her sister, and her sister had to look at her. Both needed to see inside themselves, to see inside their own shadows. To come to terms with who they really were, not who they thought they were.

But I needed to access the Dark Prince in myself, instead of pulling in men who had access to it.

Every artist is born in a place, within a family, and though she may leave those sources far behind, they remain within her.

Even a glamorous bitch can be in need.

Threads that are golden don't break easily.

And is it right butterfly? They like you better framed and dried.

As soon as you stop being humbled by the creation process, Little One, it is so much bigger than you are. And when you think it is you and you are it, it will drown you or burn you alive.

I must become my own owner, my own authority. I must be a home to myself, and I must find a way to live what I believe.

Again, we go back to the power of words and how they can make you feel. They bring liberation or stagnation, they're chains. I began to see the structure of Tori—there's conservatory, and victory: you see that word in so many different other words—also anti-inflammatory but my favorite has to be Yakatori chicken. And I began to feel that the sound of this name was a window.

Neil says "Hi" by the way...

In the Springtime of his voodoo, he was going to show me spring.

Every finger in the room Is pointing at me I wanna spit in their faces Then I get afraid of what that could bring I got a bowling ball in my stomach I got a desert in my mouth Figures that my courage would choose to sell out now I've been looking for a savior in these dirty streets Looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets I've been raising up my hands Drive another nail in Just what God needs One more victim

Tori is the woman in your neighborhood who stops by your garden, pauses, and gets you going for three hours on the topic of lilies that grow best in winter sun. Later, you'll walk by her pea patch and discover the most spectacular flower, not exactly what you planted, but something that shows the influence of the tips you shared.

I said she's gone but I'm alive, I'm alive I'm coming in the graveyard to sing you to sleep now

Containment of your opinion is a must if you are going to nurture an artist's development

Do you know who we are Mum?" And at that moment I just look into her blue planets for eyes, and she says, "We are Daughters of Song, Mama." And at that I jump up with new life, pick her up, and say, "Now let's go play"_____

I know now that my avatar all along has been closer to Lisa Simpson than anyone else.

Music has an alchemical quality. And there's more than one voice on the piano. You have two hands. One can be playing a celestial melody while the other is doing quite the opposite. The joining of the profane and the sacred, or the passionate and the compassionate, happens right there on the keyboard.

But over the years you can cultivate hate for the art you love.

When I went on this trip I had a sexual/spiritual experience with a creature named Lucifer.

I think you have to know who you are. Get to know the monster that lives in your soul, dive deep into your soul and explore it.

What I wished another songwriter would have told me years and years ago is that your circumstances make up your story, and no one has exactly your story. It is your very own. You need never envy someone else's life story. Not as a songwriter.

Listen—when you're on the toilet, from the point of view of the toilet, you are not an icon taking a crap. You are a bottom taking a crap. If you can get that, you're going to be okay.

Once she said to me, "One day, young lady, you will give your body and obedience to your husband your soul to God." And I whipped around and said, "And what, pray tell, Grandma, are you saying is left for me?