Quotes from John Grant

I could probably use some tips from a vocal trainer or something about breathing, but we all know it's not about technical prowess.

Do you know the solo at the end of 'Why Don't You Love Me Any More?' that sounds like a chainsaw breaking through? That is what I can't do with my voice. That's when you hear how painful this has been to me.

It took me a long time to find my own voice, even after I started making my own music.

I don't want to leave the house, and I don't want to settle down.

I don't let the computer into my bedroom. It would get in the way of life, sleep. And I really can't let that happen.

I spent many years trying to fit in and do things the way I thought I was supposed to - trying to be perceived the way I thought people wanted to see me. I grew up in a very religious household and wasn't taught to feel comfortable or good about my sexuality, so it feels great to be able to say things the way I want to say them.

Being in school, whenever I laughed or smiled, I would turn to find someone staring at me with this terrible hatred and disgust. I had to control everything - control my voice, control my facial expressions, control my hair and my clothes, and where I walked and where I sat - at every moment. I think that drove me to terrible anxiety.

The lion's share of what I listened to in the Eighties, what really affected me, was coming from Britain.

I seem to be very attracted to strong female personalities in acting and music.

People have always painted me like a pessimist, like somebody who sees the glass half-empty. But I think the fact that I keep showing up and saying, 'No, there must be a way for me to live in this world,' that shows I'm an eternal optimist.

I love that phrase that parents say to their children when they cry: 'I'll give you something to cry about.'

I have to strip away all the layers when I'm writing the song. I have to cut through all these layers of years of putting up walls and putting protective layers around myself.

I have trouble with things like Facebook. It presents such a warped vision. I get sick of people's opinions about every little thing and this warped view that everyone is as happy as a pig in garbage.

I can't allow myself to censor myself.

I grew up singing in a church choir.

I suppose my ideal brain food is learning languages.

When I came out, I found I hadn't been born with the right genes. It's quite brutal. If you're beautiful and you have the right genes, then the gay scene is a place where you can be worshipped. But if you don't, it's a different ball of wax.

You can only be you, and there are plenty of people out there who wouldn't have you be any other way.

Being embraced by the British people is a beautiful compliment for me. It feels very special.

My mother was a very sweet soul and a beautiful person, but she had a lot of fear.

I just feel like this guy who's visiting the music business over the weekend. Every time I write a song, I feel like it's never going to happen again.

I don't cry easily.

Madeline Kahn is one of my favourite people in the entire world and one of the funniest. She was a talented Broadway star and also sang opera.

Me becoming a person, instead of somebody who just hides and is afraid, has happened in tandem with me learning to write music and become a good songwriter.