Quotes from John Grant

I could have easily said that I don't believe in anything when I came out of the upbringing that I had, but I do still believe that there is something there, and I have a difficult time figuring it out. I suppose I don't want to be thought of as stupid or unintelligent because I believe that there's something out there bigger than us in the world.

The snappier lyrics come when I'm feeling really good and up. A lot of times, they come after I've just had a meeting with somebody that was uplifting, and you get home, and you're feeling playful or upbeat or whatever, and then they just seem to pop right out.

The most horrifying thing I ever did was work as a steward on an airplane. I wanted to get hired by United. I thought, 'With my languages, this will be amazing; I will work in First Class.' But I could only get a job with an airline going from Newark, New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

I don't really listen to my old music.

I'm very proud that I have learned German and Russian. Especially Russian, because of how difficult and beautiful it is and because of how much I struggled in the beginning to get my head around how it works.

I was so ashamed of who I was. And I also felt like an outcast in gay society as well because I wasn't good-looking enough; my body wasn't good enough.

There's an incredible amount of pain involved in being a human, but this humorous stuff is essential in overcoming it.

What brands can do brilliantly is broker change in people's lives.

I come from a position where it seems like I have an addictive quality to everything in my life.

The thing is I don't feel like my story is special. I don't feel like it's different to anybody else.

Icelanders love to speak English. Their English is a joy to hear because of how colloquial and idiomatic it is, but they appreciate your efforts with Icelandic.

I don't really experience much embarrassment.

Becoming a musician was all about escape. It was about getting away from the foulness that was me.

My music is definitely very personal. The songs are about moments, snapshots of everyday life, and about having one's say, or at least feeling like one has had one's say.

When I got into languages, I needed to amass things to make myself more palatable or more acceptable as a human.

I feel like, every single decision I make and every single album I make, it's all about letting go. Letting go of the past and just getting on with it.