Quotes from Shawn Colvin

I've had a prolonged adolescence, like a lot of my generation.

I would say my whole first record, 'Steady On,' had a lot to do with healing.

With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If I can, then it's a song I ought to record. If I can't, it's probably not good enough.

One of the dumber things my manager said was, Stick to the melody. But I can't.

I'm not a go-out-with-a-band artist. I'm an intimate, storytelling folk artist. It guides the writing and makes for a concert that I'm proud of.

What's great about art is that if you can reach people, if they hear or see what you do and it moves them, there's a commonality.

I think the thing that has made it possible for me to write personal songs and sing them year after year is the sensibility for good writing. Just opening your veins all over the paper is not necessarily going to be interesting. I wanted to speak to people.

When I became sober, I was 27 and struggling as an artist.

The less you know, the more I comprehend. You don't have to drag me down, I descend.