Ray LaMontagne quotes:

I was really lost for a while in my teens. I was angry. But when I found music - Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell - it was a new discovery. It was a door to this other world where I wanted to be.

You can make bad choices and find yourself in a downward spiral or you can find something that gets you out of it.

I probably wouldn't be a songwriter if I didn't grow up the way I did. It was difficult and it was at times very scary to grow up in a household so unsettled and at times very violent. But, it also, I guess it earned me a sort of wisdom at a young age that's served me well.

Writing songs is not something I wanted to share with people for a long time. It was precious to me. I didn't want someone to crush it. I waited until I felt strong enough to take the criticism.

Well... you know, I love motorcycles. They're just beautiful, and there's a certain craftsmanship in older bikes, older Triumphs or BSAs or Norton. I'm just very attracted to it.

I need space between me and the audience - and the more space the better.

I have a strong sense of self, but that's not a negative thing.

You have to believe in yourself before anybody else believes in you.

The thing I love about music is that you can take things that are painful, deep things that hurt you, and you can turn them into something beautiful.

When I think of folk music, I think of topical songs. And I don't write topical songs.

And when all your faith is gone let it be me, if it's a friend you need let it be me

I want to be in control of my own destiny.

It bugs me that people think my songs are personal because it means I have to explain myself all the time.

I'm a very emotional person.

When I pick up the guitar, it's a melody, and that's what drives the lyrics. It's bits and pieces of truth, but it is storytelling.

Now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turnin' gold Turnin' from the past, at last and all I've left behind.

Social situations, for me - it's very natural for me to be an observer. That's where I'm most comfortable. I observe things.

Now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turnin' goldAnd like the sky my soul is also turnin'Turnin' from the past, at last and all I've left behind

I am very self-critical, but that's a good thing because it keeps me growing as a human being and as a musician.

Every song asks to be sung in a different way.

But everything I have to give, I'll give to you

We all have that inner voice that is wise, even if we don't always follow it. It's that voice I'm trying to listen to.

In order to get a note out, I have to dig deep, and I mean that on an emotional level. To physically sing, I have to get somewhere deep before I can do it.

I don't really think of myself as a folk singer.

There's a real sense of desperation when you grow up in poverty.

I want to write music that will outlive me.

Don't let your eyes refuse to seeDon't let your ears refuse to hear

I can't get excited by my own music. It's impossible.

I don't like myself, and I don't like to be looked at.

I feel calm when I'm on my own.

I never learned to count my blessings I choose instead to dwell in my disasters

I refused then like I do now to let anybody tie me down

I'd much rather be playing songs than talking to people.

I'm a private person.

I'm very uncomfortable in my own skin.

It's so easy to get caught up in your own experiences. They can seem so important. But there are billions and billions of other experiences going on.

My backstory is so tedious.

My voice sucks. I don't like the tone.

There's nothing in the world so sad as talking to a man who never knew his life was his for making.

Well it's the hurt I hide that fuels the fires inside me

Well, I looked my demons in the eyes laid bare my chest, said 'Do your best, destroy me. You see, I've been to hell and back so many times, I must admit you kind of bore me.

Writing songs is not something I wanted to share with people for a long time. It was precious to me. I didnt want someone to crush it. I waited until I felt strong enough to take the criticism.