I try to make songs visual and tactile to kind of put you into the action. Richard Thompson More Quotes by Richard Thompson More Quotes From Richard Thompson I just like to entertain myself by sitting down and writing songs. Richard Thompson down-and writing song It's amazing what some people read into songs. Richard Thompson song people I'm always making a conscious effort to be viable and accessible. Richard Thompson effort conscious It's fun to sing sad songs. And it's fun to listen to sad songs. Enjoyable. Satisfying. Something. Richard Thompson enjoyable song fun There are only three white blues singers -- Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them. Richard Thompson three white two Well, first of all it's entertainment. That stops us becoming too pretentious or thinking we're great artists. Richard Thompson artist firsts thinking People want to hear about the extremes of human nature. They want things that are larger than their own lives, and more romantic, and not necessarily of their own experiences. Richard Thompson nature romantic people An audience will let you know if a song communicates. If you see them kind of falling asleep during the song, or if they clap at the end of a song, then they're telling you something about the song. But you can have a good song that doesn't communicate. Perhaps that isn't a song that you can sing to people; perhaps that's a song that you sing to yourself. And some songs are maybe for a small audience, and some songs are for a wide audience. But the audience will let you know pretty quickly. Richard Thompson song people fall I like the idea of playing in unison with yourself. Richard Thompson unison ideas The thing I do, really, is a communication with audiences more than any achievement through records. Richard Thompson records achievement communication I probably wrote three-quarters of the songs without an instrument in my hands. Richard Thompson three song hands The good part of writing is where it gets out of your control and turns into something else. You look at it and think "Whoa, where did that come from? That wasn't what I meant to write, but it's more interesting than what I was intending. Which part of my subconscious or my experience did that come from?" Often the answer isn't clear, and often the line between fiction and fact isn't clear, either. Richard Thompson writing interesting thinking You want the audience to be uncomfortable. Richard Thompson uncomfortable audience want To see both sides of a quarrel, is to judge without hate or alarm Richard Thompson alarms hate judging I have to remind myself not to set boundaries. Richard Thompson boundaries I don't really know how writing process happens, how these songs are arrived at. One of the things I like about the writing process is, I don't necessarily know where it's going, and even if I think I know where it's going, it'll turn out different. I find that exciting and rewarding. Richard Thompson writing song thinking I think you can refine what you do, and become more consistent. And you write better songs that have a better shape and a better feeling. You evolve into and out of things, and go through stages, but, ultimately, you do improve. Richard Thompson writing song thinking They came in the thousands from the whole human race to pay their respects at his last resting place. Richard Thompson lasts race pay Will there be any bartenders up there in Heaven, will the pubs never close? Richard Thompson bartender heaven death If you're up on a stage, naked and solo and singing songs to people, there's not much place to hide, so you may as well confess what you want to confess and say what you want to say, whatever that is. Some songs just turn out as being more about me, and some are more through the eyes of other people, or third-person descriptions of people. Richard Thompson eye song people
