It was a rural upbringing by the seaside. A real quiet place surrounded by fields. I had to travel into town for school and stuff like that.

All you have is your fire And the place you need to reach Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep them on a leash

There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

The song is about asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an act of love.

No masters or kings when the ritual begins [making love] There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene Only then I am human Only then I am clean

The song, to me, is about what it is to be a human, what it is to love someone as a human being, and organizations that would undermine that, and undermine the more natural parts of being a person

Offer me that deathless death Good God, let me give you my life.

When I write songs, I try to remove myself a little bit. Obviously they're very personal to me, but it feels easier if I feel like I'm writing characters.

Art and music are the vehicle for the zeitgeist.

I think humans are driven by othering people, by defining themselves by who they are not and who is different from them. Human beings are in love with othering.

Will there be a time when equality will exist? I think given human nature there will always be conflict.

Never give up. Things may be hard, but if you quit trying they'll never get better. Stop worrying and start trusting God. It will be worth it.

Holy shit! Can we say unstable? Was I the only sane one around here? Well, I guess that really wasn’t setting the standard very high." -Ember, Darkness Of Light

Selfish Apologies Aren’t Apologies at All

I got a little house in East L.A. and did the gardening. I was doing some acting here and there, doing my own thing... getting back to reality.

If I already have a vision, my work is almost done. The rest is a technical problem.

War with all its glorification of brute force is essentially a degrading thing.

I've never cackled with laughter at a single line I've ever written. None of it has given me pleasure.

Where the grass is greener, the water bill is bigger.

Our own heart, and not other men's opinion, forms our true honor.

Dampier is soft. Quote it, underline it, tape it and send it to him.