People often talk about me as a singer, but they don't often talk about you when you're a woman as a songwriter.

I don't do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. I'm proud to be a troublemaker.

Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. We aren’t merely objects of desire.

I understand that we are actually complicated people but we are also dreadfully simple.

I don't believe in any kind of artistic snobbery or musical snobbery. You know, to me, the sexiest and the most spiritual words ever uttered in rock and roll are wop babaloo balop bam boom.

Maybe it was mean, but I really don't think so. You asked for the truth and I told you.

When you dishonor the the utter glory and majesty of black people, you lie. Your heart lies to you and you let it

I grew up in a situation of extreme abuse, but there was no chance to talk about it, so music became the escape if you like.

At some point the entire population of the earth is gonna have to look back at the kind of essence of spirituality which is basically caring about each other.

We have a tradition of passing our history orally and singing a lot of it and writing songs about it and there's kind of a calling in Irish voices when they're singing in their Irish accent.

When I kissed you, you didn't mind. I thought I tasted of too many cigarettes, but you tasted like wine.

... a writer concocts a different story for every reader.

…move from emphasis on personal lifestyle issues toward creating political paradigms and radical models of social change that emphasize collective as well as individual change.

A nation that is hungry for God will not go hungry." Duffy French, book character

You must remember that a woman, by nature, needs much less to feed upon than a man, a few emotions and she is satisfied.

There are certain people that you don't have to even work at extracting their inner life. It is just there and they're happy to share it with you.

It's a dirty job being ridiculous, but I'll do it

When you know yourself, your 'I'ness vanishes and you know that you and Allah are one and the same.

I try not to be a jerk. I really do. I try to be nice and cordial.

Demonstration, similitude & harmony are objects of reasoning. Invention, identity & melody are objects of intuition.

God and His Priest and King,...make up a heaven of our misery.