I've lived a phenomenal life, and there's more life in me, but I'm here, I'm not yesterday, but all those yesterday's brought me here. So I'm very comfortable with that.
The interesting thing is that, well, here's what I think about songwriters and songs. Sometimes people sit down and say, "I gotta write a song today, I have a title" and all of that, and sometimes inspiration just happens, almost like "Sugar, Sugar" and a couple of the other songs. But basically, I just started playing the piano, and I'm not a great piano player.
There are times when, for many years, I've been irrelevant - and it was OK! I had my moment. No one is responsible for anyone else's dreams. I don't need a babysitter. I just needed to know that I could do this. I just think that my happiest time or my best time, upon reflection, is that I had the courage to do this.
I first heard "Heaven Without a Gun" when Kevin [Drew] sent it to me, and there was this kind of beauty about it. I don't live that much in the literal world, so you kind of have to see beyond the veil of what you're being shown sometimes. To me, that's such a beautiful, wonderful sentiment.
I think with all of us, sometimes we're afraid to recognize that we're here.
I remember the day before my dad died, I was in a hospital room with him, and he had lived a long life. He was 94, and I helped him get up, and there were two windows separated by the partition. I took him to the first window, and he kind of found his way to the second window, and on the way there was a mirror, and he looked into it, and I saw through the corner of my eye, I remember the look on his face. What came over his face was "So I'm here. I've crossed that bridge."
I don't come from a musical family and didn't go to Julliard or anything, but I had this kind of vision of stuff that was so powerful that I just needed to find it. I have no regrets.
I have no regrets. I have not one single regret. I was born with a wonderful DNA where I felt that my life was not a race against someone else or another artist. It was probably internal.
To be part of Kevin's [Drew] world, "Who Came First" is just kind of a magical symphony. If you're asking me what that emotional timbre what is my favorite, my favorite "why" is the question. The other songs also have a revealing quality, but it started with "Sister OK".
Kevin [Drew] beat me to the punch because when he first sent "Sister OK" and I'm listening to it, it took me to a place that I had not been to in a long time. It took me to a place when you're a teenager. I understand it all now, but in a moment of confusion, in a moment of trying to find some kind of solid ground in an environment that was quicksand in my life, it's that first line just kills me all the time: "Well it's just that your sister said you'd be OK."
I just know I was part of a moment, and everyone showed up with love. I'm just blown away by this all but you can feel it in listening [Forest Green], and it's hard to listen 'cos sometimes life distracts you or you run away from listening. We didn't know what we were doing.
I know that I can forever walk the streets, drive the freeways, and be alive knowing that I created something with someone whom I love so very much that is such a powerful force. I would love for people to hear it the way I hear it [Forest Green].
If you look at my history, I'm not gonna let that many people into whatever I'm going through.
I was going through some stuff regarding my mom and dad. There was 30 years difference [between them], so when you hear the lyric, "Girl I love you / You know I do / And I do not doubt / That you love me too / But you're so young / Your life has just begun", that's what I was wondering. They were married for 44 years.
With Kevin [Drew], as I said, in his own way just told me "You gotta find that person that talks to you in your songs." I think we succeeded. I feel relief, to be quite honest with you.
It's funny: not only with the title of the album but also the song [It's Decided]. I kind of felt nostalgic. The beginning lyric is, "There's almost a sentimental feeling to another time," and when I got together with Kevin, he just absolutely, in his own fashion, just pushed me to go deeper than I usually would want people to know. That was the most difficult part for me was to bring someone in.
