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Will Oldham

Will Oldham Quotes

Singer-songwriter

Will Oldham, born on January 15, 1970, is a renowned singer-songwriter known for his unique musical style that blends folk, rock, and blues elements. His music has gained widespread acclaim and has had a significant impact on the independent music scene.

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All Thinking People Song Records Feels Ifs Want Kind Knows Writing

Famous Will Oldham Quotes

“I am drinking again I'm on my seventh cold glass of gin Life is a tribute to you And so is dying And drinking in this way To die is what I'm trying I am drinking again I'm on my ninth cold glass of gin”

Dying Drinking Gin I Am Drinking Again

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“This is the last song of its kind. Now you can be. Now you can be all that all your weakest love can find Ain't it the best? Ain't it the best?”

Song Royal Quiet Deluxe

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“If you’re careful, you can be welcomed into natural systems, ecosystems, societal systems. But it sometimes feels like it would be more rewarding to be destroyed by a natural ecosystem than it would to be destroyed by a societal system…if you’re going to be destroyed.”

Society Ecosystem Social Hierarchy Will Oldham Bonnie Prince Billy Oldham

Book:Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Source: Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy

“Always choose the noise of music... always end the day in singing!”

Singing Sing The Sounds Are Always Begging

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“sing only when you're strong to others only all night long and close your mouth and eyes otherwise”

Singing Sing Island Brothers

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“There is hate in my heart This is how my day starts There is blood on my hands From the murder of a man And this is how I start another day in my kingdom”

Hate Murder A King At Night

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“If you love wind, Or morning or night, If you are kind, And get lit up by light Then you're bound to be put down at any cost. And if you listen to me You are lost.”

Light Wind You Are Lost

Book:Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

Source: Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will Oldham

“As it turns out, as an adult I can have a very unpleasant, fierce and unforgiving temper at times. But I don't think I had that when I was a kid.”

Thinking I Can Kids Turns Adults Temper Fierce Unforgiving

Author:Will Oldham

“Cities are made for enemies to destroy.”

Made Cities Enemy

Author:Will Oldham

“I do not want a personal relationship with my fans. Or to do anything that encourages them to think they have one with me. They can have a personal relationship with my songs. That's fine, but they don't know me.”

Thinking Knows Want Song Fans Fine Know Me Personal Relationships

Author:Will Oldham

“I don't like going to cities. I don't mind maybe being in a city sometimes for a few hours, but I pretty much don't like cities. I don't even like passing through them.”

Mind Sometimes Hours Cities Passing Passings Passing Through

Author:Will Oldham

“I don't like the idea of being surrounded by hidden things; people you can't see in buildings and cars.”

People Ideas Car Building Hidden Things

Author:Will Oldham

“I don't think that word - the word pirate - has any real meaning. Or it's something that's had meaning imposed on it.”

Thinking Real Pirate

Author:Will Oldham

“I figure it's okay to make certain rules, whether or not people despise you for it at the time.”

People Certain Figures Okay Despise

Author:Will Oldham

“I have more respect for somebody who points at his ideal - in this case, the ideal of the pirate - and then becomes something that's more radical, more exciting, more subversive than a pirate could ever be.”

Cases Ideals Exciting Radical Pirate Subversive

Author:Will Oldham

“I make the songs and part of making them is singing them. But what you hear is not me. It's the song. It's through me.”

Author:Will Oldham

“I need to go someplace faraway that doesn't have telephones and doesn't have a record player and doesn't have movie theaters and people walking down the street in order to not do anything.”

People Needs Order Records Player Streets Walking Theater Telephones Movie Theater Record Players

Author:Will Oldham

“I think everybody works from a defensive position, for the most part, in the film industry.”

Thinking Film Position Industry Film Industry

Author:Will Oldham

“I think records and music are more appropriate and more respectful of the human soul than the churches are. And more respectful of the needs of humans to communicate with the aspects of themselves that are neglected by language.”

Thinking Needs Humans Soul Language Church Records Aspect Communicate Appropriate Neglected Human Soul Respectful

Book:Will Oldham on Bonnie

Source: Will Oldham on Bonnie

“I think that America in general is piratical. Every time we accept a paycheck for doing almost nothing, allowing us to live above the poverty line, we're engaging in piracy.”

Thinking America Lines Accepting Poverty Allowing Engaging Paychecks Piracy

Author:Will Oldham

“I think that what trips up a lot of great musicians is that they become involved with too many things that aren't where their strengths lie.”

Thinking Lying Involved Musician Great Music Great Musician

Author:Will Oldham

“I write a song to be recorded. And to some extent to be performed, but definitely more to be recorded than performed, because the recording will last longer than a performance.”

Writing Lasts Song Performances

Author:Will Oldham

“I'd like my records to reach as many people as possible, but I'm also thinking in terms of how I can keep from getting jaded or unhappy with the process.”

People Thinking I Can Process Term Records Unhappy Jaded

Author:Will Oldham

“It's nice to be able to backtrack and not be embarrassed by the music you used to listen to.”

Able Used Nice Embarrassed

Author:Will Oldham

“It's O.K. to accept good fortune.”

Accepting Fortune Good Fortune

Author:Will Oldham

“Sometimes we need to tell ourselves that we're not going to do certain things, just in order to stay sane.”

Needs Sometimes Certain Order Sane

Author:Will Oldham

“Too much emphasis is put on American roots music when people try and place me. You know, I grew up listening to punk.”

People Knows Trying Too Much Listening Grew Grew Up Roots Punk Emphasis

Author:Will Oldham

“People are looking for fame or a focus, and I can't provide that.”

People I Can Focus Fame

Author:Will Oldham

“Writing songs is a profession; so it's not an attempt to take things from my interactions with other people and for some reason give them to a total stranger to listen to. I find it offensive to hear other people do that.”

People Giving Writing Reason Song Stranger Profession Interaction Offensive Writing Songs Interaction With Others

Book:Will Oldham on Bonnie

Source: Will Oldham on Bonnie

“What is normally called religion is what I would tend to call music - participating in music, listening to music, making records and singing.”

Records Listening Singing Listening To Music Participating Music Making

Book:Will Oldham on Bonnie

Source: Will Oldham on Bonnie

“When I was a kid, I always thought that acting was going to be the way to go.”

Way Kids Acting

Author:Will Oldham

“Whenever I see something that looks like it could be good - whether it's on vinyl, CD or cassette - if it's not too expensive, I'll take a chance.”

Ifs Looks Chance Be Good Expensive Take A Chance Cds Vinyl Cassettes

Author:Will Oldham

“I don't usually read reviews. I usually read the interviews, just because I figure it's a good way to try to do them better if I ever have to do them again.”

Ifs Way Trying Figures Interviews Reviews Good Way

Author:Will Oldham

“On days where I feel the karma is in balance I'm not afraid of death. And when I feel it's weighing heavily on the negative side, then I get very scared and just think about eternal damnation and how unpleasant that would be.”

Thinking Feels Would Be Sides Balance Eternal Negative Scared Karma Not Afraid Damnation Weighing Afraid Of Death Not Afraid Of Death

Author:Will Oldham

“Every recording session and tour is a very valuable time to me in terms of getting to spend time with the musicians - whether they're friends and family or people I've just met - because I don't have a job where I get to interact with people everyday.”

People Jobs Term Mets Musician Everyday Valuable End Times Family And Friends Session Spend Time Valuable Time

Author:Will Oldham

“With women, you always have to make an educated decision to figure out what they're thinking. It's not one that's necessarily sympathetic, always. Of course, we're all human beings, but the gender thing is big thing. And a great thing.”

Thinking Humans Bigs Courses Human Beings Decision Figures Gender Great Things Educated Big Things Sympathetic

Author:Will Oldham

“In the United States the government has become less important. So, it's democracy, but as each year passes it seems that the government plays less of a role in people's lives, and so they're living in whatever situation their employment imposes upon them more than they're living in a grand political system.”

People Years Important States Play Seems Government Political United Situation Roles United States Democracy Employment Political Systems

Author:Will Oldham

“Frank Sinatra's never been handsome, but he's one of my favorite singers. Who needs looks when you have a voice and power?”

Needs Looks Voice My Favorite Singers Frank Handsome Favorite Singer

Author:Will Oldham

“At the same time, you don't want to be blindsided at some point because you've taken too much comfort from knowing nothing. So you try to keep a little store of practical knowledge. At a certain point you have to pretend that something is true in order to have a relationship with the world.”

World Want Trying Littles Certain Order Knowing Taken Too Much Comfort Stores Practicals Knowing Nothing Practical Knowledge

Author:Will Oldham

“A record is something that isn't real or true. It's like cinema. It's a construction of something hyper-real and surreal and unreal all at the same time. You make a space that doesn't really exist. One of the big joys of being in this line of work is building the recorded versions of the songs.”

Real Bigs Joy Song Lines Space Records Building Versions Cinema Construction Surreal Unreal Hyper

Author:Will Oldham

“For a long time I've walked through this world with the desire, like in Rear Window, to look into other people's lives because I know that there is a way in which I am the same as so many of the strangers that I see.”

People Knows World Way Looks Long Desire This World Long Time Window Stranger Rear Window

Author:Will Oldham

“My hope has always been that each record could have its own audience. Of course, it's awesome to have a cumulative audience for more than one record, but I like the idea that there could be a record that an individual might like.”

Ideas Might Courses Individual Audience Records Cumulative

Author:Will Oldham

“I think most great actors have their own life trajectory, the character motion doesn't have anything to do with their life motion.”

Thinking Character Actors Great Actors Trajectory

Author:Will Oldham

“If I give a little hint or clue as to where my voice could be going, that would [be] read. Because people can listen closely, you know, you can sit with headphones or you just concentrate on music, you can just hear, sometimes, the desires of the voice itself.”

People Ifs Knows Giving Littles Sometimes Would Be Desire Voice Clue Hints Headphones

Author:Will Oldham

“It's definitely important to be open enough to seize an opportunity when the opportunity is there.”

Important Enough Opportunity

Author:Will Oldham

“To sing with other people and for other people, that's when you can really learn something about your voice. You can only learn so much if you create your own boundaries all the time. But then, other people can really teach you something. You know, if you're trying to sing with them, or if someone brings a style.”

People Ifs Knows Trying Voice Teach Style Boundaries

Author:Will Oldham

“I feel much more physically connected to my voice, and I like the physicality of the voice, and how the voice can physically occupy a song.”

Feels Song Voice Connected Physicality

Author:Will Oldham

“I gathered all the different Peel Sessions recordings together - I did six or seven of them over the years - and listened to all of them. These definitely have at least a superficial relationship to each other because they're all very spare.”

Years Different Together Six Seven Spares Superficial Session

Author:Will Oldham

“The less people present in an urgent situation that a moderately high stakes recording session can create - the less people there are in the room - the more openness there can be. These songs share that as well, in addition to just the obvious, basic starkness.”

People Wells Song Rooms Situation Share Obvious Openness Stakes Session Urgent

Author:Will Oldham

“I still make music. I still write music and I record music, I just don't trust music promotion [and] distribution right now enough to record a new set of diligently worked-upon compositions. I do trust the audience and the audiences very much.”

Writing Stills Enough Audience Records Right Now Composition Distribution Promotion Don't Trust

Author:Will Oldham

About the Author

Born: January 15, 1970
Known for: Singer-songwriter
Quotes: 93

Related Topics

Thinking People Song Records Feels Ifs Want Kind Knows Writing

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Songs of Love and Horror: Collected Lyrics of Will OldhamRelated source material

Will Oldham on BonnieRelated source material

Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" BillyRelated source material

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