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" I see some recurring themes: things that feel threaded together, some symbolic references, and songs about some of the big questions, like death. There are a lot of references to weather, too! "

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" I mentioned that I received a scholarship to Episcopalian school, and the model for the school was 'From each according to his or her ability and to each according to his or her need.' And it's something that is still really important to me in thinking about how I prioritize what I do with my life. "

Tracy Chapman

School

Her

My Life

" I decided to do whatever I could to make sure the business side of music didn't intrude on the creative part. "

" With other people, you're always swapping music. Somebody is always listening to something you've never heard. It's a great way to hear all sorts of new things. "

" I think of the audience the way I would think of another person: You meet someone, then you take it from there; you see what's interesting to both of you. "

" So much has happened to obscure the dialogue about race and about gender and discrimination in general, especially where those things touch on economics. "

" Love's a recurring theme through my work. "

" I love living in California and being able to go to the beach or go to the woods. "

" There have been some gains made in terms of more equality for women in the workplace and in the way the legal system deals with issues of violence against women. "

" It all comes together. It's - that's the way it's always worked for me with songwriting. "

Tracy Chapman

Always

Way

" What does the future look like if the heads of society ask our young people to risk their lives for questionable causes? I think it looks rather bleak. "

" I don't know - I'm not sure about anything as far as religion and spirituality go. "

" As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library. "

" I never assumed I would have that commercial success, so it was a total surprise. And honestly, I never assumed that it would ever happen again. "

" You have to pay attention to the moment and make it the best it can be for you. I've been trying to do that. It's really made a major difference for me. I'm a happier person. "

Tracy Chapman

Best

Attention

" The way popular music is categorized and formatted cuts down on everyone's options. And although people don't talk about it, there are a lot of issues of race determining musical categories of what's rock, R&B, or even folk. It ends up restricting creativity. "

" I found myself in the middle of a race riot when I was about 14 years old, and I found someone pointing a gun at me and telling me to run or they'd shoot me. "

Tracy Chapman

Run

Gun

" When you feel like you've had a good show, you go backstage and you talk to yourself about it, and if you have a bad show you talk to yourself about it. "

" Stand up for yourself and fight for your right to be the artist that you want to be. There's plenty of pressure from outside; people tell you how to dress and how to sing or what to sing, but I always felt like if I'm going to fail or succeed, I want to do it on my own terms. "

" My older sister encouraged me from early on and bought me one of the first guitars I had. She listened to all of the crappy songs that I wrote when I was 8 years old and encouraged me to keep doing it. "

Tracy Chapman

Doing

Early

" I meet people in my daily life, people who seem to experience some change and some growth on a personal level, and that gives me hope. "

" There's a time and place for everything, and my focus is music. So that's what I prefer to spend most of my time doing, and not talk about making music. "

" I started playing and writing songs when I was eight. "

" I had a ukulele when I was much younger. I have no idea what happened to it but I think that was part of it, just being inspired and wanting to try to play an instrument that, to me, sounded beautiful. "

Tracy Chapman

Play

Think

" After it's finished, sometimes I can trace a path that goes back to the possible source of inspiration. "

" I grew up with music in the house. I was told I could sing as soon as I started talking. Everybody in my family sang, always lots of records, blues and jazz and soul, R&B, you know, like Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Coltrane, that kind of thing. "

" Growing up in Cleveland, I learned about singing from my mother, who had once sung professionally and who admired Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin. "

" I'm not sure about anything as far as religion and spirituality go. "

Tracy Chapman

Far

About

" I was raised in a Baptist tradition, but then I went to an Episcopalian high school, and they were very accepting of people of all faiths. "

" That's what everyone should do with their lives: stand up for what they believe in or try to do some good in the world. I don't think artists have a greater responsibility than anyone else. "

" I won't get into it any more than to say that there are parts of me in all the songs that I write. "

Tracy Chapman

Write

Than