If you feel like singing along, don't.
James Taylor

If you think my music is sentimental and self-absorbed, I agree with you.
James Taylor

If you're an addict, it controls your life and your life becomes uncontrollable. It's boring and painful, filling your system with something that makes you stare at your shoes for six hours.
James Taylor

It is a process of discovery. It's being quiet enough and undisturbed enough for a period of time so that the songs can begin to sort of peek out, and you begin to have emotional experiences in a musical way.
James Taylor

It is the most delightful thing that ever happens to me, when I hear something coming out of my guitar and out of my mouth that wasn't there before.
James Taylor

It's hard to find a way forward. When you're 18 it happens in huge chunks every day, but after 20 years, growth is much more costly.
James Taylor

It's probably foolish to expect relationships to go on forever and to say that because something only lasts 10 years, it's a failure.
James Taylor

Knowing when to quit is probably a very important thing, but I just am not ready.
James Taylor

Music is like a huge release of tension.
James Taylor

Once you get that two-way energy thing going, everyone benefits hugely.
James Taylor

People should watch out for three things: avoid a major addiction, don't get so deeply into debt that it controls your life, and don't start a family before you're ready to settle down.
James Taylor

Sobering up was responsible for breaking up my marriage. That's what it couldn't stand.
James Taylor

Somehow it helps just to take something that's internal and externalize it, to see it in front of you.
James Taylor

That's the motivation of an artist - to seek attention of some kind.
James Taylor

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
James Taylor

There'll come a writing phase where you have to defend the time, unplug the phone and put in the hours to get it done.
James Taylor

Time will take your money, but money won't buy time.
James Taylor

We all have to face pain, and pain makes us grow.
James Taylor

When I cleaned up some 17 odd years ago, I felt terrible for about six months. The only thing that gave me any real relief was strenuous physical activity.
James Taylor

You have to choose whether to love yourself or not.
James Taylor