Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction.

I don't really get shaken very much. People could heckle me a spotlight could go out I could forget a lyric... I'm not operating on somebody's brain you know what I mean? So I just think it's all funny.

I like reading Ball Tongue lyrics and all that stuff. And they published a book and I wouldn't give my lyrics and it's all wrong in the book and I giggle. It's funny.

The fact that The Bridge contains folk lore and other material suitable to the epic form need not therefore prove its failure as a long lyric poem with interrelated sections.

I rate Morrissey as one of the best lyricists in Britain. For me he's up there with Bryan Ferry.

Of the individual poems some are more lyric and some are more descriptive or narrative. Each poem is fixed in a moment. All those moments written or read together take on the movement and architecture of a narrative.

I guess lyrically they're similar because they're talking about escaping the kind of misery that likes company. 'The Last One Alive ' for me is very simple. It's just about alienation really that causes anger.

When I was younger I was terrified to express anger because it would often kick-start a horrible reaction in the men in my life. So I bit my tongue. I was left to painstakingly deal with the aftermath of my avoidance later in life in therapy or through the lyrics of my songs.

Music should probably provide answers in terms of lyrical content and giving people a sense of togetherness and oneness as opposed to being alone in their thoughts and dilemmas or regrets or happiness or whatever.

I try to write lyrics so that they won't age which sort of leaves you with the big subjects like death and love and sex and violence.