Sarah McLachlan

I like the idea that we build up these walls or rules or laws to maintain our reality, and when they fall away, you're left with a whole bunch of illusions.

The first gig we ever played was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I'm from. I was in a band called the October Game, and we opened up for a Vancouver band.

There are women in every genre having a lot of success. Why not celebrate that?

I feel like I really tapped into a pretty honest emotional place for myself as a lyricist. There's a broad spectrum of emotions.

I've never dieted in my life; I like food too much. I'm just thoughtful about what I eat, and I'm lucky that I love the taste of vegetables. I'm certainly not 'actress skinny,' and I never will be. I'm strong, and my body works great for me.

I'd much rather be in the expanse of the wilderness because it feels like part of my world. It's a unique perspective. You're this tiny speck in a huge environment, and it's nice to be reminded of that.

Running is very rhythmic, and I have written a lot of lyrics while out running. It's a very musical exercise, and sometimes I like to sing when I run. Your whole body is doing the same thing.

Surfing is my passion because I love being active on the water.

We are in an age of technology where we sit in our little cubicles and we IM each other and Skype each other and never connect as human beings.

Half the bloody world is going through a divorce; more than that are having children. All of us have parents who are dying or have died. It's just the life cycle.

There's nothing particularly unique about my experiences except that they're my experiences.

With every record I put out, I got a bit more success, a bigger following in cities I would play in, and occasionally a bit of radio play.

It's all kind of a big illusion: the white picket fence and the perfect marriage and the kids. Check that box off, check that box off, and move forward.

On becoming a mother, I sort of feel like every kid is my kid. I really do get that sense in a much more profound way that we all are a global community and we all have to band to try and give the children of our this generation whatever tools we can to go out into this world and try and make it a better place.

Music gave me a sense that I was worthwhile and that I had something of value to offer the world even though everybody was telling me that I didn't.

When I say music saved me, I don't say that lightly.

I'm a great mummy. I've mapped out all the fun spots in every city.

I don't court paparazzi. I definitely don't like that part of it.

I'm not one to sit and wallow - I would rather figure out a way around so I can move past it and be at peace with things. I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.

Coming to terms with the fact that my marriage was a failure was devastating and very difficult.

When I sing, it's just... comfort is a stupid word, but it is.

I'll talk to any stranger about everything. I'm not guarded.

I would love to make my music and be completely anonymous, but that doesn't work. You can't have success and be faceless.

Having the opportunity to express myself through music has been extremely cathartic for me my entire life.

I'm not online. I'm not on Facebook much. I don't connect that way.

I think... I'm perceived as an everyperson. There is no pedestal. I'm no different from anybody else.

I have the ability, no matter what's going on in my life, to find something - my cup is always half full.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I want to give 100 percent to everything.

There's no reason for anybody to jump out of bushes to take pictures of me. I'm not doing anything exciting.

I can look back over my earlier music, and it takes me back to the place I was emotionally.

My music and my lyrics are essentially emotional postcards.

In a sense, I'm always hearing music of some sort, whether it's people talking or surface noise or whatever, because there is no privacy. So when I'm by myself, I just kind of like to be and reflect, and I can't do that when I'm listening to music. Because it's someone else's reflections, not mine.

When you're making music or playing a song, I find the moments when there are no instruments being played even stronger than when they are being played. Because they add tension. It's also an ego-less thing - a place where you have no ego - when you're with a bunch of musicians who stop and listen instead.

I spent a lot of years on the road, and what happens is you find out who your real friends are and you find out where your strengths and weaknesses lie in communication. I've had the same friends for 20 years now and I can count them on one hand.

I was put out there as a spokesperson for the new feminist revolution. It was very difficult because I was either too feminist or not feminist enough, depending on who you spoke to.

I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.

Coming to terms with the fact that my marriage was a failure was devastating and very difficult. I blamed myself for a lot of things. It took me a very long time to get over it.

The darker and the sadder the song, the happier it makes me feel. It's just this, ah. I'm in the moment. I'm part of this beautiful world, and it's fantastic, and I don't really know how else to describe it.

I've been a fan of old country music, like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline. I think I'm drawn to it because of the sense of sadness and sort of loss that a lot of good old country music has.

For me, that's one of the best validations as an artist. To have a stranger come up to you and say that something you've created and put out there in the world has had some sort of impact on other people's lives.

If I had to pick one song for me that sort of quintessentially summed me up, it would be 'Angel.' Without fail, I absolutely love singing it.

I'll answer anything... I'm brutally honest, actually, which gets me in trouble.

A big part of my love and passion for making music is playing it live.

Music is very nebulous, and you can conjure up a lot of moods with music. But lyrics - they're a lot more tangible. They're much more specific. And you want to say something meaningful and creative and artistic and that tells a story and that takes people someplace else.

I was very awkward as a kid. I was a square trying to fit into a circle and it never worked for me. The harder I tried, the harder I fell. For some reason I was a real target and I got beat up and called names.

I sort of feel like music saved my life when I was young. This is the one thing that I knew I was good at.

I play piano every day.

I kind of have a happy magnet. I can't stand being depressed, so I work my ass off to get out of it as soon as possible.

I go out on the road for much longer than I probably should and lose more of myself than I should.

I don't think about what other people want from me.