Alanis Morissette Quotes & Sayings

I hope that there is a very confused 14 year old girl out there who hears me speak or hears me sing and derives some sort of strength from that I heard that when I was 14 that's exactly what happened. — Alanis Morissette

All I can promise myself and everyone else is that this record is a snapshot of thisperiod in my life. It will be that by default. — Alanis Morissette

We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect. — Alanis Morissette

When I was producing on my own, I was doing it in order to - in a very patriarchal entertainment industry, let alone planet - very much hell-bent on trying to prove to myself, if nothing else, that I could do it as a woman. — Alanis Morissette

I was motivated by just thinking that if you had all this external success that everyone would love you and everything would be peaceful and wonderful. — Alanis Morissette

I love songs that are very autobiographical. — Alanis Morissette

There were a lot of people who were a little afraid of the rage or blaming stance I was taking, and find what I am doing now more refreshing. — Alanis Morissette

To me the biggest irony of this lifetime that I'm living is that for someone who thrives in the public eye in the creative ways that I do, I actually don't enjoy being in the public eye. — Alanis Morissette

I was extremely moved by the plight of Tsunami victims and I was inspired to try to make a difference. — Alanis Morissette

A lot of preconceived notions that I had about fame and status and money and joy and pain, and all of these things that I thought I knew, I didn't. — Alanis Morissette

I like to make pasta with puttanesca sauce and arugula salad. — Alanis Morissette

With songwriting I spend a lot of time living life, accruing all these experiences, journaling, and then by the time I get to the studio I'm teeming with the drive to write. — Alanis Morissette

It's like 10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife. — Alanis Morissette

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you When you think everything's okay and everything's going right And life has a funny way of helping you out when You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up In your face — Alanis Morissette

Getting married and starting a family has been a lifelong goal and one that I have persevered through different paths up to it! — Alanis Morissette

If I have taken part in anything perceived as the fame machine, it's been my choice. My motivations certainly have been different from some people's that I've worked with. But it's okay to work equally passionately for two different reasons. — Alanis Morissette

Writing the record for me - every record is almost a surprise. When people ask me, what are the themes you want to grapple with on this one? I have no idea until the record's finished. — Alanis Morissette

We live, in North America in general, if I'm given the indulgence of selling us down the river, in a culture of fear of this connective sense of spirit. — Alanis Morissette

Over the last couple of years, I've really worked toward balancing my life out more, having a little bit more time with friends, family and my boyfriend. There was a period of time when they were way down the list. It was all about music and touring and if everything fell by the wayside, so be it. — Alanis Morissette

Love is thick and it swallows me whole. — Alanis Morissette

When I was 11 years old and I was on a road trip with my family. I turned to my dad and said, "Do you believe in Adam and Eve?" And he said he didn't think so. I remember that felt like a slap in the face, because if my parents questioned Adam and Eve, then they potentially questioned everything within Catholicism. Eventually that idea led to my feeling liberated, but at that time it was very scary. — Alanis Morissette

America's a very traumatized society. — Alanis Morissette

When we think of digitally disconnecting and inviting presence into our lives, we are creating the conditions of integration within and between. — Alanis Morissette

In LA, where I live, it's all about perfectionism. Beauty is now defined by your bones sticking out of your decolletage. For that to be the standard is really perilous for women. — Alanis Morissette

It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me. — Alanis Morissette

In 1995, I was thrust into the role of reluctant, flag-waving feminist and emotionally-focused artist/advocate. — Alanis Morissette

I'm saying what a lot of people would want to say but are too embarrassed. — Alanis Morissette

In a perfect world, there would be no censorship, because there would be no judgement. I find the hypocritical aspect disconcerting, to say the least. We can show people being murdered on television, but I'm not able to say "chickenshit" in public. At the same time, I understand that people are afraid. Because I think censorship is about fear. It's just fear being projected onto art. — Alanis Morissette

I breastfeed and I'll be breastfeeding until my son is finished and he weans, — Alanis Morissette

To lie to yourself, and thereby to everyone else. — Alanis Morissette

I'm a bit of an alchemist sorceress. I've collected probably 1500 oils from around the planet over the last ten years. I'm kind of obsessed with the sensuality of it. — Alanis Morissette

I'm a liability to them - I'm a woman, I'm empowered, I'm an artist. I've had executives who can't come to my shows they're so scared of me. I've been a thorn in many people's sides just by existing. — Alanis Morissette

As long as I can say what it is that I need to say, then I'll fit whatever I'm trying to say around a melody. — Alanis Morissette

Then I realized that secrecy is actually to the detriment of my own peace of mind and self, and that I could still sustain my belief in privacy and be authentic and transparent at the same time. It was a pretty revelatory moment, and there's been a liberating force that's come from it. — Alanis Morissette

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time
Of being forever incomplete — Alanis Morissette

My main objective with every album is to capture a moment in time, which usually makes the whole process very relaxing. I only discover in retrospect when looking back at the songs how my life is going! — Alanis Morissette

What I wouldn't give to find a soul mate, someone else to catch this drift. — Alanis Morissette

I've been surrounded by a lot of people who felt that external success would result in them feeling good about themselves. But it just seems extremely unfulfilling to me. — Alanis Morissette

I try to keep a low profile in general. Not with my art, but just as a person. — Alanis Morissette

First I was 'angry,' then 'spiritual.' Now I don't know what I am. — Alanis Morissette

I think fame became exciting for me in the late '90s because I could actually use it as a means to an end. I could actually have it help me serve my vocationfulness. — Alanis Morissette

Only traumatised people want to be famous. — Alanis Morissette

I think a common misperception about attuning and tending to a child's needs so constantly is that they don't grow in their independence, but I think that the opposite is true. — Alanis Morissette

I'm a leave-the-bathroom-door-open nudist, which is sometimes disconcerting for my friends. — Alanis Morissette

In my life, anyway, anytime that I judge something to be rigidly right or wrong, it comes from fear. — Alanis Morissette

Canada has a passive-aggressive culture, with a lot of sarcasm and righteousness. That went with my weird messianic complex. The ego is a fascinating monster. I was taught from a young age that I had to serve, so that turned into me thinking I had to save the planet. — Alanis Morissette

I want to walk through life instead of being dragged through it. — Alanis Morissette

The truth of who we are is innate goodness, and the whole journey is really about removing any obstacle or false belief that keeps us from knowing that — Alanis Morissette

Your choice of armor was your intellect. — Alanis Morissette

Running has made being depressed impossible. If I'm going through something emotional and just go outside for a run, you can rest assured I'll come back with clarity. — Alanis Morissette

I happen to be lucky in that I knew what I wanted to do as far as a career since I was nine years old. — Alanis Morissette

The thing I always default to is that I'll always be here to write songs. — Alanis Morissette

Once I know who I'm not, then I'll know who I am. — Alanis Morissette

As an artist, there's a sweet, jump-starting quality to [marijuana] for me. I've often felt telepathic and receptive to inexplicable messages my whole life. I can stave those off when I'm not high. When I'm high - well, they come in and there's less of a veil, so to speak. So if ever I need some clarity, or a quantum leap in my own consciousness, or a quantum leap in terms of writing something or getting an answer, it's a quick way for me to get it. — Alanis Morissette

You are a worksmith and who cares for his brothers, whos not seduced by illusions or fair weather friends. — Alanis Morissette

No-strings relationships have helped cure me of love addiction. All my life I've been in long-term monogamous relationships. I had to break that pattern by not allowing myself to have a relationship for a year, stopping myself from committing to men. I haven't been celibate. I've had lots of dates and lots of sex, but I haven't been pushing to turn a date into a relationship. This has been a huge thing for me. — Alanis Morissette

My favourite pastime used to be sitting on a park bench watching people. But after 'Jagged Little Pill,' the eyeballs turned, and I was the watched one. — Alanis Morissette

And ultimately the people who produce my records, they know that they're here to serve the purpose of me expressing who I am at this period of time and augmenting that or pulling it forward and I love that process. — Alanis Morissette

I think some people think I'm a smarty-pants. Some people think I'm intense, some people think I'm super-esoteric and nuts. — Alanis Morissette

I'm lost, but I'm hopeful. — Alanis Morissette

At some point, I would like to write a book and other things, but I work best when there is some sort of deadline in my own mind, but not when fifty people or fifty million people are breathing down the back of my neck. — Alanis Morissette

Part of being famous is offering up this blank screen upon which people can project everything, and it's a sacred act, putting yourself out there, in a way that lots of celebrities aren't steeled for; they're not prepared for the degree to which people define them. — Alanis Morissette

What influenced me was Tori Amos, who was unapologetic about expressing anger through music, and Sinead O'Connor. Those two in particular were really moving for me, and very inspiring, before I wrote 'Jagged Little Pill.' — Alanis Morissette

These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was defenseless, and parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends. — Alanis Morissette

A feeling is not bottomless. once felt all the way through,a great peace greets you there — Alanis Morissette

I get angry at myself for staying in relationships way too long. — Alanis Morissette

It's not just the 'Grammys' that I've pulled out of. I also pulled out of the English awards as well. The reason that I wanted to pull out was because I believe very much that the music industry as a whole is mainly concerned with material success. — Alanis Morissette

Knowing that people make my songs their own is what keeps me going. — Alanis Morissette

I'm clearly most well known for my music. Eventually, ultimately, I'll be writing books. I'm still writing articles now. I just consider myself a writer. — Alanis Morissette

I think quite spiritually of myself. I feel like I'm here to support the human evolution. — Alanis Morissette

I can be in the worst PMS, Mercury in retrograde, most awful circumstance - and then if my girlfriends and I are giggling about it, everything's okay. — Alanis Morissette

There was a period of time during the 'Jagged Little Pill' era where I don't think I laughed for about two years. It was a survival mode, you know. It was an intense, constant, chronic over-stimulation and invasion of energetic and physical literal space. — Alanis Morissette

I saw music as a way to entertain people and take them away from their daily lives and put smiles on their faces, as opposed to what I see it being now, which is a way for me to actually communicate, and a way for me to tap into my subconscious. — Alanis Morissette

As a kid, I was listening to Aretha Franklin, Etta James and hip-hop as well as music my parents were listening to, like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. — Alanis Morissette

Typically I go in the studio and whatever I'm contemplating that day will wind up being a song. I don't come in with lyrics ... I just go in and let it happen. — Alanis Morissette

My parents offered me the idea of ceilinglessness. There was no limit in terms of what was possible; no messages sent to me to say that I couldn't do anything. — Alanis Morissette

I would not have discredited every one of their compliments. It was your approval I wanted, your congratulations. — Alanis Morissette

A brave action is often followed by grief. Do not let my resistance to grief stop the brave action. — Alanis Morissette

Peace of mind for five minutes, that's what I crave. — Alanis Morissette

Women are so powerful they're scary, and the incentive to squash this has been going on for so long that some of us actually believe we're subordinate. — Alanis Morissette

What part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept? What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget? — Alanis Morissette

Freedom lies at the heart of my willingness to lose everything — Alanis Morissette

What's that line from TS Eliot? To arrive at the place where you started, but to know it for the first time. I'm able to write about a breakup from a different place. Same brokenness. Same rock-bottom. But a little more informed, now I'm older. Thank God for growing up. — Alanis Morissette

For me, a life without expectation results in a life with inspiration. — Alanis Morissette

I could get away with not taking care of myself as a bachelorette but as a mom I can't. — Alanis Morissette

Infidelity is a deal breaker for me. I've broken up with people over it. You can't do monogamy 90 percent of the time. — Alanis Morissette

What an amazing and sacred place [Israel] to end the tour — Alanis Morissette

The thing you can't underestimate is the true fan's intimacy. So Lady Gaga or anybody's true fan, I don't think they're going anywhere. There are people who are into commitment. If they're connecting with an artist, I think they'll be there over the long course. — Alanis Morissette

They're different kinds of challenges depending upon what phase of life I'm in. — Alanis Morissette

I grew up in a very masculine environment. So I was around a lot of men, my brothers and their friends. There was just a lot of guys around. — Alanis Morissette

The whole celebrity thing is not something I'm overly interested in. I don't pop up at parties. It's just not my thing. — Alanis Morissette

Meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife — Alanis Morissette

I never regret anything I do. It's part of who I am now, and I like who I am now. — Alanis Morissette

I want to poke holes in the erroneous beliefs about what fame provides. It won't raise your self-esteem, it won't create profound connection, it's not going to heal your childhood traumas, it's only going to amplify them. You're going to be subject to a lot of criticism and praise, both of which are violent in their own ways. — Alanis Morissette

My own approach has always been to push intense emotions down and attempt to deal with them later. — Alanis Morissette

It's a joke to think that anyone is one thing. We're all such complex creatures. But if I'm going to be a poster child for anything, anger's a gorgeous emotion. It gets a bad rap, but it can make great changes happen. — Alanis Morissette

When I'm off the road, my husband and I recharge our batteries. It's a day of deep rest and connection with the spiritual, and that can be anything - going for a walk in nature, being in silence, burning incense. — Alanis Morissette

I make up new lyrics to well-known lullabies. Mostly because I don't actually know a lot of the lyrics. — Alanis Morissette

Every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back, I hope you feel it. — Alanis Morissette

I sabotage myself for fear of what my bigness could do. — Alanis Morissette