Rufus Wainwright Quotes & Sayings

I don't know if it will be my big comeback, but I think it is a statement - that I am a self-sustaining, vibrant, long-term artist, and I'm not going away! And if you don't give me credit, then the musical gods will! — Rufus Wainwright

My mother had a lot of parties when I was a child. There'd always be a moment when she would place me on the upright piano and have me sing Somewhere 'Over the Rainbow'. — Rufus Wainwright

The operas I listen to aren't in English, and I want to listen to my opera after I'm done with it. I want to have the desire to play it on the stereo. To me, the language is part of the mystery. — Rufus Wainwright

I have an ounce of Lady Gaga's full-bodied ambition. — Rufus Wainwright

I was keenly aware that I didn't want to draw on too many typically doomed aspects of the fated singer. Whether it's Judy Garland or Norma Desmond, there is this tragic quality to older women that one can revel in, and you want it to be more three-dimensional than that. So it was important for the character to be strong and resilient, because there are so many victims in opera. — Rufus Wainwright

Looking back, one of the things I love most about my mom was that she never, ever relented. She stuck to her guns right up until the end. She wasn't abusive, but she was never that thrilled that I was gay. — Rufus Wainwright

Certainly in terms of my life - anybody's life - you go through death, childbirth and marriage, glory and defeat, and so on. — Rufus Wainwright

The artist who gave me the most inspiration and direction, especially as a singer - and I absolutely consider myself a singer, 100 percent - is Nina Simone. She's my ultimate pianist-singer-type person. — Rufus Wainwright

I'd be hanging out in my bathrobe all day, stinky, just writing, and my mom allowed me to do this-as long as I was writing songs. She said, 'As long as you're seriously working on music, I'll support you. Don't get a job, because if you work, it will crush you. — Rufus Wainwright

One of the main destructive forces within our family has been these runaway egos. I think if you look at any show business family, that struggle exists. — Rufus Wainwright

I should write a musical. That is probably one of the final areas that I should pay attention to, because it does kind of involve everything. It's got theatre, it's got young, pretty people ... And it's got money! — Rufus Wainwright

Well, my great lesson with that was I went to the same production twice - once completely high and once completely sober - and both times were equally wonderful. — Rufus Wainwright

I'm very much a romantic. I'm highly attuned to an older sensibility, which I believe is alive and well. We're not that far ahead of the Romantic Age in society. — Rufus Wainwright

I'm not born again, I'm not Kabbalah, God forbid, but I did have an experience hitting 30 that I needed to lean on something that assured me that everything is going to be okay. I had to regain a lot of my belief in fairy tales, in happy endings. — Rufus Wainwright

Musically I'm able to keep going, because it's not about money and it's not about success. It's a challenge. — Rufus Wainwright

But I want to deepen as an artist, and working with Shakespeare definitely points in that direction. — Rufus Wainwright

Unless I have my aunt or my boyfriend to take care of me, I'm a little pathetic. — Rufus Wainwright

There is this church that I go to a lot in New York. I'm not religious but I love lighting candles and stuff. I find it useful. — Rufus Wainwright

I've been thinking of trying my hand at rap. I've been recording snippets on my BlackBerry. — Rufus Wainwright

I do not consider myself a guitar player. My father is a guitar player - I'm not. — Rufus Wainwright

I'm your knight in shining armor. I'm here to save you from Linkin Park. — Rufus Wainwright

I like to sing to Verdi, I like singing to Sibelius, and Mahler maybe. — Rufus Wainwright

I've always gravitated towards opera, and the Royal Opera House is quite possibly the greatest opera house on earth. — Rufus Wainwright

In the music business, to survive for so long, you have to be able to cut off from your emotions sometimes. And being a father, you're faced with that situation. I know that my father was, with me. I understand why he had to be distant, because to rip yourself away, time after time, is almost more devastating. — Rufus Wainwright

I'm definitely a fan of juxtaposition. Using the most beautiful line to say the most horrific thing - I think one of the main things in songwriting is definitely friction between the words and the melody. — Rufus Wainwright

But I don't even think you hear me at all Under your medieval ceiling behind your biblical wall — Rufus Wainwright

Climate change has always been sort of my main focus. I think also with [what happened in Fukushima, Japan] there's still a lot to think about in terms of what's coming down the pike into the world's oceans, too. — Rufus Wainwright

I have managed to eke out a good and substantial existence. I'm not shoveling gold bricks or anything, but I do very, very well. — Rufus Wainwright

These are just the rules and regulations Of the birds, and the bees The earth, and the trees, Not to mention the gods, not to mention the gods. — Rufus Wainwright

To me, songs come of their own volition - and with an open-ended philosophy. — Rufus Wainwright

Arguably, the relationship between Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland is one of the great mother-daughter sagas of all time. Certainly, for certain people, and a lot of them, Liza is the bigger star. Liza is the more kind of viable legend, shall we say. Then there's the other camp, where Judy is the one. — Rufus Wainwright

There's no life without humour. It can make the wonderful moments of life truly glorious, and it can make tragic moments bearable. — Rufus Wainwright

What I love about my daughter is that she is going to definitely allow me and force me to change my life and slow down and make it more about the real things in the world. — Rufus Wainwright

I'm 33 and in my "Jesus year," and I want it all right now. I want a perfect body. I want to have a perfect love affair. I want every member of my family to be healthy and happy. And I want the world to save itself and for America to realize that it has to give up its idea of being an empire. Wait until I hit 40; then it'll all come crumbling down. — Rufus Wainwright

The Germany I was enthused with was more old fashioned and kind of romantic. I just got there, and the next thing you know, I had this huge gilded album. It was kind of an amazing experience because I didn't intend it to be that way. — Rufus Wainwright

I made the decision to take on board the critical feedback. Reviews are something you can easily ignore as a performer or writer but I chose to not ignore them here and I think that I benefited. I think I'm stronger for it - and I have a tougher skin as a result. — Rufus Wainwright

You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' Well, in my case, I got there by not practising. I didn't finish my music degree. And when I got into the pop world, I decided not to conform because I figured that the point of being an artist was that you shouldn't be like anyone else. — Rufus Wainwright

Crazy as it sounds, I'm a believer in destiny and serendipity, and I have had cosmic experiences all my life. Something told me I was meant for greater stuff. And look, I've had a baby! And I've written an opera! — Rufus Wainwright

My greatest experiences in the theatre and the most religious experiences in my life - of which going to the opera is one for me - have been with the Romantic composers' repertoire: it's Wagner, it's Strauss, Verdi, Puccini. That era gets me every time. — Rufus Wainwright

Putting all of my time In learning to care And a bucket of rhymes I threw up somewhere Want a locket of who Made me lose my perfunctory view Of all that is around And of all that I do. — Rufus Wainwright

I am undefinable. I don't fit into any particular category. — Rufus Wainwright

Wouldn't Ponochio II be a great musical, now that he has to face the real world and get a wife ... job. Now he wants to be a toy again. — Rufus Wainwright

I don't want to hold you and feel so helpless I don't want to smell you and lose my senses And smile in slow motion With eyes in love. — Rufus Wainwright

Once you've fallen from classical virtue, won't have a soul for to wake up and hold you. — Rufus Wainwright

I wish I could just relax sometimes and make some money, but I always feel like I have to prove some kind of big, profound point. — Rufus Wainwright

I definitely have a Luddite's approach to what's going on. I find that as I get older, I get stupider. — Rufus Wainwright

Madonna created a monster that sucks up souls. — Rufus Wainwright

Being with the president's daughter, no matter who the president is, you are connected to the most powerful political force on earth, and that's scary. And when you mix crystal meth and alcohol with that, it's ... kind of exciting. A little too exciting. — Rufus Wainwright

And you will believe in love And all that it's supposed to be But just until the fish start to smell And you're struck down by a hammer. — Rufus Wainwright

I could always escape into this demi-monde of homosexuality, which I feel really indebted to. It stopped me being a 'mummy's boy.' — Rufus Wainwright

Being uncool is being pretty much the coolest you can be. — Rufus Wainwright

My cheeks explode when I smile. That's why I have to look so nonplussed. — Rufus Wainwright

I don't really have a relationship with the guitar; it's like my slutty lover, whereas I'm married to the piano — Rufus Wainwright

I think everybody identified at a pretty young age that I was fairly entranced with myself. And that I had to be tempered. — Rufus Wainwright

It's about how whenever I fall in love, I have these expectations of the experience being a perfect dream, which, of course, ruins it. I imagine cradling my lover's head in my lap in a cab in the middle of the night, and drinking champagne in an elegant hotel suite. But life's rarely like that, and I usually end up walking home by myself in the rain. — Rufus Wainwright

For me, the iPhone is harder than reading Faust. — Rufus Wainwright

I think I've done a pretty fantastic job, but of course I want to sell millions of records. — Rufus Wainwright

Why be in music, why write songs, if you can't use them to explore life or an idealized vision of life? I believe a lot of our lives are spent asleep, and what I've been trying to do is hold on to those moments when a little spark cuts through the fog and nudges you. — Rufus Wainwright

The moment something happens to one you love, it's twenty times more intense. You experience pain and enlightenment on a much vaster scale. — Rufus Wainwright

That will to love is very powerful. But it doesn't always win. — Rufus Wainwright

I personally don't have the ability to lie about my life, for better or for worse. — Rufus Wainwright

I'll be honest, I worry sometimes about what I've done. I have tied my whole person to my art and, whatever it takes to get that hook, I will go there and do it. — Rufus Wainwright

I like to try new things. — Rufus Wainwright

Growing up, for years and years I had no idea what the plots of operas were, and that's part of what fascinated me - I could make them up and learn bits and pieces of what was going on over time. There's something about it being always a step away that makes it more fun to chase. — Rufus Wainwright

I have a lot of advantages: I'm not addicted to horrifying pills. I also have surrounded myself with far more caring and upright individuals. And I wasn't abused as a child, so I'm doing okay! — Rufus Wainwright

I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy Garland. And when I started out, I was a little nuts. I thought I was a classic, legendary superstar when only 10 people knew who I was. I feel in some ways that my confidence is misinterpreted as arrogance, which is understandable. But I've also always thought that false modesty is evil. — Rufus Wainwright

I've written songs for Shirley Bassey, Marianne Faithfull, and Linda Thompson. I sort of focus on these wonderful, aging divas. But maybe that's because I think I'm Christina Aguilera. — Rufus Wainwright

I love being not cool. — Rufus Wainwright

When it came to using elements of your personal life in your work, my mother was the master, or the mistress. There were three or four songs she wrote about my father - songs about failed love. — Rufus Wainwright

There's prejudice everywhere. I don't think the music industry is as bad as the movie industry. But I have taken a few hits over the years for my sexuality, and for being honest about my life. In the end, it's the music that rules the roost. — Rufus Wainwright

I've had my ups and downs, and I definitely have a sense - in America, especially - that once you've made your mark and gotten your Rolling Stone piece and your Grammy nomination, that they're on to the next piece of meat, and they don't necessarily like to follow the twists and turns of an artistic career. — Rufus Wainwright

I think my imagination and my passions are still firing away, but it's really the body that starts to make up the rules. It's not a major problem; it's just when you get a little older you realize how much your body thanks you when you are good to it. — Rufus Wainwright

If I had had more of a strategic attitude towards how to reveal my sexuality, and if I'd even played with it a little more, I could have sold a lot more albums and been a lot more famous. — Rufus Wainwright

The song is about knowing the end result of every situation you're in, and being able to play it out in your mind and see it before it happens. It's about addiction, really, about knowing how it's all going to end up. In that sense, you're watching a movie of yourself all the time - and then you want out of that movie. — Rufus Wainwright

Somebody curse the light And take me far away from myself — Rufus Wainwright

In the present world, this technological, psychotic, politicised, nonsensical world, you have to believe that the good guys are going to win! That evil will be banished somehow! — Rufus Wainwright

I still believe that love is the most powerful force in the world, even though I am yet to experience it fully. — Rufus Wainwright

When I was signed, at the age of 23 ... the fact that I presented myself as an out gay man was very, very unusual. — Rufus Wainwright

I very much faced my mother's death with hard, arduous and time-consuming labor. The more I would do, the less I would feel. — Rufus Wainwright

I like to make the mundane fabulous whenever I can. — Rufus Wainwright

For better or worse, I've always been curious musically. Whether it's opera or Judy Garland or pop, I've deliberately sought those things out. I've never wanted to do the same things over and over. Some think I've accomplished what I set out to do, and others consider me a dilettante. — Rufus Wainwright

My mother and father could not handle even me being gay. We never talked about it, really. — Rufus Wainwright

And I am left behind Corrupted crushed and blind All for a dream That in truth was never really mine. — Rufus Wainwright

I've paid the price; I definitely have a reputation that precedes me, and there is a camp that plots my demise. But then again ... it's funner that way. — Rufus Wainwright

I'll always be a boulevardier. I have an extreme reverence and romantic longing for all that is decrepit and fatalistic. — Rufus Wainwright

I knew I was gay when I was around 13. There wasn't the internet, there weren't support groups, AIDS was everywhere. I mean, it was really dark. — Rufus Wainwright

All these poses of classical torture ruined my mind like a snake in the orchard. I did go from wanting to be someone, now I'm drunk and wearing flip-flops on Fifth Avenue. — Rufus Wainwright

I came out of the closet very young, and I had to cut my teeth pretty fast. — Rufus Wainwright

I just think it's better to have ideas. I mean, you can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier, people die for them, people kill for them. — Rufus Wainwright

I think we could all be a bit more elitist. — Rufus Wainwright

I strive for what you do find in Shakespeare's work - that there is a definite humanity and a definite character behind the writing in the sonnets, and it's very real because it's so deeply personal. I try to aspire to that in what I do. — Rufus Wainwright

I've developed into quite a swan. I'm one of those people that will probably look better and better as I get older - until I drop dead of beauty. — Rufus Wainwright

I am regarded as a usurper, as an imposter and dilettante, because I do technically come from the wrong side of the tracks in musical terms. — Rufus Wainwright

Life is a game and true love is a trophy. — Rufus Wainwright

My love of classical hit pretty early. I was 13 when it occurred, and that was really the only music I listened to for many, many years. I went to a conservatory, but I always knew I would be in the pop world, because A) it was more fun and B) you didn't have to practice as much and you could go out more. But I immediately saw this opportunity to inject my material with these sounds that most members of my generation really didn't know about, so it was a great way to differentiate myself from the pack. — Rufus Wainwright

Every video I do is over budget by the time I walk on set. I am massively extravagant in my personal habits. — Rufus Wainwright

I have a good face for what I do. — Rufus Wainwright

Let the little fairy in you fly! — Rufus Wainwright

Opera needs to be a total escape from real life. To relate to what we're going through today is fine and dandy, but it's really about being transported and completely swept away by a romantic notion. — Rufus Wainwright

Mowing your lawn is against nature. — Rufus Wainwright