Sara Bareilles Quotes

Or you can just start speaking up...

-Brave

Does anybody know how to hold my heart
How to hold my heart?
'Cause I don't want to let go, let go, let go too soon
I want to tell you so before the sun goes dark
How to hold my heart
'Cause I don't want to let go, let go, let go of you

I'm of the ilk of writers that feels you have to be open to the inspiration.

But you neither friend nor foe, though I can't seem to let you go, the one thing that I still know is that your keeping me DOWN!

I'm starting to believe in the power of a name. Because it can't be a mistake if I just call it 'change.'

Always be chasing the sun. All we can do, is try, and live like we're still alive.

I have been influenced by many different artists at many different stages of my life. Starting out, it was people like Elton John, Billy Joel, Ben Folds, and Fiona Apple. As I got older I got deeper into the work of bands like the Beatles, artists like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Etta James, and Joni Mitchell.

I know that I'm very susceptible to getting caught up in storylines like, "I want him to be different. I want him to be more open. I want him to call." We have all of these storylines that kind of take over sometimes, and I think there's real grace and a peaceful heart at the center of just accepting what is, and knowing that everything's OK. The good, the bad, the ugly, the pain, the hurt, the frustration - all of that is valuable and part of this human experience, so we should lean in to all of it.

It'd be a shame to stop now that I've started to make really good mistakes

I'd like to think I could physically manage doing that, but I don't think it feels authentic to the kind of performer that I am. I think that, for me, being stationary and just sort of singing the songs seems to be the most connected and authentic expression for me on stage.

The earliest issue I can remember going through was body image issues. I was a chubby little kid and I got made fun of for it. I dealt with horrible, horrible self esteem issues, and I still struggle with that. I think it's what taught me a lot of empathy and compassion, though, but there are those days where I look in the mirror and I still see twelve year old fat Sara.

I don't like karaoke very much. I like being around it, but I don't like singing it. If I had to sing a karaoke song, it's usually "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield.

Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one these days you can let the light in
Show me ... how BIG your BRAVE is!

I'm grateful to have the chance to be inspired by the incredible artists that are out there.

At the end of the day, the only thing I ever wanted to feel was loved. So I think if I could give someone a piece of advice, it's really learn how to be kind to yourself. In all of our ugliness and all of our brokenness and our bad choices, to really learn to nurture that part of yourself that can be your own big sister in a way.

There's really no "bad" people; there's just humans who are doing the best they can to figure life out. It's hard! We can all relate to that.

My proudest moment of my career was opening night in Cambridge and watching the cast take their curtain call. No one was looking at me, and I was floating off the ground. It was just euphoric.

True bravery is being exactly who you are, imperfections included. Vulnerability is the most precious gift you can give.

So how do you do it, with just words and just music, capture the feeling that my Earth is somebody's ceiling?

Where we learned we could make each other laugh, and sometimes that's all you need to know about a person to know that being friends is a good idea.

I think that's my hope for a lot of the feminist movement is that the gender thing sort of stops being the selling point, if that makes any sense. We're just people making art, and that's how this process has felt to me.

You are exactly where you belong, and your tender heart is precious.

I'm somebody who grew up listening to a lot of musical theater, so getting to finally write musical theater songs and songs that sound that way - the emphasis being on the storytelling, but the arrangements and the orchestrations can be really varied - I found that to be, actually, a really joyful discovery.

My earth is somebody's ceiling

I was a fat girl growing up and had to change schools because kids were so mean.

I think I'm someone who is really prone to melancholy, and the super heavy, thick shows kind of spiral me out into not being able to be as happy a person as I think I deserve to be, so I tend to watch things like 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Anything Tina Fey's involved in. And Parks and Rec. I love comedies!

It's so easy to just rip someone's work apart.

I would like to look back on my body of work and be proud of each record in its own right, but as a whole, I want to continue to grow and move forward.

You can be amazing, you can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

I definitely get a little antsy when I haven't had a good fix!

I was struck by what kept her in place, her fear of hurting him. It reminded me of my own darkest moments, waking up one day, looking around, and not recognizing your own self, because you have given too much of that away.

You are trying your best to make sense of a whole new world and a whole new self. It's scary to take steps towards independence and I wish I could help you feel softer towards yourself while you explore what that actually means. The dynamic nature of your experience right now is completely normal and those high highs and low lows are a ride that you will get used to and learn to appreciate. I know you are overwhelmed by your own emotions a lot these days , and that makes you angry with yourself. But a bird's eye view shows that there is a bottleneck building up, shepherding you toward your own discovery of songwriting as a part of your essence, not just a hobby. And you aren't alone. You are about to find a maze of people who share a love of the thing that will be your lifeboat: music.

The melancholy that cracked open that night would eventually become something I'm deeply fond of, but we never know which monsters under the bed will become our friends, do we?

I love the morning time. There's something about having the day in front of you.

I'm never gonna be somebody who's gonna fall down from the sky on a trapeze. That's not me. I really want to make sure that my focus stays on connecting with the audience.

If I get frustrated, the first thing I'll do is get up from the piano - completely mindlessly - and walk over to the cupboard and pull out something salty to eat.

I think I have some anger-management issues, and they end up coming out in these passive-aggressive songs that sound happy.

I have been very fortunate to be a part of tours with other artists that have exposed me to new places that I've never been before. Once you discover something beautiful, you just want to keep coming back.

I think it's one of those things about live performance - anything goes, anything can happen, and you have to just be ready and able to roll with the punches.

Just speak your truth, it's an important cornerstone of how your life ends up sort of unfolding in front of you. Even if it's painful, if it's honest, it's going to bring you to the place you deserve to be.

If you take your fear and mash it into something that's actually useful, then it doesn't feel like it wins.

When I look back, I was so mean to myself, and I was so uncomfortable in my own skin. I still feel that very loudly sometimes, but to try and really nurture that sense that you are your own friend.

My emotional hangover was thick and thorny and I felt antsy, wanting to crawl out of my own skin. I had hoped I would sleep off those weird, crazy feelings and wake up "normal," but my melancholy was everywhere and I couldn't pretend otherwise.

All the colors
Of the rainbow
Hidden 'neath my skin
Hearts have colors
Don't we all know?
Red runs through our veins
Feel the fire burning up
Inspire me with blood
Of blue and green
I have hope
Inside is not a heart
But a kaleidoscope

The women in my family are all super-emotional. The catchphrase in our family is 'Listen to my words, not my tears.'

So you dare tell me who to be

One of the wonderful ways to celebrate women is to hire women.

The struggle is to stay present enough when you're taking your next step forward that you're really making your most honest choices.

And if you say we'll be alright
I'm gonna trust you, babe
I'm gonna look in your eyes
And if you say we'll be alright
I'll follow you into the light

I have a tendency when I feel myself getting stuck, my impulse is to go to my cupboard and find chips to eat.

Surrender is a healing sentiment to return to.

You are overwhelmed and haven't learned to be your own friend through this yet. You will. Your fear of jumping without a net is so valid, and the trick that you haven't learned yet is that that's life, always and everywhere. There are no nets. Life is a big, long free fall, and the sooner you can embrace what is beautiful about that, the sooner you will start to enjoy the ride.

My hairstylist taught me a trick for my hair. You section off your hair and put them up in these crazy little knots and then it looks like you curled your hair. It's saved me so much time 'cause on the road you don't have time or plugs to plug your curling iron in.

There are so many wonderful classic roles, but I also would be really interested in developing something brand new. I think my heart would probably be in developing something brand new; I think that sounds really exciting.

Things evolve into other things. Emotions do the same. Forever. Your best ally in all of these shifting seas is your faith in the fact that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

All my life I've tried to make everybody happy while I just hurt and hide, waiting for someone to tell me it's my turn to decide.

I got really into rock - soft, romantic rock was my jam.

The most powerful place you can come from is just having a really deep knowing of who you are and what you want for yourself.

I certainly have dreams of being on a Broadway stage someday, if they'll have me. I think I want to stay really open to whatever possibilities present themselves.

You are learning empathy, and what it feels like to be left out. This is going to make you want to be the kind of person who makes room for people who feel like outsiders, and it's going to serve you well. It's going to guide you toward people who love you for who you are, so hang in there. Trust me that things are moving in the right direction.

Late night writing is also good, too, but in New York, you've got neighbors. I try to be a good neighbor.

Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out

In the morning it comes, heaven sent a hurricane
Not a trace of the sun but I don't even run from rain
Beating out of my chest, my heart is holding on to you
From the moment I knew
From the moment I knew

Love is blind, but when we close our eyes, we see with our hearts.

The music industry can feel wonderful, but it can also feel very cold.

My request was for courage. To turn and face the thing that scares you the most and do your best to stay there. I asked for honesty, which sometimes requires more strength than most things we do in our lives.

Time did what it always does: softened the hard edges

...we can choose to reflect the places we see the lack of love in the world, or we could try to be stronger than our weaknesses, and shine a light on something better. We were facing down our own personal Goliaths. I wanted to invite her to stand with me and try the radical act of simply staying put. To tell the truth and trust that whatever comes next is going to be okay.

Relax. Everyone is going to love you! Just get out of your own way.

I'm writing about emotions.

And so here we go bluebird,
Back to the sky on your own.
Oh, let him go bluebird,
Ready to fly,
You and I,
Here we go.
Here we go.