100 Quotes by Jens Lekman

Australia's beautiful, but I'm not too into Australian culture.

Sometimes you have to burn yourself to the ground before you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

My songs don't deal with locations that specifically, even if there are very specific references to them in there; they're sort of just where stories happen, not the stories themselves.

I'm very very happy for my hardships and misfortunes: they build character and make you a better person. Even if I think it's something you have to carry with you, it's definitely something that makes you more empathic towards other people, makes you understand people and relationships so much better.

My old songs used to take place in Gothenburg; then, when I lived in Melbourne, the songs just naturally took place more in Melbourne.

Every wedding is slightly different from the other. But you always get to meet the funny uncle and the weirdo relatives, and there's always someone trying to beat you up for not playing enough Beatles songs or something.

Once I release a song, it's not just about me or the people... I write about. They're my stories, but they're not really mine any more.

I don't like irony and sarcasm very much. But I do like it when you think someone is telling you a joke, and then you discover it's serious.

A lot of people would write to me long stories from their lives, and I felt they were thinking of me as some sort of treasure chest to keep their secrets. I felt like sometimes they would tell me stories they wouldn't tell anybody else in the whole world. And I loved these stories.