Quotes

I want to write songs that are so sad, the kind of sad where you take someone's little finger and break it in three places.

No one will ever be able to read a book by me, or see me in a film, or read about me robbing a bank without seeing me first as a rock singer.

It's an Australian thing to be dismissive. We find that endearing. Americans don't. They believe what you say.

There's only a certain amount of songs you can write about pussy, murder, and God. I still have a few left in me.

I am not interested in anything that doesn't have a genuine heart to it. You've got to have soul in the hole. If that isn't there, I don't see the point.

When I finish one thing, there is a pressing urge to do the next. At the moment it's threatening to cause a bit of disturbance. If you don't get your bag off the carousel in time, all the other bags start piling up behind.

[on working with Warren Ellis of 'The Bad Seeds'] I think I bring out something in Warren that he doesn't get on his own, and the same for me. I know that because of the difficulty that has always been for me to write songs. The process is very lonely. It was similar for music because I could never really tell, playing the chords on the piano, if the song was going to be great or just dead in the water when I showed it to the band. Now I have a kind of collaborator. It's just made the process so much more enjoyable and fruitful.

[on Morrissey] Whatever inanities he may postulate, we cannot overlook the fact that he has written a vast and extraordinary catalogue, which has enhanced the lives of his many fans beyond recognition. This is no small thing. He has created original and distinctive works of unparalleled beauty that will long outlast his offending political alliances.

Living in a state of enquiry, neutrality and uncertainty, beyond dogma and grand conviction, is good for the business of songwriting, and for my life in general. This is the reason I tend to become uncomfortable around all ideologies that brand themselves as 'the truth' or 'the way'. This not only includes most religions, but also atheism, radical bi-partisan politics or any system of thought, including 'woke' culture, that finds its energy in self-righteous belief and the suppression of contrary systems of thought. Regardless of the virtuous intentions of many woke issues, it is its lack of humility and the paternalistic and doctrinal sureness of its claims that repel me.

Cancel culture's refusal to engage with uncomfortable ideas has an asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society.

[on writing the score to Blonde (2022)] Working with Andrew Dominik is always a challenging, but ultimately mind-blowing experience. Creating the score for this terrifying and complex reimagining of the Marilyn Monroe story was no different, and, as always, it was a complete privilege to work with him. The darkest of films with a gorgeous spiritual score.

[on Morrissey] Undeniably a complex and divisive figure, someone who takes more than a little pleasure in pissing people off. As enjoyable as some may find this, it holds little interest for me.

I'll be going through customs and the customs officer will look at my passport and say, 'Happy to have you with us, Mr Cave. Loved you in Face/Off (1997).'