Top 41 Quotes & Sayings by Ray LaMontagne

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American musician Ray LaMontagne.

Last updated on April 14, 2025.

Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, Supernova, Ouroboros, Part of the Light, and Monovision. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills. Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to that of Otis Redding, Ryan Adams, Beck, Pink Floyd, The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley.

American - Musician | Born: June 18, 1973

Source: Wikipedia

The label doesn't do anything but put your record in the store, that's all they do. And tell you, you don't have a single... and tell you, it's not gonna sell... that's what the label does.

Ray LaMontagne

I'm a very emotional person.

Ray LaMontagne

Well... you know, I love motorcycles. They're just beautiful, and there's a certain craftsmanship in older bikes, older Triumphs or BSAs or Norton. I'm just very attracted to it.

Ray LaMontagne

In order to get a note out, I have to dig deep, and I mean that on an emotional level. To physically sing, I have to get somewhere deep before I can do it.

Ray LaMontagne

I don't like myself, and I don't like to be looked at.

Ray LaMontagne

I need space between me and the audience - and the more space the better.

Ray LaMontagne

There's a real sense of desperation when you grow up in poverty.

Ray LaMontagne

I always felt, as a listener at a show, that when there was too much banter between the artist and the audience that it detracted from the show. I more enjoyed shows where the guys came out and they just played.

Ray LaMontagne

I can't get excited by my own music. It's impossible.

Ray LaMontagne

You can make bad choices and find yourself in a downward spiral or you can find something that gets you out of it.

Ray LaMontagne

I want to be in control of my own destiny.

Ray LaMontagne

I was really lost for a while in my teens. I was angry. But when I found music - Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell - it was a new discovery. It was a door to this other world where I wanted to be.

Ray LaMontagne

Writing songs is not something I wanted to share with people for a long time. It was precious to me. I didn't want someone to crush it. I waited until I felt strong enough to take the criticism.

Ray LaMontagne

I want to write music that will outlive me.

Ray LaMontagne

I am very self-critical, but that's a good thing because it keeps me growing as a human being and as a musician.

Ray LaMontagne

I have a strong sense of self, but that's not a negative thing.

Ray LaMontagne

I don't really think of myself as a folk singer.

Ray LaMontagne

I'm very uncomfortable in my own skin.

Ray LaMontagne

Social situations, for me - it's very natural for me to be an observer. That's where I'm most comfortable. I observe things.

Ray LaMontagne

When I pick up the guitar, it's a melody, and that's what drives the lyrics. It's bits and pieces of truth, but it is storytelling.

Ray LaMontagne

I probably wouldn't be a songwriter if I didn't grow up the way I did. It was difficult and it was at times very scary to grow up in a household so unsettled and at times very violent. But, it also, I guess it earned me a sort of wisdom at a young age that's served me well.

Ray LaMontagne

Every song asks to be sung in a different way.

Ray LaMontagne

We all have that inner voice that is wise, even if we don't always follow it. It's that voice I'm trying to listen to.

Ray LaMontagne

I'd much rather be playing songs than talking to people.

Ray LaMontagne

I feel calm when I'm on my own.

Ray LaMontagne

It bugs me that people think my songs are personal because it means I have to explain myself all the time.

Ray LaMontagne

My backstory is so tedious.

Ray LaMontagne

You have to believe in yourself before anybody else believes in you.

Ray LaMontagne

It's so easy to get caught up in your own experiences. They can seem so important. But there are billions and billions of other experiences going on.

Ray LaMontagne

The thing I love about music is that you can take things that are painful, deep things that hurt you, and you can turn them into something beautiful.

Ray LaMontagne

My voice sucks. I don't like the tone.

Ray LaMontagne

When I think of folk music, I think of topical songs. And I don't write topical songs.

Ray LaMontagne

There's nothing in the world so sad as talking to a man who never knew his life was his for making.

Ray LaMontagne

Well, I looked my demons in the eyes laid bare my chest, said 'Do your best, destroy me. You see, I’ve been to hell and back so many times, I must admit you kind of bore me.

Ray LaMontagne

Now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turnin' gold Turnin' from the past, at last and all I've left behind.

Ray LaMontagne

I refused then like I do now to let anybody tie me down

Ray LaMontagne

My backstory is so tedious. I hope the interviews are turning a corner now.

Ray LaMontagne

Writing songs is not something I wanted to share with people for a long time. It was precious to me. I didnt want someone to crush it. I waited until I felt strong enough to take the criticism.

Ray LaMontagne

Well it's the hurt I hide that fuels the fires inside me

Ray LaMontagne