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When you look at the media and television, and all this Hollywood stuff, you just judge people.

Benjamin Clementine

I was very rebellious, but my family was strict Christians – they would ask us, “What’s the shortest verse in the Bible?” and I was the one who always said “John 11:35” straightaway. It stayed with me, the Bible has stayed with me.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Christian Family Rebellious
I was independent. There was no one there to talk to; I didn’t even want to talk to anyone. I started to write about what I was experiencing, and I had no choice, so I was never scared.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Anymore Experience Independent Talk Write
I’m from a middle class family but my father squandered all the money, so I didn’t really run around with rich people. I was very judgmental towards a lot of them.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Class Father Running
When you have a lot of fake selves, most of the time it’s because you haven’t had parents around so you try to build characters to protect yourself.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Character Fake Parent Protect Self
I loved English literature – if didn’t it would have been hard – but I had to learn it myself. I remembered ways to repeat words, to put more emphasis on certain lines.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Lines Literature Way
I like it when cities are melancholic. When it started snowing for example, I felt very lonely. I felt very comfortable and very relaxed. When that happens, I write. So I’ve been writing, not a lot, but I’m inspired everyday.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Cities Comfortabel Example Lonely Writing
[My music] is opposite to fashion.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Fashion Music Opposites
Composing was more difficult than writing things down.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Difficult Down Things Writing
If I’m being forced to do something I don’t want to do, my real self comes out. But whether or not I’m aware of it, no matter what happens, I’m always going to have a fake self and I’m not going to judge my fake self.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Judging Matter Real Self Something
William Blake is my favorite poet of all time, and he said that he wasn’t quite familiar with the sounds of music. If so, he would have been a musician.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Favorite Musician Poet Sound
I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn’t that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the same. After six months of living on the streets [in Camden], I started singing, busking.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Dead Environment Months Singing Six
The real self is who you are when you’re at home, when you’re comfortable, and the false self is what you’re pretending – and the reason you pretend is because you want to create a character for the surroundings you’re within.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Character Home Real Reason Surround
When I started writing again, especially when I listened to French music and Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, I realized that these lots talked about themselves. The greatest artists, they didn’t sing; they only spoke.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Artist Listen Writing
I wasn’t quite used to writing a diary – I didn’t understand why people did it – but I wrote down notes and they went into a poem.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Diaries People Writing
Confidence came from people. I think I’m very confident in me, as a human being.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Human People Thinking
Poetry itself is music. I’m just lucky that I can convert it into music.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Convert Itself Lucky Music

When you look at the media and television, and all this Hollywood stuff, you just judge people.

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When you look at the media and television, and all this Hollywood stuff, you just judge people.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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