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When I started singing about my life and what I was going through, I felt more confident. It was my own life, I was being myself, I was telling people what was happening.

Benjamin Clementine

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
That’s how I always try to start my thoughts. I write them down first, eventually it turns into a poem, and if I feel like composing something to it, then I do that.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Firsts Like Poem Trying Writing
I’m not dismissing prostitutes, but a lot has changed. This so-called gentrification, it can never be stopped.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Changed Gentrification Prostitute Stop
I think it is all about creating characters, mixing them up with the stars and the light-years, and coming back to Earth, because we’re from this universe. We’re not just New York or London; we’re stars.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Character Country Earth Stars
You can’t judge people by their cover.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Cover Judging People
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 singing about my life and what I was going through, I felt more confident. It was my own life, I was being myself, I was telling people what was happening.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Being Myself People Singing
The experience that I had in Paris I could never have ever again in my life. This is when I grew up as a young man.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Independent Men Writing
In fact, I might be confident for the human race because of what the human race has given me. When I was in the street and bars, people always came up to me and said, “Don’t stop, keep going.”
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Facts People Race
Obviously you live life for yourself and have your choice to believe what you want to believe in, but I know that the Bible can be used to appreciate life.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Appreciate Believe Life Live
Poetry itself is music. I’m just lucky that I can convert it into music.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Convert Itself Lucky Music
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’ve always been shy, but every time that I sing or I perform, when music comes out of me, it is the only thing I can relate to, it’s the only thing I can give.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Giving Relate Shy
People take things too literal in the Bible and it’s totally wrong.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Literally People Totally Wrong
I started understanding William Blake and George Orwell more and more. It’s amazing how we go to school when we’re so young, read all of these books, just trying to memorize them. When you start to live, you don’t have to memorize anything.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Book School Understanding
I know that New York is big, there are huge buildings, but in fact, it’s quite small and contained.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Building Country Facts
Happiness is overrated and money can’t justify it.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Happiness Justify Money Overrated
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 have met a few people, who are so respected in the fashion industry and all around the world, and are still very humble. People who have it all but act like they only just started, it’s beautiful. This is what I want to be.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Beautiful Fashion Humble
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 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
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
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 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
Composing was more difficult than writing things down.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Difficult Down Things Writing
[My music] is opposite to fashion.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Fashion Music Opposites
We’re all competent in different ways, we’ve just got to find a way to push ourselves up more.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Competent Different Ourselves Way

When I started singing about my life and what I was going through, I felt more confident. It was my own life, I was being myself, I was telling people what was happening.

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When I started singing about my life and what I was going through, I felt more confident. It was my own life, I was being myself, I was telling people what was happening.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Benjamin Clementine Quotes