Quotes from Alicia Keys

When I was first learning songs, I'd have a favorite song, and I'd take the chords and twist them around. I'd learn the chords and then play them backward. That was my first experimenting with writing a song.

I was worried that one day, 40 years from now, I would look back and wouldn't be able to remember the details of my life, so I've written them all down.

I'd rather believe in my own choice and see it all go wrong than do something I'm not fully convinced of and later feel guilty about it.

Yes I was burned but I called it a lesson learned. Mistake overturned so I call it a lesson learned. My soul has returned so I call it a lesson learned...another lesson learned

I think we deserve people who really, really love us.

I know people who've gone to jail. It don't mean you stop loving them! They deservin' love just as much in there, and maybe they needin' it more.

You've got to love what's yours.

Love will come find you Just to remind you Of who you are [...] See that's the thing about love [...] Then life It will embrace you Totally amaze you So you don't give up

Many things inspire me. First and foremost, my family, my husband, and our son. I find that the love we share fills me up and makes me see and appreciate life in a different way.

I have big everything on the bottom but I love my legs. You've got to love what's yours.

I like to do outdoorsy things: hikes, trails, running, swimming. I love the sun. I'm all about the warmth.

If I didn't love it, I would not record it.

I love Bono. I really respect what he has done for Africa and how he has used his fame to do good in the world. I hope I can do half as much in my life.

As a lyricist, you love to hear other great lyrics or other great concepts.

How terrible would it have been if I had come out with some watered-down version of who I am? People fell in love with the real me, and I still feel blessed that that was how the journey began.

When I was a kid, I'd practise Chopin on piano - and I love Chopin! He's my dawg! Then I'd go out on the stoop and blast the radio. I'm from New York, the concrete jungle. Hip-hop influenced me from day one.

I believe Aids is the most important issue we face, because how we treat the poor is a reflection of who we are as a people.

Create the world you want, and fill it with the opportunities that matter to you.

When I was younger, my mother and I, we'd have these crazy, crazy fights. Everyone would storm out mad, and the only way that I'd be able to express myself was to write her. We would write letters back and forth for days. When I'm writing, I feel uninterrupted. I write what I'm going through and how I see it.

I find myself to be truly primal and passionate. Everything I do comes from a primal place.

We're all going to change. Otherwise, it's boring. Who wants to stay the damn same all their life?

I realize that I want something more. Success is great, but then you also wake up in your hotel room at four in the morning and you're like, wouldn't it be nice to have someone here with me.

When I am truly present, I feel alive, and I want everyone around me to share that feeling so we can make the most of that moment together.

It's a beautiful blessing that I get to help raise a man. And I want to show him as much as possible.