Annie Lennox Quotes

Powerful Annie Lennox for Daily Growth

About Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox, born Annabel McLenagan on December 25, 1954, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a renowned musician, singer-songwriter, and philanthropist best known for her powerful vocals and socially conscious lyrics. Raised in a working-class family, Lennox's musical journey began at an early age, inspired by the music of Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, and Joni Mitchell. She formed the band The Tourists while studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. However, it was her subsequent collaboration with Dave Stewart that would bring worldwide fame as Eurythmics. The duo's synth-pop sound dominated the 1980s with hits like "Sweet Dreams (Are Adam & Eve)," "Here Comes the Rain Again," and "Would I Lie to You?" Their innovative style, combined with Lennox's emotive vocals and thought-provoking lyrics, made Eurythmics a defining force in music. In 1992, Lennox embarked on a solo career, releasing the critically acclaimed album "Diva." Her follow-up albums, "Medusa" (1995) and "Bare" (2003), continued to showcase her unique blend of pop, soul, and rock. Lennox's music often reflects her strong social and political convictions. She is an active advocate for gender equality, human rights, and AIDS awareness. In 1997, she founded the SING campaign (now known as The Circle) to empower women and girls globally. Throughout her career, Lennox has won numerous awards, including four Brit Awards, eight Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." Her powerful voice, innovative music, and unwavering activism have cemented her place as a significant figure in contemporary music.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The most important thing is to try and live a creative life."

This quote by Annie Lennox emphasizes the significance of living creatively. It suggests that an essential aspect of human existence is to engage in activities that foster creativity, growth, and innovation. This could be in various domains such as art, science, philosophy, or personal development. By pursuing a creative life, individuals enrich their own experiences and contribute to the collective human story. Essentially, Annie Lennox encourages us to view our lives not just as a series of mundane tasks but as opportunities to express ourselves and make a difference.

"I've always been someone who's quite introspective, you know, I like to think about things."

This quote by Annie Lennox suggests that she is a person who often reflects on her thoughts and feelings deeply. She values introspection – the act of examining one's own thoughts and feelings – as an important aspect of her personality, indicating a tendency to contemplate life experiences, understand herself, and make sense of the world around her.

"Don't dream it, be it."

The quote "Don't dream it, be it" by Annie Lennox is a call to action that encourages people to transform their dreams into reality through active pursuit and commitment. It suggests that instead of passively wishing for something, one should take the necessary steps to make those dreams become a tangible part of their life. This quote inspires individuals to convert their aspirations into actions, turning dreams into achievable goals.

"My music has always been an outlet for my emotions and thoughts, a way of communicating what I feel and believe."

This quote from Annie Lennox expresses that her music is a medium for her to express her emotional and intellectual state, providing a means to communicate her feelings and convictions to others. Essentially, it indicates the personal significance of her musical creation as an artistic outlet for self-expression and connection with her audience.

"I think being a woman is probably the greatest thing that ever happened to me, because a lot of women have gone before us and paved the way."

This quote by Annie Lennox emphasizes the strength, resilience, and accomplishments of women throughout history. She suggests that being a woman is not just an identity, but a powerful advantage due to the collective efforts and achievements of previous generations who have fought for equality and paved the way for future generations. In essence, it underscores the profound impact that women have made in shaping society and encourages continued progress towards gender equity.

Fame for fame's sake is toxic - some people want that, with no boundaries. It's unhealthy.

- Annie Lennox

Want, Toxic, Some, No Boundaries

HIV/AIDS has no boundaries.

- Annie Lennox

Boundaries, No Boundaries

Feminism is a word that I identify with. The term has become synonymous with vitriolic man-hating but it needs to come back to a place where both men and women can embrace it. It is particularly important for women in developing countries.

- Annie Lennox

Back, Developing Countries, Both Men And Women

I can't understand why the front pages of newspapers can cover bird flu and swine flu and everybody is up in arms about that and we still haven't really woken up to the fact that so many women in sub-Saharan Africa - 60 percent of people in - infected with HIV are women.

- Annie Lennox

Fact, Everybody, Sub-Saharan, HIV

The general population still thinks HIV is something that came in the 80s and went away, or that it only affects the gay population or intravenous drug users.

- Annie Lennox

Away, Still, Affects, HIV

I didn't want to be perceived as a girly girl on stage.

- Annie Lennox

Want, Stage, Perceived, Girly

I have always felt a little homeless. It's a strange thing.

- Annie Lennox

Always, Strange Thing, Felt, Homeless

Pop stars are so busy having a career that they don't really have a lot of time for activism.

- Annie Lennox

Stars, Career, Having, Pop Stars

We all fight over what the label 'feminism' means but for me it's about empowerment. It's not about being more powerful than men - it's about having equal rights with protection, support, justice. It's about very basic things. It's not a badge like a fashion item.

- Annie Lennox

Protection, Very, About, Label

I think Scotland could take a stand in a wonderful way, ecologically and morally and ethically.

- Annie Lennox

Think, I Think, Could, Morally

If we value what we've inherited for free - from other women - surely it's right morally and ethically for us to wake up and say, 'I'm a feminist. '

- Annie Lennox

Wake Up, Other, Surely, Morally

My issue with the state of women became incredibly stimulated when I was visiting developing countries and it became obvious that women bore the brunt of so many things in society.

- Annie Lennox

Became, Visiting, Issue, Brunt

If someone says something unpleasant, I can't say it doesn't smart a bit. It always does. Someone can take a really nasty swipe if they want because it kind of feels powerful for a person to write in a paper and get that thing out there.

- Annie Lennox

Feels, Unpleasant, Bit, Nasty

You wouldn't find a Joni Mitchell on 'X Factor;' that's not the place. 'X Factor' is a specific thing for people that want to go through that process - it's a factory, you know, and it's owned and stitched-up by puppet masters.

- Annie Lennox

Process, Through, Factory, None

Churches, depending on their policy, can do fantastic work with people in the community.

- Annie Lennox

Work, Depending, Fantastic, Churches

There's a lot of women's organisations, but they're all working separately. If you get people together, as a collaborative voice, it's strong.

- Annie Lennox

Strong, Voice, Separately, Organisations

There are two kinds of artists left: those who endorse Pepsi and those who simply won't.

- Annie Lennox

Left, Artists, Kinds, Pepsi

Music is an extraordinary vehicle for expressing emotion - very powerful emotions. That's what draws millions of people towards it. And, um, I found myself always going for these darker places and - people identify with that.

- Annie Lennox

Emotions, Always, Very, Um

Making a Christmas album is looked upon by some people as the thing you do when you are heading towards retirement.

- Annie Lennox

Some, Making, Looked, Christmas Album

When you go to Africa, and you see children, they're usually barefoot, dirty and in rags, and they'd love to go to school.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Dirty, Africa, Rags

Over the years, I was never really driven to become a solo artist, but I was curious to find out who I was as an individual creative person. It's taken some time, but now I feel I've truly paid my dues. I guess I'm at a point now where I'm more comfortable in my own skin.

- Annie Lennox

Artist, Own, Some, Dues

I'm appalled the word feminism has been denigrated to a place of almost ridicule and I very passionately believe the word needs to be revalued and reintroduced with power and understanding that this is a global picture.

- Annie Lennox

Needs, Been, Very, Ridicule

The inner world is very potent for me - I don't ascribe to any God or Jesus or Buddha - I just have a sense of it and revere it along with the natural world and human consciousness.

- Annie Lennox

Natural, Consciousness, Very, Natural World

I think my daughters have a pretty healthy self-awareness but I can't speak on their behalf.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Pretty, Daughters, Self-Awareness

Having children, they're not your property. They need to figure out their own views. I think my daughters have a pretty healthy self-awareness, but I can't speak on their behalf.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Pretty, Figure, Self-Awareness

I sang a lot as a little girl and entered competitions. I loved singing in choirs, but it was as I got older that I really found my voice.

- Annie Lennox

Voice, Singing, Entered, Competitions

When I look at the majority of my own songs they really came from my own sense of personal confusion or need to express some pain or beauty - they were coming from a universal and personal place.

- Annie Lennox

Beauty, Pain, Some, Confusion

I have a reputation for being cold and aloof, but I'm so not that woman. I'm passionate. I love my girls, being with my girlfriends, getting involved with issues that affect other women and children who are suffering.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Woman, Other, Aloof

I think music is the most phenomenal platform for intellectual thought.

- Annie Lennox

Think, I Think, Most, Phenomenal

If you want to open a supermarket chain and put your face all around the globe, selling your baby and your dog, if it makes you happy, who am I to disagree, as the song goes. But it's not for me. I've always tried to keep my integrity and keep my autonomy.

- Annie Lennox

Happy, Around, Your, Who Am I

Nelson Mandela is awe inspiring - a person who really sacrificed for what he believed in. I feel truly humbled by him.

- Annie Lennox

Feel, Nelson Mandela, Nelson, Mandela

As a mother, you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.

- Annie Lennox

Life, Opportunities, Go, Impulse

I've never experienced chronic poverty, but I know what it's like to live on £3 a week.

- Annie Lennox

Week, Never, Like, Chronic

I would say that although my music may be or may have been part of the cultural background fabric of the gay community, I consider myself an outsider who belongs everywhere and nowhere... Being a human being is what truly counts. That's where you'll find me.

- Annie Lennox

Been, Part, Counts, Gay Community

I see myself as a traveller.

- Annie Lennox

Myself, See, I See, Traveller

I'm not really keen on comebacks. Eurythmics was an incredible thing. When I look back on that work, I feel very satisfied with it.

- Annie Lennox

Work, Satisfied, Very, Comeback

Most women are dissatisfied with their appearance - it's the stuff that fuels the beauty and fashion industries.

- Annie Lennox

Beauty, Most, Fuels, Dissatisfied

Motherhood was the great equaliser for me; I started to identify with everybody... as a mother, you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.

- Annie Lennox

Go, Everybody, Identify, Impulse

It's not fair to compare one artist to another because they all come with their own sort of elements to the picnic, you know.

- Annie Lennox

Artist, Not Fair, Compare, Picnic

I would like to see the gay population get on board with feminism. It's a beautiful organisation and they've done so much. It seems to me a no-brainer.

- Annie Lennox

Done, Like, Organisation, Board

I was brought up in a tenement house in a working district. We didn't even have a bathroom! We had a gaslight in the hallway and a black-and-white TV.

- Annie Lennox

Hallway, TV, Brought, Black-And-White

I've thought about what is an alternative word to feminism. There isn't one. It's a perfectly good word. And it can't be changed.

- Annie Lennox

Thought, About, Perfectly, Changed

I enjoy multi-tasking, so I want to do a lot of different things. I want to keep all the plates spinning.

- Annie Lennox

Enjoy, Want, Plates, Different Things

I will go out of my way to avoid the shopping crowds and the extreme consumerism - I hate all that.

- Annie Lennox

Will, Go, Crowds, Shopping

It's hard to tell how far women's individuality has come in the past twenty years.

- Annie Lennox

Past, In The Past, How Far, Twenty

I've never been a social person. When I grew up, the other girls would all be combing their hair and exchanging lipstick, and I just couldn't do that group thing.

- Annie Lennox

Other, Been, Social, Group

In a sense, the music business and I haven't always been the best of bedfellows. Artists often have to fight their corner. Your music goes through these filters of record labels and media, and you're hoping you'll find someone who'll help you get your work into the world.

- Annie Lennox

Through, Been, Bedfellows

I think people in Great Britain are a bit jaded sometimes.

- Annie Lennox

Think, I Think, Britain, Jaded

I was never much of a one to win prizes... and certainly never placed too much value on their acquisition.

- Annie Lennox

Too Much, Certainly, Placed, Prizes

I'd rather support the issues I truly believe in than give my vote to parties that court votes at the time of the election. I like to think that my vote strengthens the green foundation stone.

- Annie Lennox

Election, Think, Give, Stone

I mean, I'm 48 years old and I've been through a lot in my life - you know, loss, whether it be death, illness, separation. I mean, the failed expectations... We all have dreams.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Through, Been, Illness

I used to be obsessed about how I presented myself. I didn't want other people dressing me because I didn't want to be treated like a clothes horse.

- Annie Lennox

Other, Obsessed, Treated, Presented

Anita Roddick was amazing. Her presence in a room was full of light, and everything she worked to achieve still resonates now.

- Annie Lennox

Achieve, Still, Resonates, Presence

If I hadn't been a singer, I might have been a photographer or an artist. But it's singing I love. I sing all the time, and I feel really good that I've expressed myself.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Singer, Been, Expressed

I'm not intensely private - I talk a great deal about my life and my work - I just don't play the game to excess.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Play, Private, Great Deal

I was perceiving myself as good as a man or equal to a man and as powerful and I wanted to look ambiguous because I thought that was a very interesting statement to make through the media. And it certainly did cause quite a few ripples and interest and shock waves.

- Annie Lennox

Thought, Through, Very, Ambiguous

Humankind seems to have an enormous capacity for savagery, for brutality, for lack of empathy, for lack of compassion.

- Annie Lennox

Empathy, Humankind, Savagery, Brutality

When you get to be nearly 60, you do take stock. You don't know what's around the corner.

- Annie Lennox

Get, Corner, Take, Stock

I'm from a working-class background, and I've experienced that worry of not having a job next week because the unions are going on strike.

- Annie Lennox

Worry, Next, Working-Class, Experienced

I'm from a working-class background, and I've experienced that worry of not having a job next week because the unions are going on strike. I know that because I don't come from a wealthy background.

- Annie Lennox

Worry, Next, Working-Class, Experienced

For me, pointing and clicking my phone is absolutely fine. People say that isn't the art of photography but I don't agree.

- Annie Lennox

Art, Say, Agree, Pointing

Life expectancy in many parts of Africa can be something around the age of thirty five to thirty eight. I mean you're very fortunate if you live to that age. In fact when I went to Uganda for the first time one of the things that occurred to me was that I saw very few elderly people.

- Annie Lennox

Fact, Elderly, Very, Life Expectancy

Charity is a fine thing if it's meeting a gap where needs must be met and there are no other resources. But in the long term we need to support people into helping themselves.

- Annie Lennox

Need, Other, Needs, Long Term

I understand what it is for a woman to want to protect their children and give them the best they can.

- Annie Lennox

Children, Woman, Give, Protect

Our ancestors are totally essential to our every waking moment, although most of us don't even have the faintest idea about their lives, their trials, their hardships or challenges.

- Annie Lennox

Challenges, Hardships, Lives, Essential

I don't have clear-cut positions. I get baffled by things. I have viewpoints. Sometimes they change.

- Annie Lennox

Change, Sometimes, Get, Viewpoints

I have different hats; I'm a mother, I'm a woman, I'm a human being, I'm an artist and hopefully I'm an advocate. All of those plates are things I spin all the time.

- Annie Lennox

Woman, Human Being, Plates, Hopefully

As a creative person, you just put something out into the consciousness of the society you live in.

- Annie Lennox

Society, Consciousness, Creative Person

The dynamic between two individuals starts off with everything warm and nice and fabulous and good. Working and living together can serve you quite well, but when it starts to go wrong - oh, boy!

- Annie Lennox

Living, Go, Serve, Fabulous

Money is a good thing and it's obviously useful, but to work only for money or fame would never interest me.

- Annie Lennox

Work, Good, A Good Thing, Useful

Music is a great vehicle for communications, and I have a certain platform. I have an opportunity and I have to take it.

- Annie Lennox

Music, Opportunity, Take, Communications

Please don't ask me for the actual answer to anything, because I don't have it. Because all I do is look at stuff and ask questions. What can I say? I just think the world's barking mad. Look, I'm not an expert. I'm just an ordinary person.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Expert, Actual, Ordinary Person

I'm just an ordinary person.

- Annie Lennox

Person, Ordinary, Just, Ordinary Person

I want people to understand me as a person with views, not just performing songs.

- Annie Lennox

Want, Person, Songs, Views

I think life on the road really suits very egotistical men. It's set up for kings.

- Annie Lennox

Think, I Think, Very, Egotistical

Fear paralyses you - fear of flying, fear of the future, fear of leaving a rubbish marriage, fear of public speaking, or whatever it is.

- Annie Lennox

Future, Speaking, Public, Rubbish

I'm a female but I have a masculine side and I'm not going to negate that part of myself.

- Annie Lennox

Going, Side, Masculine, Female

The person who inspired me the most was a friend of mine, Anita Roddick. I know that Anita wasn't known to be an ardent feminist, but she truly was.

- Annie Lennox

Inspired, Mine, Ardent, Feminist

There is a big difference between what I do onstage and what I do in my private life. I don't put my living room on magazine pages.

- Annie Lennox

Living, Big, Private, Magazine

A lot of music you might listen to is pretty vapid, it doesn't always deal with our deeper issues. These are the things I'm interested in now, particularly at my age.

- Annie Lennox

Pretty, Deal, Always, Deeper

If people like your music, you can't guarantee they're going to love you.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Like, Going, To Love

When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you.

- Annie Lennox

Tell, Certain Point, Created, Successful

I have a calling in my soul, if you like, to try to make my life in some way worthwhile. What is the value of my existence?

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Some, Like, Calling

I don't take myself as seriously as some people think, and I'd hate anyone to think I was preaching. That's the last thing I want.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Some, Last, Some People

One wouldn't want to have the same dilemmas at 50 as one had at 15. And indeed I don't. I have a very different take on life.

- Annie Lennox

Want, Very, Had, Dilemmas

I am fascinated by history and particularly the Victorian era.

- Annie Lennox

I Am, Particularly, Era

I wouldn't say that I've mellowed. I'm less mellow, perhaps.

- Annie Lennox

Say, Less, Perhaps, Mellow

It's a very telling thing when you have children. You have to be there for them, you've got to set an example, when you're not sure what your example is, and anyway the world is changing so fast you don't know what is appropriate anymore.

- Annie Lennox

Very, Telling, Appropriate, Anyway

I don't think feminism is about the exclusion of men but their inclusion... we must face and address those issues, especially to include younger men and boys.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Include, Address, Feminism

The word feminism needs to be taken back. It needs to be reclaimed in a way that is inclusive of men.

- Annie Lennox

Inclusive, Needs, Taken, Feminism

Men need to understand, and women too, what feminism is really about.

- Annie Lennox

Men, Need, Too, Feminism

Women's issues have always been a part of my life. My goal is to bring the word 'feminism' back into the zeitgeist and reframe it.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Always, Been, Feminism

Why are we not valuing the word 'feminism' when there is so much work to be done in terms of empowerment and emancipation of women everywhere?

- Annie Lennox

Work, Valuing, Emancipation, Feminism

The future hasn't happened yet and the past is gone. So I think the only moment we have is right here and now, and I try to make the best of those moments, the moments that I'm in.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Here, I Think, Happened

I have always been a very visual person and a keen observer.

- Annie Lennox

Always, Observer, Very, Keen

Every artist has to make their own statements and they have to live with them.

- Annie Lennox

Artist, Own, Them, Statements

Dying is easy, it's living that scares me to death.

- Annie Lennox

Death, Living, Scares, Easy

Actually, I'm quite a domesticated person. I love the little things of home.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Actually, I Love, Domesticated

Life is not quantifiable in terms of age, but I suppose in my fifties I am more grounded and more at ease in my own skin than when I was younger. I have a confidence that I didn't have before from the experiences I've had.

- Annie Lennox

Own, Ease, Before, Suppose

I haven't lived my life through my daughters. Some parents devote everything to their children, which must be so hard, and it's very beautiful. But I'm a working parent, so I've always kept my own life.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Through, Devote, Daughters

Those in the developing world have so few rights - we take a lot for granted in the developed world.

- Annie Lennox

World, Lot, Take, Granted

I love to be individual, to step beyond gender.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Individual, I Love, Step

I've always tried to keep my integrity and keep my autonomy.

- Annie Lennox

Integrity, Always, Tried, Autonomy

Motherhood was the great equaliser for me; I started to identify with everybody.

- Annie Lennox

Me, Everybody, Identify, Motherhood

I'm not a saint. I'm not an angel. I'm a human being.

- Annie Lennox

Human Being, Saint, Being, Angel

I don't want to be owned by a corporation and obliged to make a certain type of album. I want to be free.

- Annie Lennox

Corporation, Want, Album, Owned

You just decide what your values are in life and what you are going to do, and then you feel like you count, and that makes life worth living. It makes my life meaningful.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Living, Going, Meaningful

I want to branch out. I want to write. I write poetry. I want to see my children grow up well.

- Annie Lennox

Grow, Want, I Write, Grow Up

I've had my share of dark days of the soul. I try not to focus on it too much so it doesn't get to me.

- Annie Lennox

Focus, Soul, Had, Days

The world is a heartbreaking place, without any question.

- Annie Lennox

World, Question, Place, Heartbreaking

I'm not a Christian, but I think the Christian message is a good one.

- Annie Lennox

Christian, Think, I Think, Message

I watch 'Mad Men,' I knit scarves, I cook and am very, very normal. Honestly.

- Annie Lennox

Mad, Normal, Very, Knit

I also started writing songs because I had this burning activity in my heart and had to express myself.

- Annie Lennox

Myself, Activity, Also, Songs

I don't feel there are enough women artists out there who are saying anything of tremendous relevance.

- Annie Lennox

Enough, Feel, Tremendous, Relevance

I would love to meet a dodo.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Would, Meet

Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.

- Annie Lennox

Change, Kind, Been, Ask

I want people to start thinking about what it means to be HIV-positive and to ask questions about that.

- Annie Lennox

Start, Want, Means, Ask

You know, I would say that songwriting is something about the expression of the heart, the intellect and the soul.

- Annie Lennox

Expression, Intellect, Would, Heart

I have a lot to be grateful for.

- Annie Lennox

Grateful, Lot, Be Grateful

You have to face things, have faith in what you do and go for it. Think, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

- Annie Lennox

Face, Think, Happen, Worst

Although I have lived in London, I have never really considered London my home because it was always going to be a stopping-off point for me, and it has been too.

- Annie Lennox

London, Always, Been, Lived

Women's issues have always been a part of my life.

- Annie Lennox

My Life, Always, Been, Issues

I was born in 1954. My parents were brought up in the war years, and life was hard.

- Annie Lennox

War, Born, Brought, I Was Born

Whatever you do, you do out of a passion.

- Annie Lennox

Passion, You, Out, Whatever

I don't have any interest to go to Israel. I don't think I'd ever have a cause to go.

- Annie Lennox

Think, Interest, Ever, Israel

I love to make music and stay grounded.

- Annie Lennox

Love, Music, I Love, Grounded

I like where I live here, in London.

- Annie Lennox

Here, Like, Where, London

People ask me so many questions.

- Annie Lennox

Me, Ask, Many, Questions

I only want to make music because I have a passion for it.

- Annie Lennox

Music, Want, Only, Passion

I am a communicator; that seems to be my natural place. And I'll always be passionate about the world, because it's so bonkers.

- Annie Lennox

Natural, Always, About, Passionate

I'm not particularly attention-seeking.

- Annie Lennox

Particularly

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