I love the music of Sting. I wanted to learn some of his songs, so I bought the Hal Leonard guitar tab book for Fields of Gold. There’s a transcript of an interview with Sting at the beginning of the book. He said a lot of interesting things. Here’s one answer that particularly struck a chord with me.
I think one of the downsides of leisure time is that you are allowed the time to think about things seriously. In a way, you are over-sensitive to certain issues. Maybe just because I don’t have to worry about paying the mortgage anymore or I don’t have to clock on at work at 7:30 every morning, or drive through the rush hour traffic. I actually can sit at home and worry. Maybe that’s an artist’s job: to worry, to be anxious, to articulate that anxiety, to look for a path out. Most people haven’t got time until it’s too late.