experienced misery and I’ve experienced joy and everything in between.
Is there a lot in between? Yep, I think the spectrum is very wide but I’ve experienced most of it. And that sickness is inspiration. I think if you’re a teenager writing about love what do you know? I’ve lived an experienced life.
Has it been valuable to you to gain that experience? You have no choice, that’s what happens to you, you fall in love, you fall out of love…
There’s quite a lot of love on the record? That’s the best subject. I don’t like ‘I love you, you love me’ – that’s a boring song. It’s enclosed. There’s no way inside that. But ‘I love you but you love someone else’ - that’s interesting. That’s three- dimensional. That’s a story.
A story you know from experience? I certainly do.
How far will you go for love? Pretty far, when you’re in love you really have no choice, you have to follow the logic of it. Sometimes it can lead you into a lot of trouble.
You are in a very long-term relationship? I’ve been married for 40 years so yeah. And I’m grateful for that. It’s another thing that’s kept me sane. The guitar and my marriage.
Would you wife be happy that you name her second after your guitar? Yeah [laughs]. It’s not really the case but she understands my rhetoric.
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What’s the secret of staying married for 40 years? I’m just lucky to have someone who has evolved with me but every day is a negotiation, every day is a compromise. Relationships aren’t easy. We can’t assume anything. Every day is different. I think being lonely is a terrible thing.
Do you like to be alone though? I do like to be alone but I don’t like to be lonely. There’s a difference. There are times when I need my own company and there are times when I need the company of other people but I’m fortunate to have a choice. A lot of people don’t.
How was it to strip down your lifestyle during the pandemic? Quite a novelty, to wake up in the same bed every morning and be in the same room. But I got a chance to walk my dog, got a chance to know my wife better. I could contact friends through FaceTime. I wasn’t entirely cut off. The technology was useful.
Where have you been mostly living? A few places. I have a home in England, a home in Italy, a home in New York. I was also in the Bahamas for some of the time recording. So I kept moving my studio with me.
You say you got to know your wife better – in what way? What did you learn about her that you didn’t already know? You never get to the bottom of a woman. Always a mystery, always will be. They are very mysterious creatures.
Do you think men are too? No, we are pretty easy to understand. We’re like dogs, we’re simple. Women are more feline, they’re more mysterious, which is why we love them.
So when you are walking your dog you’re on the same wavelength?
Yes. My dog and I are very much on the same wavelength. I take him for a pee every morning. We’re trying to kill the dahlias. I don’t like dahlias.
What sort of dog do you have? My wife has big dogs. She has Irish Wolfhounds, she breeds them. I have English Pointers, which are medium-sized, they are hunting dogs - but we don’t hunt. They’re nice dogs. They need to run a lot.
Do they keep you fit? I just walk, I don’t run anywhere. I gave it up. It’s not good to run. Bad for you.
Seriously? Yeah, I see people running every day that shouldn’t be running, they should be in hospital. It’s better walking. Have you seen these people running in the park? They are just running into their grave.
You do a lot of sport though? I swim but swimming is different because there’s no impact in the water. And a lot of yoga. I don’t run, no – unless I’m running away from something!
What does the title ‘The Bridge’ stand for? I suppose it’s empathy between human beings, love. For me, it’s music, it’s art, it’s the bridge to the future. So it has many different meanings. There’s also the musical bridge within a song, the centre piece of a song is the bridge, where you change your viewpoint, if you like. So it’s an interesting symbol.
The track is a pretty simple but beautiful song? You think it’s simple – do you want to play it? [laughs] No, it’s just me with a guitar. The effect is simple but it’s actually quite complex what I’m doing. That’s my art – to make the complex sound simple and the simple sound complex. I’ve given you my secret now!
You sing ‘Some will deny it, others will tell you it don’t even exist’ – does this touch on fake news etc? I’m essentially agnostic and agnostic means ‘I don’t know’. I have an open mind to most things but I’m not sure about anything. I think that’s a very dangerous place for human beings to be, absolutely sure of everything politically or spiritually. It always leads to problems. People who are unsure, people who aren’t certain are much more adaptable, flexible, are built better to evolve. People who are absolutely sure about everything, don’t evolve.
So do you change your opinions quite often? I’ve always been agnostic. I don’t know.
For someone who is agnostic, there are a lot of religious references in your songs? I was brought up in a religious environment. So what I had with mother’s milk was religion. I don’t regret it because the language of the Bible is very, very evocative. Those stories are very evocative. So I constantly refer to the Bible even though I’m not religious. It’s a useful source. I’ve always found that.
Do you regularly read the Bible? As a child I did.
Finally, how is it turning 70? I’m proud of my age.
Are you relaxed about it because you look 15 years younger? I’m totally relaxed. I’m very happy in my skin. I hope I’m wiser than I was in the past. But I don’t feel old – because I don’t run
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