INTERVIEWER: love seems to be the engine that drives your art. how many times have you been in love?
ELLIOTT SMITH: real love? once.

INTERVIEWER: how did you know?
ELLIOTT SMITH: i just knew. i knew it when it was there.

INTERVIEWER: can you ever truly stop being in love with someone?
ELLIOTT SMITH: it just changes into a different kind of connection with someone. people make a distinction between being in love or the kind of love that really just means they are strongly connected and care about someone. i think you can slip out of being in love with someone and just become really connected with that person and not really realize it while it's happening.

INTERVIEWER: are you in love right now?
ELLIOTT SMITH: no, not really, uh…it's a really good subject to talk about, but i'm afraid it's going to bum someone out.

INTERVIEWER: do you believe, as the poets say, that love is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe, and that without it, we are just a bunch of molecules bumping up against each other?
ELLIOTT SMITH: yes. love or some kind of creative act.

INTERVIEWER: aren't you terrified by the possibility that you may never find true love again?
ELLIOTT SMITH: if i was sure that love was not coming my way again, i wouldn't see much point in doing anything. it's a distinct possibility, but, you know, stupidity tries.