Los Angeles, Feb 17 (IANS): 'You Give Me Something' singer James Morrison reveals he finds it tough to write music during difficult periods of his life.

He told the Metro newspaper's Guilty Pleasures column: "If I've got really stuff going on, it's not like I can write a song that day and it's going to help me. The love of music has always been there and, as soon as I stay away from my guitar or the singing for too long, it claws me back.

"It's never gone but sometimes it's turned down. Going through a lot of s*** with my youngest girl, and having to put my career on the back burner for a little bit, just allowed me to have perspective."

The 37-year-old singer lost his dad a decade ago, and he admitted it might him reassess his priorities, reports femalefirst.com.

He said: "I was only on my second or third album at that point, and so all my career recognition that I thought was super-important to me, it turned out it wasn't as important as my family."

Now, Morrison, who also has 13-year-old daughter Elsie with his wife Gill, is "in a good place" as he tries to strike a "balance".

He added: "I'm still trying to get the balance right. The last few years, I've gone through some soul-searching and I've come out the other side feeling quite solid and grounded as an artist."