I guess you could write a good song if your heart hadn't been broken, but I don't know of anyone whose heart hasn't been broken.

I'm fascinated by the whole concept of snake handling. When you read about the Pentecostal snake handlers, what strikes you the most is their commitment.

I'm just like everyone. I like to feel togetherness with someone.

So few people are truly themselves when they're in the spotlight.

I'm not just a doormat. I'm not just being stepped on all over the place. If you look at the bulk of my material, it's about trying to find some strength through that.

People let their own hang-ups become the obstacles between them and personal happiness.

As it turns out, now is the moment you've been waiting for

The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle.

First thing, I throw on some jeans, a T-shirt and my Keds sneakers and make coffee. That is actually my favorite time of day. That is when I do my songwriting, when I am in writing mode.

Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it.

I have such a great band. We had played all this material on the road. I just wanted to let it fly.

Always stay strong to your dream because when you lose sight of it then that is when your dream dies!

The fanatics for progress often have too little appreciation of the existing.

If I made a mistake in singing a song or in the script, I could have some fun with it, then retain any of the fun that sounded amusing.

Would you mind getting off that fly paper and giving the flies a chance?" "Ahhh, you can't trick me! Flies don't read papers!

From '41 to '51I was my folk's contrary son;I bit my father's hand right throughAnd broke my mother's heart in two.

Readers are leaders. Thinkers succeed.

There won't be editors in the future with the Internet world, with citizen reporting. That doesn't scare me.

What is genius or courage without a heart?

Your past is your shadow. It has form but no substance, except in the places you allow it to touch you. (

Oratory is just like prostitution: you must have little tricks.