I've never been in the studio where it felt like I didn't have a voice. Whether I was co-producing or producing by myself, this community is the one place where I really see democracy at its purest.

I formally proposed. I'm a good Southern gentleman.

I would love to hear someone write a song like 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' rather than 'You're hot. I'm hot. We're in a truck.' It's just mind-numbing to me.

Yes, the companionship is amazing. You know, you can get that physical attraction that happens is great, but then there's an awful lot of time and the rest of the day that you have to fill.

I've always been more drawn to being normal than being famous.

Music is like having a conversation. All musicians inspire each other, and they're all geared to play something that matters.

Success is always temporary. When all is said and one, the only thing you'll have left is your character.

I do not like being famous. I like being normal.

A lot of people play to impress, but the really gifted ones play to move. That's the greatest point of ever doing this.

There ain't no future in the past.

I made records in the past that are as traditional as any other country records that have been made, but at the same time the records have a contemporary slant on it too.

It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Creation which cannot express itself becomes madness.

The sensibilities and the emotions of Muslims must be taken into consideration in the context in which we live today.

At the end of our lives it is our loves we remember most, because they are what shaped us. We have grown to be who we are around them, as around a stake.

I think this lack of a center has something to do with the loss of certainties that Christianity had to offer

I enjoy the cleaning up - something about the getting of things in order for winter - making the garden secure - a battening down of hatches perhaps... It just feels right.

A goal is a dream taken seriously.

There are lots of people who cannot think seriously without injuring their minds.

The basis of everything, of all knowledge, is the ability to read.

I figured I'd discuss my views outside of partying. I went a bit deeper, and the music is a bit more mature.