It used to be that youd have a song recorded by a major country artist and if it was a hit, you could buy a car. Now you can buy a dealership.

I have my own religion. I'm sort of one-quarter Baptist, one-quarter Catholic, one-quarter Jewish.

I'm a very comfortable and happy-go-lucky old man. I never wanted to be great, because I'd just get worried.

Whiskey's to tough, Champagne costs too much, Vodka puts my mouth in gear. I hope this refrain, Will help me explain, As a matter of fact, I like beer.

The best compliment I ever had is, one day I was in Nashville, some disc jockey said, Hey, that sounds like a Tom T. Hall song. Up until then there hadn't been any such thing.

I love winners when they cry, losers when they try.

Make your melodies simple enough so that the average person can hum them.

I love coffee in a cup, little fuzzy pups, bourbon in a glass, and grass.

When I first got to Nashville, somebody said that [Kris Kristofferson and I] were the only two people who could describe Dolly Parton without using their hands.

I took up a sort of a hobby of just hanging around the local library. I'd pick out an author and I would read all their books.

After I retired and came off the road, I gathered up all my musical instruments and suddenly, I wanted them all to be perfect.

In these writings, and in all my teaching work, I continue to ask the question, “What about the children?

There's a thin line between an uncertain 'Yes' and a certain 'No' known as 'lame indecisiveness'.

Obviously, there has to be a profound change in direction. Otherwise, interest on the national debt will start eating up virtually every penny that we have.

There is no end and there is no beginning. There is only eternity. Eternity can be warm. eternity can be cold and ruthless.

There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me

Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.

The law is silent during war. [Lat., Silent leges inter arma.]

You must not mistake passing local cloud cover, for general darkness.

Stalking the Angel [Joe]"I could off anybody in this place five times over." [Elvis]"Could you off someone and get away with you here?" [Joe]Head shake. "I'm too good even for me.

A good book is never finished—-it goes on whispering to you from the wall.