“One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen.”

When I sit down to write a song, it’s a kind of improvisation, but I formalize it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I’m about to do.

I meet so many people that just sort of say, “I want to thank you for your music. It really helped me” or “It changed my life.”

I don’t work at being ordinary.

When you were young, and your heart, was an open book. You used to say, live and let live.

My arrest was on every bloody TV set. The other prisoners all knew who I was and asked me to sing.

In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

I have not practiced how to be a singer without an instrument.

Being in the audience actually looks like quite a lot of fun.

Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you, Tomorrow I’ll miss you.

It’s also not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that’s your pool of resources.

I believe that in the future meditation could be as commonplace in schools and society as eco-awareness is now. It interests me that an ancient cure may be the solution to a modern problem.

What I have to say is all in the music. If I want to say anything, I write a song.

A lot of artists use memories. A lot of prose writers, a lot of poets, a lot of songwriters, refer back to something. Generally it’s all you’ve got, unless you’re brilliant and can write totally in the now.

The good Lord made this world and everything that’s in it. The way I see it, baby, you got to love it to the limit.

I still believe that love is all you need. I don’t know a better message than that.

It’s a lifelong gift, something you can call on at any time.

No matter how long you play the guitar, there’s always something else to learn.

I’m actually better on the guitar than when I started, I think, because I’ve had so much time with it and I still practice and I love to do it and I love to sing.

I always liked the idea of the guitar – because cowboys played the guitar.

By the time I was 12 or 13, I felt that I was special, because I could play the guitar and write songs.

The electric guitar was vital in helping what I’ve achieved where would I be without it? Playing awfully quietly, for a start.

Guitar is easy, all it takes is 5 fingers, 6 strings and 1 a**hole.

I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn’t get bored anywhere.

If you don’t know the blues there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.