“And you’d sure better not be doing it because it’s a way to make a living, ’cause that ain’t always going to be easy. You got to believe it, believe in the music. You got to mean it.”

The only problem was I needed to use my own group, and things didn’t happen until I did. It wasn’t a real country sound.

I don’t believe in reincarnation at all, but if all that stuff is true, then he might have been on his last time around.

Take your tongue out of my mouth, I’m kissing you good-bye.

We got a lot of politicians up there on Capital Hill. Ain’t it funny how they prosper while the country stands still?

Highway robbery and white collar crime, and they laugh at the system they beat.

You’ve got to care about the music…You’d better not be doing it for the publicity, the fame or the money.

Don’t you be so nice to me; I fall in love so easily.

You know, in the days when I started, if you had Chet Atkins’ name on your record as a producer and it was on RCA, you could work the road. It didn’t have to be a big hit record, it just had to have that on it.

Was an American archetype, the bad guy with the big heart.

There’s always one more way to do things and that’s your way, and you have a right to try it at least once.

And yet his greatest desire was the simple warmth of love’s fire, cause it’s cold on the dark side of fame.

What I did. I’ve listened to it, and I think it was more a west coast rock thing, you know? But it fit. It was country, but it was my own interpretation of country.

I say, Lord, do right be me, I’m tired of being lonesome, on’ry, and mean.

I ain’t got no reverse. I’ve learned, a little later in life, it works out pretty good to have one every once in a while.

I was king of the mountain for a long time, well, I don’t want that no more.

Lately I’ve heard rumors that the eagle may be lame. Just because I’ve been idle, don’t mean that I’m tame.

I think if journalists start doing that then they won’t be practicing journalism. If satirists start doing that then they won’t be practicing satire.

You get so used to doing it that you start to believe it’s simply what everyone does. It makes for an atmosphere of unwelcome that penetrates much of our modern life.

I have been in teen shows for years, so doing that stuff – kissing – is kind of commonplace and not a big deal. It was way more cool just because it was Meg Ryan.

It’s something I’ve always kicked around, not doing the eBook but the Rich Man, Poor Man thing.

I would say I started rapping because my friends were doin it.

What I love about doing my concerts is always feeding off the fans and their energy.

We’re gonna keep on doin’ what we’re doin’, and we’re gonna get it by all means. That’s just what “ruthless” means to me. Everybody’s got their own definition, but I’m ruthless with this music.

I was never afraid to take that step, to see what I was capable of doing. Does luck play a role in success, particularly in a creative field?