“I look to an out gay man or woman as pretty much what I would aspire to. The strength that it takes to do that and the floodgates that open and what they pay for it.”

Rock and roll is – and should be – a kid’s place.

Because I write very simply, but inside the simplicity, there’s a lot of subtlety. That’s what I’m proud of.

Now that I have found someone, I’m feeling more alone… than I ever have before.

Everyone grew up with a piano in their living room, so rocking out on the piano was accessible – it wasn’t an upper-class thing. Now pianos have become very much a piece of furniture.

A lot of 18-year-olds are like old men. They think they’ve seen everything.

Im really good at writing almost hits.

What stupid f – king idiot gets married a second time if the first time didn’t work out?

I’ve gotten to the point where I realize that I need to tell my truth in music and not walk around blabbing my mind.

It’s a tough thing to know that when you’re making your album, you’re going to end up collaborating with, say, Wal-Mart, on your artwork. That just sucks. And the pressure behind getting the numbers real fast is, to me, dizzying.

I want people to listen to my lyrics and be okay with themselves. The people who have it the roughest are homosexuals who come out of the closet.

If you can’t draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you.

Off the coast and I’m headed nowhere

I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a joke to scream in a heavy metal falsetto. I found myself saying things like: Feel my pain, I am white, feel my pain.

I always feel very lucky that I am forced to make records at certain times. If I was forced to make 2 records a year, I would write twice as many songs. I can’t make myself finish something unless I am forced

Some people would say they never see me because I don’t go anywhere. I stay in the blue state of Nashville, in my bubble.

Gay people don’t actually try to convert people. That’s Jehovah’s Witnesses you’re thinking of.

I remember, when I was young, How easily my mood changed from sad to gay. … But now that age comes, A moment of joy is harder and harder to get.

I’m not that good looking… nobody is that good looking. I have seen a lot of movie stars, and maybe four are amazing looking. The rest have a team of gay guys who make it happen.

So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

To hang out in a gay bar or put on a sequined halter top makes me feel like a total person.

There’s a lot of insincerity about the actions of our legislators; they create distractions – like this anti-gay law you alluded to – and try to mobilise, to exacerbate people’s emotions. Until the legislators started making laws, people minded, generally, their own business.

I have no problem whatsoever with allowing gay people to live as they please, as long as they don’t try to impose their lifestyle on everyone else.

While there may have been an age difference, Josh Duggar’s transgressions are far less an affront to God than what gays do with each other.