“I’ve always wanted to make a bluegrass album.”

Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us; but the greatest is love

As long as I’m still able to have a hit on the radio and sell a few albums and some tickets,

Flesh is weak, but love is strong.

I’ve had to live with women all my life. I grew up with four older sisters, and I was the baby and the only boy.

For every one bad one, there’s a thousand good ones.

I’ve had several working-man songs that I like.

because there wasn’t any live music around my town and no one in my family played instruments.

The loop down through there is just really relaxing, not much traffic.

You have to be tough-skinned and willing to accept criticism, and at the same time.

And just about anybody you can think of who has made country music has been on that stage. That’s what makes you so nervous.

I’m just looking for a mixture of songs and topics that aren’t the same thing over and over.

Oklahoma’s always been good to me.

You think a lot of people get to be big stars and get a little crazy.

Making music is still what keeps a fire going on in me.

I think I’ve always approached making albums pretty much the same way.

The older you are, I think you realize what you enjoy and what you don’t need, what wears you out and what’s important.

I don’t sit around with my friends and talk about money, ever. On a record, that’s different.

You make your first album, you make some money, and you feel like you still have to show face, like ‘I still go to the projects.’ I’m like, why? Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out. You grew up there. What makes you think it’s so cool?

MTV made a huge impact. Heavy rotation took you from selling 1m albums to 20m albums, and that meant a lot of dough.

We’ve made bad albums in the past, and people have bought them. I don’t know. I don’t care. I’m just grateful for it.

I would sit down with a guitar and write 11 or 12 good songs for an album and that is gonna take a long time.

I’m about a 20-handicapper with a guitar. I can only play three songs on my own album. I did the lyrics, not the music.

You know, my first album, some of those jokes I’d done for twelve years because I couldn’t throw ’em out.

The Turn of a Friendly Card. The Sicilian Defence album was never released and never will be.