“Somebody will come in with a hook and a lot of times they come out with something that sounds a little crafty.”

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.

If you just do 50 to 60 shows a year, it’s not that much time away from home.

But most of the ones I’ve ever met have always been surprisingly normal, and I’ve enjoyed that.

Just try to do music that you like and you are proud of and not just whatever you think it’s going to take to get you on the radio.

Everybody always thinks that. But in just about every album I’ve ever had has been about 50-50 songs I’ve written or co-written and other people’s songs.

I don’t like politics, hypocrites, folks with poodles.

Growing up in Georgia, I used to think people up north or out west were so different. They’re really not.

You just write about things that happen.

Looks can go, fads can go, but a good song lasts forever.

What I enjoy doing more than anything is.

No man wants to settle down. It happens. Eventually you’re going to bump into somebody that makes you go, ‘Hmm, I don’t mind seeing this person every day.’

When you have the ability to affect other people and be somebody that somebody wants to emulate, care enough to help somebody else for their benefit, that’s what makes you a good teammate, and that’s what everybody’s looking for.

Talent is talent, and everybody knows somebody who has talent or ability, but they never really converted it into a productive performance for whatever reasons.

You don’t go to Notre Dame to learn something; you go to Notre Dame to be somebody.

If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that’s their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.

If somebody dumps something noxious in my back yard, the dumper is the last one I would call on to repair the damage.

There needs to be somebody that looks out for what’s best for the game, not what’s best for the Big 10 or what’s best for the SEC or what’s best for Jim Harbaugh, but what’s best for the game of college football – the integrity of the game, the coaches, the players, and the people that play it.

I think anytime you play somebody on a yearly basis, you develop a history for what they like to do.