“Who put the bomp in the bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp, who put the ram in the rama-lama-ding-dong?”

One other thing, if it’s possible, as songwriters, you should also develop yourself as record producers.

There’s so much fear involved in trying to do something you don’t know how to do that drugs and alcohol can become a big part of your life if you have an addictive personality or are very unsure, which most songwriters are.

I think that most writers who wait until they’re inspired to write are just waiting for the fear to subside.

I get a different kind of lyric from someone else that might make me go in a different musical direction.

I also used to work in the Catskill Mountains as a bus boy, and I performed in talent shows.

It’s amazing how a competitive nature can turn a negative into something positive.

It’s very hard to teach someone how to write a song if to begin with there’s no creative crop to harvest.

You have to be very brave in that first writing session.

Probably most successful songwriters have an innate songwriting ability.

No matter what you do, you’ll never run away from you.

If I waited for inspiration every time I sat down to write a song I probably would be a plumber today.

I quit college. I was studying architecture for about a year.

Cynthia’s lyrics always expressed the feelings people felt but they couldn’t express themselves.

I know at the beginning of our careers, my wife and I were gut wrenchingly competitive.

You have certain writing tools but generally creating something from nothing makes one quite mad and Cynthia and I are quite mad you know.

I’ve written songs sober and I’ve written songs high.

The first time I had a secretary, I was sheepish about being demanding or even asking questions.

I think it’s pointless asking questions like “Will humanity survive?” It’s purely up to people – if they want to, they can, if they don’t want to, they won’t.

Never underestimate a dumb question.

A people made morbidly obese in mind and spirit by the junk food of propaganda is less inclined to put up a fight, ask questions and be skeptical. And just as a democracy can die of too many lies, that kind of orthodoxy can kill us, too.

Asking the right questions is as important as answering them

Heartbeat, why do you skip when my baby’s lips meet mine?

There is no such thing as a dumb question but there is such a thing as a dumb person asking a question.

It is not enough for me to ask question; I want to know how to answer the one question that seems to encompass everything I face: What am I here for?