“Mercy, mercy me, things ain’t what they used to be.”

I am not a star. At least, I don’t consider myself a star.

Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you.

War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate.

And givin’ yourself to me can never be wrong.

An artist, if he is truly an artist, is only interested in one thing and that is to wake up the minds of men, to have mankind and womankind realize that there is something greater than what we see on the surface.

Marriage is miserable unless you find the right person that is your soulmate and that takes a lot of looking.

Music is one of the closest link-ups with God that we can probably experience. I think it’s a common vibrating tone of the musical notes that holds all life together.

I am not going to be dictated to by fans, certainly. I am dictated enough to by my record company to last me a million years.

To share is precious, pure and fair. Don’t play with something you should cherish for life. Don’t you wanna care, ain’t it lonely out there?

Great artists suffer for the people.

Every chance you get you seem to hurt me more and more, but each hurt makes my love stronger than before.

Anger destroys your soul.

If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.

Who are they to judge us, simply because our hair is long?

I don’t make records for pleasure. I did when I was a younger artist, but I don’t today. I record so that I can feed people what they need, what they feel. Hopefully, I record so that I can help someone overcome a bad time.

Negotiating means getting the best of your opponent.