I believe it is possible to tell what sign some people were born under by watching their eyes, watching how they walk, how they talk.

For most entertainers, there is a single experience, one defining moment, when confidence replaces the self-doubt that most of us wrestle with.

The tastes of country music fans are not limited to the narrow range defined by consultants and programmers and record company moguls.

It used to be that if you had a pretty good record, you could stop by a station in Little Rock or Atlanta and let the DJ listen to it. No way something like that can happen now.

The time I spent thinking about how I was better than somebody else or worrying about somebody else's attitude was time I could put to better use.

I finally came to terms with manic depression and lithium. I've taken lithium regularly for the past few years and have had no further bouts with manic depression.

Fans are what make a performer and I've always taken them seriously.

A fan will grab you and hug you and will not let go. When that happens, you wish it could be that way all over the world.

There only have been two people on this earth that I was nervous around: Chet Atkins and Mickey Mantle. It's because of the respect I have for them.

No one had ever told me that whites were supposed to sing one kind of music and blacks another - I sang what I liked in the only voice I had.

I learned to tune a guitar by ear. That method has served me pretty well.

The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to gratify it.

But as long as you know you're nobody special, you'll be a very decent sort of Horse, on the whole, and taking one thing with another.

I'm not brave enough to be a coward; I see the consequences too clearly.

If you are telling the truth, then you can speak gently, and your words will have power.

That's why I like the scenes where we're just in the kitchen having breakfast, because it's the interaction between people. The chaos.

Originally I wanted to be a diplomat, and by attrition I started giving up that idea.

The most insidious of sophisms are usually repeated to justify immodesty and seem to be the same everywhere.

A great fortune enslaves its owner.

I'm happy that people have loved my film and my work. I have always let my work do the talking, and I guess I have proved to my critics that I'm not over.

I love melodies so it's usually where I start.