I don't think [Dylan and the Beatles] influenced me a lot. I think it was inevitable; they were so powerful that you couldn't really escape the influence.

I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called Mother and Child Reunion. It's chicken and eggs. And I said, I gotta use that one.

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence.

Improvisation is too good to leave to chance.

If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything.

Sail on silver girl Sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine Oh, if you need a friend I'm sailing right behind.

I don't feel any pressure from fans. But I'm always in some kind of state of emotional turmoil. I would not describe myself as happy-go-lucky. That's not to say that I'm not happy.

Believing I had supernatural powers, I slammed into a brick wall.

I've got nothing to do today but smile.

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.

If life is a dream, better you dread the waking!

You don't have to be a big name to do big things. Shine does not require recognition.

I like to think about what the song is saying, the story of it, and conveying the mood of that to the audience. But at the same time, sharing through interacting with them and engaging them.

When you lose what you love remember to stay strong. Look out the window and remember life goes on.

When you're a mom to three children, nothing bothers you. Trust me. Who cares what people say? I've got other things to deal with.

There is nobody I know by name who is concerned with collecting information for the Russian authorities. There are people whom I know by sight whom I trusted with my life.

The key is what is within the artist. The artist can only paint what she or he is about.

Intolerance of groups is often, strangely enough, exhibited more strongly against small differences than against fundamental ones.

Casting can be heartbreaking. Dealing with the disappointment is the hardest part.

If he had had all Peru in his pocket, he would certainly have given it to this dancer; but Gringoire had not Peru in his pocket; and besides, America was not yet discovered. (p. 66)