I'm not just a doormat. I'm not just being stepped on all over the place. If you look at the bulk of my material, it's about trying to find some strength through that.

I'm fascinated by the whole concept of snake handling. When you read about the Pentecostal snake handlers, what strikes you the most is their commitment.

I'm just like everyone. I like to feel togetherness with someone.

So few people are truly themselves when they're in the spotlight.

People let their own hang-ups become the obstacles between them and personal happiness.

As it turns out, now is the moment you've been waiting for

I guess you could write a good song if your heart hadn't been broken, but I don't know of anyone whose heart hasn't been broken.

The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle.

First thing, I throw on some jeans, a T-shirt and my Keds sneakers and make coffee. That is actually my favorite time of day. That is when I do my songwriting, when I am in writing mode.

Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it.

I have such a great band. We had played all this material on the road. I just wanted to let it fly.

You can turn off the sun but I'm still gonna shine.

I decided to stay in bed until noon. Maybe by then half the world would be dead and it would only be half as hard to take.

How quickly we damn ourselves when we start to talk, how small and inglorious we always sound.

A good horse is a man's best friend in time of danger.

I began both auditioning with Pearl Jam and recording for Eleven. In the fall of 1994, I joined Pearl Jam.

I was Chairman Maos dog. What he said to bite, I bit.

Too many voters are already bought -- not by corporate campaign donors, but by the government itself.

Chinese people age overnight.

Maybe time didn't heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob.

My fans are my family, because they understand me and I understand them.