I wish I had a nickel for every song that I've left in the bathroom, written down on a matchbox, or just totally forgotten about

I love the idea of stepping out of the band situation into a solo world with no boundaries, no expectations, where nothing is out of bounds.

Around '75 when the recession hit, club owners started going to disco because it was cheaper for them to just buy a sound system than it was to hire a band.

Success is fickle, but creativity is a gift.

When I was about 3, my grandfather used to give me and my sister a nickel to sit out on the front porch with him and sing songs.

I'm not the kind of guy who deserves to play a vintage guitar because I'm too rough on instruments.

It was more fun trying to figure out I Want To Hold Your Hand than to take lessons. By this time I knew basic chords

Songwriting is the other weight on the opposite side of the scale from touring. They balance me out creatively.

On acoustic guitar I tend to stay in the key of D for some reason. On electric guitar I keep basic: C, G, D, and A. The key of D minor is also real good for me.

If I have an idea, I write it down, although I usually carry a little dictation machine with me because I'm too lazy to write

I wrote songs all my life, where anyone wanted to hear them or not.

The lion does not need the whole world to fear him, only those nearest where he roams.

God’s principles work whether we believe them or not.

Whether on'e special emphasis is global warming or child welfare, the cause is the same cause. And justice comes from the same place being human comes from: compassion.

Newspaper readership is declining like crazy. In fact, there's a good chance that nobody is reading my column.

I’m still secretly a bit of a punk. Love The Clash and a bit of the Pistols. I guess as I’ve got older I’ve chilled out a bit. But, my teenage angst is still stirring somewhere!

Our concern with truth is simply an echo of our concern with God .

I hear the first drops. Like the tapping of a stranger at the door of a dream, the rain changes everything.

Give the lady what she wants!

Silent strength is the quality of all good men and most mummies.

On rolls the stream with a perpetual sigh; The rocks moan wildly as it passes by; Hyssop and wormwood border all the strand, And not a flower adorns the dreary land.