[My mother] called [my voice] the gift.

If you aren't gonna say exactly how and what you feel, you might as well not say anything at all.

I love the freedoms we got in this country, I appreciate your freedom to burn your flag if you want to, but I really appreciate my right to bear arms so I can shoot you if you try to burn mine.

You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it.

Life is rough so you gotta be tough.

There's a lot of things blamed on me that never happened. But then, there's a lot of things that I did that I never got caught at.

Life and love go on, let the music play.

I learn from my mistakes. It’s a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, there’s no gain.

it's good to know who hates you and it is good to be hated by the right people

There is a spiritual side to me that goes real deep, but I confess right up front that I'm the biggest sinner of them all.

Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.

The conductor must breathe life into the score. It is you and you alone who must expose it to the understanding, reveal the hidden jewel to the sun at the most flattering angles.

If you admire yourself in the mirror, let it be in fear and not delight, because the only thing that beauty will bring to you is terror of losing it.

I hope there is nothing about me that people have a big problem with. You know, I like to think of myself as lovable.

Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like them.

If you think big, then it's going to be big.

Put two or three men in positions of conflicting authority. This will force them to work at loggerheads, allowing you to be the ultimate arbiter.

All change is loss, and all loss must be mourned.

The picture of a shadow is a positive thing.

Blunt force didn't knock out the drug epidemic. 21 million Americans are addicted to drugs or alcohol. And half of all federal inmates are in for drug crimes.

[Making Ordinary People] was a wonderful experience. Tremendous. I haven't seen it since. It belongs to the public now; it no longer really belongs to me.