Plagiarism is basic to all culture

I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small villages and took care of each other.

Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.

Some of my ancestors were religious dissenters who came to America over three hundred years ago. Others were abolitionists in New England in the eighteen forties and fifties.

It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.

I tell kids, don't trust the media. The media with their emphasis on fame is helping to destroy this country, helping destroy the human race. It's the plug-in drug.

Shh. Listen to the sounds that surround you. Notice the pitches, the volume, the timbre, the many lines of counterpoint. As light taught Monet to paint, the earth may be teaching you music.

Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.

This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.

Long live teachers of children, because they can show children how they can save the world.

If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.

Decide in your heart to be at peace with all men.

I don't give in, I don't give up, I don't take no for an answer.

I never read Karl Marx.

If there's not someone in your social circle who doesn't look like you, then shame on you.

A lot of songs I sang to crowds to get their reaction. That's how I knew they'd hit.

You can't trust the 'specials' like the old time 'coppers' When you can't find your way home.

In Brazil there are more Avon ladies than members of the army. In the United States more money is spent on beauty than on education or social services.

In global warming, I think everyone is scratching their heads - are there technological things that can be brought to bear that can make a difference?

I can certainly be part of the socialite group and walk those carpets every day, but I choose not to because I prefer to be grounded. You can't be at home and on the red carpet.

I think in some ways, it can do a listener a disservice to explain a song. I think I'd rather leave a little room for people to put themselves in it.