Some of us have a relentless urge to attempt what we can never be good at and neglect our true calling.

Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.

It was luxuries like air conditioning that brought down the Roman Empire. With air conditioning their windows were shut, they couldn't hear the barbarians coming.

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.

The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out of his nose.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Sometimes there is nothing you can do, and in those times, you must do something anyway.

Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head. ~Garrison Keillor

I've had an incredible life with a lot of triumphs, my share of heartbreak, and some pretty amazing experiences.

The desire of reward is one of the strongest incentives of human conduct; ... the best security for the fidelity of mankind is to make their interest coincide with their duty.

Indulge, and to thy genius freely give, For not to live at ease is not to live.

Music helps me to express feelings in a way words often cannot.

If there are questions then, of course, there are answers, but the final answer makes the questions seem absurd.

My music is the spiritual expression of what I am: my faith, my knowledge, my being.

I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.

I'm more critical of the films I make than anyone else.

There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good stories seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky.

I think all songs should have weather in them. Names of towns and streets, and they should have a couple of sailors. I think those are just song prerequisites.