I always try to make the music that I like and think my fans will like.

I think if you retire from touring, then people think you are retired.

If anything good came out of 9/11, to me, was that people were so cynical about the world - all you hear about on the news is all the bad stuff everyday, but what was refreshing to me was after that, you saw how many good people there are out there. For every one bad one, there's a thousand good ones.

I've had several working-man songs that I like.

I've always stood up for country music.

I've always said that if you have songs on the radio and get played, you've got to have a tour to support that.

You think about people like Hank Williams, who stood on that spot of wood, and Mr. Acuff, and, of course, George Jones. And just about anybody you can think of who has made country music has been on that stage. That's what makes you so nervous - to think about the historical part of the Opry and how it's played such a part in country music.