I love writing every song I can like a little mini movie. I like to have a character, or some characters, and really paint a picture with the song.

I write what I write, say what I say, 'cause I feel what I feel, and if I did it different, it would make me a liar! So I'd rather be an honest person than a good liar.

Adjusting to the passage of time is a key to success and to life: just being able to roll with the punches.

Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

In the early days, Porter Wagoner would not exactly scold me, but he's say, 'You're writing too many damn verses. You're makin' these songs too damn long.' And I'd say, 'Yeah, but I'm tellin' a story. I have a story to tell.' And he'd say, 'Well, you're not going to get it on the radio.' If I start writing a song, I'm writing it for a reason. People would say that I had to have two verses, and a chorus, and a bridge. I tried to learn that formula.

I've never let a rhinestone go unturned

I always had a very open mind and a very open heart. I always look for the good in everybody and the God in everybody. I play to that. And I just love people. I love the difference in people. I love getting to know people. I appreciate getting accepted myself, because I know I'm unusual. And I love the unusual in other people.