I sing as an actress. Whatever I'm singing about, I just become the story.

After Momma gave birth to twelve of us kids, we put her up on a pedestal. It was mostly to keep Daddy away from her.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

Until I was a teenager, I used red pokeberries for lipstick and a burnt matchstick for eyeliner. I used honeysuckle for perfume.

We can't all be stars; we can't all be leaders. We are all God's creatures, living life, and we have that God light in us and we're supposed to let it shine. And not everybody wants to be like me and stick their neck out to get up on stage and perform. There are those like me, but there are also those that are of a shyer nature. And they're smarter than most of us that are out there showing our asses.

My biggest extravagances are also investments. I have several houses in California, a house in Nashville, an office complex, and I bought the old home place in Tennessee. They are different places for me to write, but I can turn right around and sell them.

Money ain't everything.