I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me. Funny, but when you're near me I'm in the mood for love.

A song doesn't just come on. I've always had to tease it out, squeeze it out. 'No thesaurus can give you those words, no rhyming dictionary. They must happen out of you.

I don't care how good a song is. If it holds back the storyline, stalls the plot, your audience will reject it.

The songwriter mustn't fall in love with his own song. If it doesn't belong, he can't push it into a show. Let him save it; maybe it'll fit in another show.

Write what you feel. Write because of that need for expression.

Keep it in tune with the times, but don't write with the specific purpose of trying to create a hit. If you're doing it strictly to make money, you're crazy. There are easier ways to make money.

I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me. Funny, but when you're near me I'm in the mood for love.