A song is like a saddle: you ride it for a while, and if it's the right kind of song you can sing it for the rest of your life.

Well, everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking.

I've realized, you know, having turned 40, that rest is just as important as work. In fact, it's equally as important.

I absolutely adore the alchemy of a bit of an idea.

Keeping the pen out of your hand as much as possible is the best way to write a song, in my estimation. But the pen must come in to tighten it up.

I just didn't realize, being a young person, that if you sign up to make a film, a certain portion of your soul is forever gone. From there on, you are that character to everybody you'll ever meet again.

I think it's very interesting, people who can't stand people who whinge and whine. It seems almost like a class issue. Because you think about who is the most positive, who's the most redemptive songwriter that's ever existed in your lifetime?