I think inside every rock journalist, there's somebody who wishes they had the courage to live the life that they're not, and that they're writing about. But at the same time, inside every songwriter, I guess there's a wish for happiness.

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?

My dad was quiet, angry, shut down. So my thing is: I express everything that's there. I want to get it all out.

And I've always loved playing solo.

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

In Irish law, busking is considered vagrancy - you can be arrested for it. It's risky asking people for money in public. So it's not like it's a high-art job. And people who do it as a high-art job make very little money.

There are people who can sit down and write a song about any given subject, and they can do it really, really well.