One thing a lyricist must learn is not to fall in love with his own lines. Once you learn that, you can walk away from the lyric and look at it with a reasonable degree of objectivity.

Mother told me always to follow the golden rule.And she said it's really a sin to be mean and cruel.So remember if you're untrueAngels up in heaven are looking at you.

Pop songs are not as graceful as they used to be. Performers today haven’t gone through the regimen of learning how to write. And of course, everyone wants to own copyrights. Rap culture is interesting and different and has purpose, but it has a non-romantic view of life and of social feelings. There may be a void in that.

In writing I search for believability, simplicity, and emotional impact.

Above all, I try to create an emotion to which others can respond.

I tended not to be concerned about whether a song was going to be a hit when I wrote it. Because it became evident that none of us knew what was a hit and what wasn't. So I thought if I just write what I like, why shouldn't people like what I like?

It's not just a revue where one song is done, then another. There are concepts and ideas at work.