I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying more attention to things.

Maybe I spent more time dwelling on emotions than some people, and maybe that's why I ended up writing.

If something bothers me, it bothers me for a long time until I find a way to work it out. Music provided me with a means of working things out.

Writing, overall, has never been what I'd call fun. It's fulfilling. It doesn't come real easy for me.

I don't know what other people are like, I haven't been able to crawl inside anybody else.

Most of the music you hear on the radio today is developed for making money. It doesn't feel true or honest. You can feel it in the music.

Some guy refuses to fight and we call that the sin, but he's standing up for what he believes in and that seems pretty damned American to me.