It was kind of a prodding myself to play I Walk The Line straight.

A song stylist is, like, to take an old folk song like "Delia's Gone" and do a modern white man's version of it.

It's like a novelist writing far out things. If it makes a point and makes sense, then people like to read that. But if it's off in left field and goes over the edge, you lose it. The same with musical talent, I think.

When you sing, you pray twice.

My way of communicating with God as a boy (and often even now) was through the lyrics of a song. . . . So I didn't have the problem some people do who say, "I don't know how to pray." I used the songs to communicate with God. . . . To me, songs were the telephone to heaven, and I tied up the line quite a bit.

I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

The battle against the dark one and the clinging to the right one is what my life is about.