We [with Rick Rubin] would focus on the ones that we did like, that felt right and sounded right. And if I didn't like the performance on that song, I would keep trying it and do take after take until it felt comfortable with me and felt that it was coming out of me and my guitar and my voice as one, that it was right for my soul.

There's a lot of things blamed on me that never happened. But then, there's a lot of things that I did that I never got caught at.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town.

Happiness is being at peace, being with loved ones, being comfortable...but most of all, it's having those loved ones.

We went down [Folsom Prison] and there's a rodeo at all these shows that the prisoners have there. And in between the rodeo things, they asked me to set up and do two or three songs. So that was what I did. I did "Folsom Prison Blues," which they thought was their song - you know? - and "I Walk The Line," "Hey Porter," "Cry, Cry, Cry." And then the word got around on the grapevine that Johnny Cash is all right and that you ought to see him.

I start a lot more songs than I finish, because I realize when I get into them, they're no good. I don't throw them away, I just put them away, store them, get them out of sight.

People ask me who is my favorite country artist. I say, you mean besides George Jones.