I think I'm going to be making country records for as long as I can see into the future. It's much more down-home and real.

It's a robust time, probably the most fertile time for the underground and for revolution since Nixon. I'm not talking about political overthrow; I'm talking about just general cultural revolution. Bush has polarised the country and is creating this breeding ground for an opposition. In the next couple of months, they'll probably make it unpatriotic to be Democrat. It's pretty crazy.

I don't think there is one president that's come down the line that hasn't done something good somewhere.

You know how the press is: If I mention one mistake, that's the only thing that bothers me unless I mention all the other ones.

Was he a doper or was he just a loser?

I would play all the parts of the song, show them the way it went together. Then I'd basically break down an arrangement - I wouldn't plan endings or beginnings - so they knew everything that was going on. I had the lyrics on a prompter so that I could remember everything I'd written, and I was able to just get into the groove and play with them. I think "Peace Trail" is one of the exceptions, where it's a later take. It just happened really quickly.

Some people put down all presidents. If you say anything good about any of them, they think you're supporting everything they do.