I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.

I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known.

A song is like a picture of a bird in flight; the bird was moving before the picture was taken, and no doubt continued after.

A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.

I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this. I would be very glad to tell you my life if you want to hear of it.

It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for advice.

Plagiarism is basic to all culture