I'd really rather put songs on people's lips than in their ears.

My father urged Alan [Lomax] not to repeat the mistakes of the European folklorists who, a century ago, had collected these peasant songs and then arranged them for part choir and accompanied them on piano, and then told the young people of their country, "Don't change a note, this is our sacred heritage." Father said, whether it's a fiddle tune or a gospel song, learn it right off the record from the people who grew up with it. Don't just learn it from a piece of paper.

Any idiot can be complicated. It takes a genius to be simple.

People are combining traditions like never before and finding somehow a fundamental unity for this human race of ours. I think working with each other as Jeff Haynes has done here-we may be surprised to find what deeper unity all human beings have.

The first country conquered by any dictator is his own country.

One of the things I'm most proud of about my country is the fact that we did lick McCarthyism back in the fifties.

How can you save the world you have not seen if you can't save the community you have seen?