So it's the greatest compliment in the world when people want to hear you sing. That means it feels good to them, so I keep doing it.

I was singing before I could talk.

The world has changed a lot since I started making records.I used to go into a studio and there were songs there, chosen for me to see if I liked them. I wasn't encouraged to write.

I wasn't encouraged to write just stand there and sing and I never thought I was a writer. I always figured if I couldn't write something as good as "He Stopped Loving Her Today," then what's the point?

I wanted to be a rock 'n' roll star. It defines life for me. It's all I've ever imagined for myself.

My band can tell you, I'd rather do anything than rehearse.

I think a lot of people think that my parents' deaths is why I write such sad songs, but that's not true. Those songs may just be the woman I am.