I'm from Texas. I hitchhiked to Tennessee when I was 19 years old, and it is really beautiful in Tennessee.

I can deal with conservatives in a democracy. With real conservatives, I don't agree with them, but I understand why they believe what they believe and I believe they're being honest with me about it.

Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion, too.

I'm not a Democrat; I'm something well to the left of a Democrat, but I'm just realistic about the system.

I don't spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, trying to compare how many records I've sold or how much money I've made.

I was comparatively late in understanding Bob Dylan's overwhelming importance as a songwriter. Everybody who does my job exists in the shadow of Bob Dylan. There are two categories: Dylan and everybody else. It's as simple as that. And it's going to be that way until he dies.

Every leap forward that I make is by reaching back and firmly getting a footing in the past, and pushing forward as hard as I can.