I was the oldest child, and both my parents worked, so I had a great deal of responsibility from a very young age.

I think that if you have a strong narrative, if the idea of the song can be boiled down to the basics, it won't change that much.

And I really wanted a driver's license. I was 43, had my learner's permit and had failed the test once already - but that was in Riverhead, on Long Island.

My intellect has always been more responsible than my emotions for how I respond to the world.

How weird it was to drive streets I knew so well. What a different perspective.

But I never want to get to the point where I write a safe song or one that represents my sense of a subject in order to appear civilized.

Last year's troubles, They shine up so prettily, They gleam with a lustre they don't have today.