In one word he told me the secret of success in mathematics: plagiarize; only be sure always to call it . . . research.

We are the folk song army, every one of us cares. We all hate poverty, war, and injustice unlike the rest of you squares.

For there is surely nothing more beautiful in this world than the sight of a lone man facing single-handedly a half a ton of angry pot roast!

Filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, everything is lewd.

The people who came to hear me perform or to buy my records were not the type who would be offended [by the song 'The Vatican Rag']. But I gather that there were other people who were offended.

As for language, almost everything goes now. That is not to say that verbal taboos have disappeared, but merely that they have shifted somewhat. In my youth, for example, there were certain words you couldn't say in front of a girl; now you can say them, but you can't say 'girl'.

The audience usually has to be with you, I'm afraid. I always regarded myself as not even preaching to the converted, I was titillating the converted.