I had the notion that I wanted to write the great dirty American novel, so I went to Roanoke College on the GI Bill.

I took up a sort of a hobby of just hanging around the local library. I'd pick out an author and I would read all their books.

When you retire, it's a place in life, a part of the journey. You just don't quit work; you develop an attitude where you can do what you please

I had the notion that I wanted to write the great dirty American novel, so I went to Roanoke College on the GI Bill.

I think the nature of songwriters is that they are philosophers, and philosophers have a bent towards poetry and songwriting, so I think that the two run around together. The nature of a songwriter could be philosophical. Looking for universal ideas, a way to say things, get the story across as a means of entertaining, provoking thought.

I never fixed a story. I didn't make judgments, I let the listener make judgments. When I got to the end of the story, if it had a moral, I let the listener find it.

Nobody knows a hit before it's a hit.