It is so important for me to try, and having tried I look back on failure and success as if it were all the same.

I am a fan of history.

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.

A song is a poem set to music.

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

Make your melodies simple enough so that the average person can hum them.

I knew a lot of chords, but they weren't the chords that came with the melody that came with the idea I had for the song. Melodies are simple things. If you see a train wreck, there's a melody. If you see a little daisy blowing in the breeze, there's a melody.