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.

Me and Jesus got our own thing going on. We don't need anybody to tell us what it's all about.

Songwriting is as much a craft as a talent.

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

A monkey was the President, though maybe not the first. And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe.

I have my own religion. I'm sort of one-quarter Baptist, one-quarter Catholic, one-quarter Jewish.

When I first got to Nashville, somebody said that [Kris Kristofferson and I] were the only two people who could describe Dolly Parton without using their hands.