Instinct taught me 20 years ago to pace a song or a concert performance. That translates into pacing a story, pleasing a reading audience.

I sell escapism.

If life gives you limes, make margaritas.

I hate to mention age, but I come from an era when we weren’t consumed by technology and television.

These old ballparks are like cathedrals in America. We don’t have big old Gothic cathedrals like they do in Europe. But we got baseball parks.

Is it ignorance or apathy? Hey, I don’t know and I don’t care.

If we weren’t all crazy, we’d just go insane.

Older and wiser voices can help you find the right path, if you are only willing to listen.

My mother insisted that her children read.

At 57, to have a No. 1 album, I wasn’t expecting it.

Moderation is the key so I work certain amount of time and then I take a certain amount of time off.

And I wound up in New Orleans for all those years and it was a great place, really a catalyst creatively.

Elvis was the only man from Northeast Mississippi who could shake his hips and still be loved by rednecks, cops, and hippies.

Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been.

Well, I’m still here. Didn’t have to go to rehab, and I’m not broke.

I’m inspired by people who keep on rolling, no matter their age.

I still consider it a summer job, though. So, I try to maintain that summer job as long as I can. But it’s exciting to be able to have the opportunity to do things I always dreamed of as a kid.

Instinct taught me 20 years ago to pace a song or a concert performance. That translates into pacing a story, pleasing a reading audience.

I’m a big follower and reactor to weather.

Phish and Dave Matthews really know their audiences and really treat them well.

I can only say the first thing that pops into my mind is I remember, years ago, seeing kind of a has-been country singer working – when I first moved to Nashville – in a bar in a Holiday Inn.

You know, as a writer, I’m more of a listener than a writer, cuz if I hear something I will write it down.

Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.

And you find as a writer there are certain spots on the planet where you write better than others, and I believe in that. And New Orleans is one of them.

People who think too much before they act don’t act too much.

I always said that I wouldn’t use a teleprompter, and if I start to sing real flat, I’ll hang it up.

Indecision may or may not be my problem.

I just want to live happily ever after, every now and then.

It’s been wonderful for me, and I feel so privileged to have fans that are that loyal.

Places I’ve lived since then had to have some kind of uniqueness and character about them. And logically Key West, and then Down Island. So, all of that stuff sort of had it’s roots in New Orleans and went crazy.

And I try to give the best bang for the buck. I love performing more than anything else.

Why dont we get drunk and screw?

We are the people our parents warned us about.

The stores and the things like that, the business side of things came out at the point when, I’d say probably in the early ’70s, it looked like the year of the singer-songwriter was over, ’cause music changed in our time and the spotlight was out.

To describe my scarce leisure time in today’s terms, I always default to reading.

If I couldn’t laugh I just would go insane, If we couldn’t laugh we just would go insane, If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane.

If it doesn’t work out there will never be any doubt that the pleasure was worth all the pain.

Humor has bailed me out of more tight situations than I can think of. If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows. With luck, success comes, too.

There’s something missing in the music industry today… and it’s music. Songs you hear don’t last, it’s just product fed to you by the industry.

Quitting doesn’t enter my mind.