Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I don't think I've changed anything in the country format whatsoever. But I'm not worried about it. I've found my place in it.
I can fall in and out of love, have marriages that barely last a month. When they go down the drain, I'll blame it on the fame.
There's something about being out here on the road that the hours aren't anything like what you're used to when you're at home.
If you're really on top, you probably didn't do that great, 'cause you have to water it down a bit for it to get that mass appeal
If you're really on top, you probably didn't do that great, 'cause you have to water it down a bit for it to get that mass appeal.
You're going to get flak if you tell the wrong joke, but it's still the wrong joke. Give the wrong speech, you take it on the chin.
That's why we do this. In country music, we do this for this very reason... to impact people lyrically, to be a part of their lives.
A creative space is an important thing. There are so many studios that feel like doctor's offices in Nashville. I couldn't write there.
I don't think I'm influencing younger artists - they're not trying to be me. But I don't say that in bitterness. I say that with realism.
I really believe you'll get a music video one of these days that I shot with an iPad because it's that consistent and that good. It's HD.
The hardest part about writing any song is, what do you write? And how do I rewrite things? You start to run out of ideas that feel fresh.
I'm going to obviously do my best as a father to set a good example for my children, and I want them to see good examples from our leaders.
I'm a huge, huge fan of almost everything British. I love 'The Office' - I was a faithful follower of that show before the American version.
When they say you're the best, I always remember that the majority of the audience probably thinks someone else should have gotten the award.
It comes down to building your own world out here on the road. It's who you surround yourself with. My band and crew are really positive guys.
If there's a song where there's a possibility of guitar stuff that would be fun to listen to, go for it. Don't worry about what anybody thinks.
I've always known from the time I was eight years old what I wanted to do. I would have been fairly content to be someone's lead guitar player.
Country music's always had the best musicians in any format of music, and I always gravitated toward that, stuff that was musically interesting.
When you got something you gotta do in your career, you do it. When you get home, and there's work to be done, you do that. It's all about balance.
I have a to-do list and I have a farm I care for, and things I like to do for fun - going to movies and all that stuff. It's a painfully normal life!
I don't like to look back. I love the next challenge and don't keep awards. There are a few that are really important, but my parents have most of them.
I'm sure there are a few things in my CD collection that might surprise people. I like classical music, the blues, and I'm a big fan of alternative rock.
I really worked to try and be creative enough on the guitar parts so those who aren't real educated would know that there was some difficulty in doing it.
When you're a creative person, there are just times when you're not listening. You know, I could be looking right at you and thinking about something else.
The nice thing about the world that I've been able to inhabit for the last couple of years is that I'm given a lot of freedom. Not all artists really get that.
With my guys and with the way that we live out there, we work out a lot and try to eat right, but we try to basically keep it our own rhythm and our own world.
If you were to hold me to a standard of, 'What are you doing, singing about a scratch-off ticket at your level of success?' then my music's gonna be ridiculous.
My first tweet was at the CMT Awards when I won an award and typed, 'Thank you.' Then I was hooked because the followers started multiplying. It's a great tool.
In Nashville, if people don't like someone, they say, 'I don't really like him,' then add, 'bless his heart.' In Hollywood, they kind of leave that last part off.
Out in Hollywood, you get the feeling when people are talking to you, that they are looking right past you - like they're looking to see who else they can talk to.
Everybody goes through a period where you're fighting a lot, I think. Sometimes that can be a good thing for your relationship. That conflict can lead to making up.
If a little kid picks up Guitar Hero and learns 'Smoke On The Water,' he soon finds out that if he wants the chicks to look at him, he'd better learn it on the guitar!
I don't have, you know, an 'overcoming addiction' story, other than the guitar itself, and I haven't overcome that. I don't have a jail time, you know, story, or any arrests.
When you fall in love, you don't have a whole lot of time. But when it comes to a heartache, all of the sudden you have time on your hands, and it's an outlet for you to write.
I'm a country musician. I know how to play jazz, and I can play rock. But I've had to fight my entire career to get a little respect from people who don't understand where I come from.
I don't have the answers. But I am asking the questions, and that's the fun part. I'm like the kid in class with his hand up, going, 'Um...' I think that's a powerful place to create from.
You're a sitting duck in a mall if you're a celebrity. It's like that scene from 'Guarding Tess,' I think it is, where Shirley MacLaine goes to the mall just to feel good about her celebrity.
When every memory has been made and the pages start to fade. And every prayer you ever prayed is heaven bound. When you think the ride is over, you're back at the beginning. Love is never-ending.
Yea there ain't nothing not affected when two hearts get connected. All that is will be or ever was; every single choice we make; every breath we get to take is all because two people fell in love.
If you're somebody that gets a chance to go somewhere... that has to work somewhere or go to another city, then do your best to see it. Because I just think that's the best way to have an interesting life.
Today she met me at the door, said I would have to choose, if I picked up that fishing rod today, she'd be packing all her things and she'd be gone by noon....well I'm gonna miss her when I get home tonight.
It's hard to be judgmental once you've been around the world... it's pretty hard to be anything but understanding, and I think it's good for everybody to get out and see someplace other than where you grew up.
I take his talent and his passion with me - to the stage of the Opry, to the podium at the CMA Awards, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, into my own living room. I am the realization of my grandfather's dream. I am a player.
Here's the problem with talking about who I voted for. If I say I voted for Romney, then everybody's like, 'Of course.' If I say I voted for Obama, everybody's like, 'Of course.' And then I'm no longer the guy you can't figure out.
You have different stages in your career where you have different things to prove. And early on, like most people who move to Nashville, I wanted to prove that I belonged here, that I belonged in this format, that I had a love for it.
My dad was president of the volunteer fire department, which was within walking distance to our house. I spent several days of each week there with him - any time the whistle blew, he went. It was truly inspiring to watch him lead that way.
I try to write like the writers I admire - I rip them off in form. It comes from George Strait and Merle Haggard records, and country music in general is really good at that, the twisted phrase... So Im always looking for that angle in my own work.
I try to write like the writers I admire - I rip them off in form. It comes from George Strait and Merle Haggard records, and country music in general is really good at that, the twisted phrase... So I'm always looking for that angle in my own work.
No one can make the album they made 10 years ago with a straight face. There are two reasons: one is you change as a person. To be a true artist, I have to be true to who I am now and write that way. And the second thing is these are different times.
The truth is, I mostly thought about 'Accidental Racist' in terms of my fans. This song was meant to generate discussion among the people who listen to my albums. What I was most worried about is that my fan base would think that I was preaching to them.