I try to write like the writers I admire - I rip them off in form. It comes from George Strait and M...
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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.
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Even in your darkest moments, you'll think of something that'll crack you up.
Even in your darkest moments, you'll think of something that'll crack you up.
I don't stare at a sheet of paper and try to think of a good word to use. I try to see where the sto...
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I don't stare at a sheet of paper and try to think of a good word to use. I try to see where the story should go.
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If I get an idea for a song, I have a melody for it. I'm a musician first. I'm not limited by the fr...
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If I get an idea for a song, I have a melody for it. I'm a musician first. I'm not limited by the fretboard.
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Date night is important, even if it's going to Schlotzsky's.
Date night is important, even if it's going to Schlotzsky's.
If you were to hold me to a standard of, 'What are you doing, singing about a scratch-off ticket at ...
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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.
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Guitar playing isn't really for everybody.
Guitar playing isn't really for everybody.
You look out there and there's people that, their day is changed because of your contribution to it.
You look out there and there's people that, their day is changed because of your contribution to it.
I've heard my share of Van Halen. I never liked rock.
I've heard my share of Van Halen. I never liked rock.
When I made 'Who Needs Pictures,' my first album, I had been west of the Mississippi River one time ...
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When I made 'Who Needs Pictures,' my first album, I had been west of the Mississippi River one time in my life, and that was in fourth grade. We traveled to California for vacation and stayed with some friends of my parents. It was culture shock, and it was different.
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Willie Nelson, out there 200 days a year, calls his band family. And it is.
Willie Nelson, out there 200 days a year, calls his band family. And it is.
I don't have, you know, an 'overcoming addiction' story, other than the guitar itself, and I haven't...
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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.
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No one can make the album they made 10 years ago with a straight face. There are two reasons: one is...
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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.
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I like to look at the songs like they're little movies.
I like to look at the songs like they're little movies.
The nice thing about the world that I've been able to inhabit for the last couple of years is that I...
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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.
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With my guys and with the way that we live out there, we work out a lot and try to eat right, but we...
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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.
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If you're really on top, you probably didn't do that great, 'cause you have to water it down a bit f...
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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.
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My father's a firefighter. He was my whole life. And my brother-in-law and several family members ar...
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My father's a firefighter. He was my whole life. And my brother-in-law and several family members are firefighters.
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When they say you're the best, I always remember that the majority of the audience probably thinks s...
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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.
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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 ...
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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!
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There may be people in my audience who may not agree with me on some particular issue - you know, sa...
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There may be people in my audience who may not agree with me on some particular issue - you know, say, as a gun owner, they may not agree with me, or, you know, someone may not agree with me on a gay marriage topic. Any of those things. But those shouldn't be the reasons you listen to my music.
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Deep down, I'm just a West Virginia hillbilly.
Deep down, I'm just a West Virginia hillbilly.
When I got married, I hired a great choir - the St. James Choir, an all-black gospel choir - to sing...
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When I got married, I hired a great choir - the St. James Choir, an all-black gospel choir - to sing at my wedding.
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I take his talent and his passion with me - to the stage of the Opry, to the podium at the CMA Award...
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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.
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Anytime you do something from the heart, people just know it.
Anytime you do something from the heart, people just know it.
I love being an enigma. Every time I'm tempted to respond to someone who tries to put me in a box, p...
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I love being an enigma. Every time I'm tempted to respond to someone who tries to put me in a box, politically - you know, someone who gets on the Internet and says, you're pro-gun, or you're anti-gun - I stop and say to myself, 'This is great; this is what I wanted. I wanted to be the guy you can't figure out.'
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I can't even imagine what Hank Garland would have become had he not been in that accident. You're ta...
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I can't even imagine what Hank Garland would have become had he not been in that accident. You're talking about 40 years of lost innovation that could have come only from him.
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I changed my mindset and figured, Why not try to be really entertaining instrumentally?
I changed my mindset and figured, Why not try to be really entertaining instrumentally?
When you're a creative person, there are just times when you're not listening. You know, I could be ...
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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.
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I'm a huge, huge fan of almost everything British. I love 'The Office' - I was a faithful follower o...
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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.
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I have a very down-to-earth father. My wife is an actress and famous herself is more down-to-earth t...
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I have a very down-to-earth father. My wife is an actress and famous herself is more down-to-earth than anyone I know.
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That there's no more important decision in life than who you marry.
That there's no more important decision in life than who you marry.
It comes down to building your own world out here on the road. It's who you surround yourself with. ...
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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.
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As a guitar player, it's harder for me to impress somebody than it is to write a song that they like...
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As a guitar player, it's harder for me to impress somebody than it is to write a song that they like.
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I love any and all situations where you celebrate creativity.
I love any and all situations where you celebrate creativity.
Tomorrow is the first bank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.
Tomorrow is the first bank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.
I've always known from the time I was eight years old what I wanted to do. I would have been fairly ...
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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.
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My dad was president of the volunteer fire department, which was within walking distance to our hous...
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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.
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No one dislikes LL Cool J. If you meet LL Cool J, you fall in love with LL Cool J. LL and I had mutu...
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No one dislikes LL Cool J. If you meet LL Cool J, you fall in love with LL Cool J. LL and I had mutual friends, and he and I had always talked about doing something. My fans know LL's music. And I love him - we're blood brothers at this point. We've been through the fire together. I know no finer person.
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I jetset around and play these songs and get to hang with some pretty amazing people, then I go home...
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I jetset around and play these songs and get to hang with some pretty amazing people, then I go home to a really great farm, though actually it's a disaster area of a farm at the moment. But it's certainly a blast. I wouldn't trade lives with anyone right now.
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I love to play. When I'm off, I feel a little lost - like, shouldn't I be on stage somewhere?
I love to play. When I'm off, I feel a little lost - like, shouldn't I be on stage somewhere?
It just gets easier in that you become more you in the process.
It just gets easier in that you become more you in the process.
I've been on the road I think probably three years.
I've been on the road I think probably three years.
Even on the most serious ballads, I'll throw in a tongue-in-cheek remark.
Even on the most serious ballads, I'll throw in a tongue-in-cheek remark.
Alison Krauss is definitely my favorite singer that's ever lived. I've never heard anyone like her.
Alison Krauss is definitely my favorite singer that's ever lived. I've never heard anyone like her.
I tended to lean towards the guys who both sang and played, such as Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Steve ...
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I tended to lean towards the guys who both sang and played, such as Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Steve Wariner... And at the other end of the spectrum, I had Eric Clapton in a rock and blues sense, jazz guys such as Tal Farlow and Les Paul... Then Chet Atkins-type stuff.
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It's a very smart, progressive bunch, these people that make country music. They're not country hick...
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It's a very smart, progressive bunch, these people that make country music. They're not country hicks sitting behind a desk with a big cigar giving out record deals and driving round in Cadillacs with cattle horns on the front grille: it's a bunch of really wonderful, open-minded, great people down on Music Row that make this music.
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If you fall in love with somebody, then you're not even worried about your bills. Love can take your...
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If you fall in love with somebody, then you're not even worried about your bills. Love can take your mind off of anything.
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I really worked to try and be creative enough on the guitar parts so those who aren't real educated ...
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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.
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I'm sure there are a few things in my CD collection that might surprise people. I like classical mus...
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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.
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I go to eat dinner with my folks when I'm home. I think that's the trick.
I go to eat dinner with my folks when I'm home. I think that's the trick.
I'm aware of the fact that a lot of talented people out there will never get this chance.
I'm aware of the fact that a lot of talented people out there will never get this chance.
My life would be very puzzling to most people if they had to follow me around for a day or two.
My life would be very puzzling to most people if they had to follow me around for a day or two.
Country music has become the music that best represents the reality of American life.
Country music has become the music that best represents the reality of American life.
To be a true artist, I have to be true to who I am now and write that way.
To be a true artist, I have to be true to who I am now and write that way.
I imagine there's a market for total depression. I grew up on George Jones and that really dark stuf...
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I imagine there's a market for total depression. I grew up on George Jones and that really dark stuff.
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If there's a song where there's a possibility of guitar stuff that would be fun to listen to, go for...
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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.
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When you're old-fashioned like I am, you know marriage is forever. Those vows are a promise.
When you're old-fashioned like I am, you know marriage is forever. Those vows are a promise.
In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressin...
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In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressing anybody.
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