"The songwriting style, to me, is superior... there was a certain amount of joy in it, no matter how sad the song is. You get joy in listening to these Buddy Holly or Roy Orbison sad lyrics. I'm attracted to songs that have balance between the darks and the lights and giving them all equal opportunity."

"When you're absolute beginners, It's a panoramic view, From Her Majesty, Mt. Zion, And the Kingdom is for you."

"I treat the act of making a record very much like working in a laboratory, experimenting with sounds and ideas... Whoever chooses to latch onto it, great; whoever doesn't, that's fine, too. The reaction always pales in comparison to the weight of the act of production."

"I had the naive, simplistic idea that producers and writers and artists of the time helped in a minuscule way to change the mind-set of America."

"An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain, Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again; The birds singing gayly, that came at my call, Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all."

"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there 's no place like home; A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, Which sought through the world is ne'er met with elsewhere."

"You're a little honey and you're quite a dish. Saturday night we're goin' fishin' to fish."

"Now, I'm Sick, Sober and Sorry Broke, disgusted and sad Sick, Sober and Sorry But look at the fun that I had."

"Meet me by the fishin' hole and wear your leather britches. Tell your ma and pa everything's all right. We're really goin' fishin' next Saturday night."

"Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket, Never let it fade away! Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket, Save it for a rainy day! For love may come an' tap you on the shoulder, Some starless night!"

"When this old world gets me down and there's no love to be found I close my eyes and soon I find I'm in a playground in my mind Where the children laugh and the children play And we sing a song all day."

"Tracy, when I'm with you Somethin' you do Bounces me off the ceiling Tracy, day after day When you're this way I get a lovin' feelin'."

"My folks were always putting her down (down, down) Because her laundry came back brown (brown, brown) I don't care if they think she's bad I fell in love cuz she looked so sad I got a date tonight with the Leader Of the Laundromat ."

"Your lips are thrilling My arms are willing I know that I shouldn't stay. If I don't leave I'll be sorry What will my Mary say?"

"One and two and three and four, Tell them what the girlie wore. It was an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini That she wore for the first time today, An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini So in the locker she wanted to stay"

"I've got tears in my ears from lyin' on my back In my bed while I cry over you. And the tears in my ears, they're off the beaten track Since you said "It's goodbye, we are through"."

"I make beats like surgeons resume To stitch up your wounds Inside the emergency room They must work urgently or you'll permanently be in a tomb You see in the clergy soon I enjoy physical intimacy with young men"

"I'll break down a lesson Step by step Like a booklet for you to sweat And try to apply To make yourself fly"

"In time, we kiss — hello!"

"Climbing uphill, one dollar bill, this town is far."

"The life I lead is mighty slim pickens, there ain't much call for stompin' on chickens"

"Crowded fifty to a room, There's too many rats in this cage of the world, And the women know their place, They sit home and write letters, And when they visit once a year, Well they both just sit there and stare, Gotta keep bars in between us, See how we are"

"There are no angels there are devils in many ways"

"If I was a better poet like William Carlos Williams I’d be able to write about anything, but I’m just a minor poet. So I just write about things like moments of crisis that tend to be on the sadder, darker side. You can spend ten minutes in a really dark place and write a song about it that lasts forever."

"Relating to the specifics of relationships, and writing love songs, I tapped into something that seemed to work for my generation. I love the fact that some of the songs continue to survive, but I think that there's a window of opportunity for a time when you really, really relate to your generation. And I think a lot of us pass through that as songwriters."

"I think the trick for any songwriter is authenticity. For the young songwriter coming up who is connected to his generation, as I was connected to mine, write honestly about what's going on in the center of your life. You know, when "We've Only Just Begun" was a Number 1 record, I think the Number 1 album in the country was "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." So it was as far away from what was happening in the music scene as you can get. And yet it was a hit. I think it was a hit because of, obviously, Karen's amazing vocal, but I think that any time we write authentically and honestly about what's going on in the center of our chest, because people are so much alike, there's a big a chance that it's going on in the center of your chest, too."

"The best part of being a songwriter — beyond being able to make a living at it — is what I call the "heart payment" of a song. That's when somebody comes up after a concert and says, "My mom was a single mom, and 'You And Me Against The World' was a really important song to us." Or "We got married to 'We've Only Just Begun'" or 'Evergreen.' Or "'I Won't Last A Day Without You' got me through some hard times.'" That's heart payment for a songwriter."

"All souls last forever So we need never fear goodbye."

"Our love is a strong love, baby. We give it all And still receive."

"Our paths have crossed and parted, This love affair was started Long, long ago. This love survives the ages In its story lives are pages Fill them up, may ours turn slow."

"We're old souls in a new life baby. They gave us a new life To live and learn."

"Our love is an old love, baby. It's older than all our years. I have seen in strange young eyes Familiar tears."

"If April showers Should come your way, They bring the flowers That bloom in May."

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, And rainbows have nothing to hide. So we've been told and some choose to believe it I know they're wrong, wait and see. Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, The lovers, the dreamers and me."

"So much of life ahead We'll find a place where there's room to grow, And yes, we've just begun."

"Sharing horizons that are new to us, Watching the signs along the way, Talking it over just the two of us, Working together day to day Together."

"Before the rising sun we fly, So many roads to choose We start out walking and learn to run."

"We've only just begun to live, White lace and promises A kiss for luck and we're on our way."

"You're sent from heaven And I know your worth. You made a heaven for me here on the earth. When I'm old and grey, dear, Promise you won't stray, dear, For I love you so, Sonny Boy."

"If you knew Susie like I know Susie, Oh, oh, oh what a girl! There's none so classy as this fair lassie, Oh, oh, Holy Moses, what a chassis!"

"The moon belongs to everyone; The best things in life are free. The stars belong to everyone; They gleam there for you and me."

"Hip Hop is prosecution evidence/ The out of court settlement/ Ad space for liquor"

"Steer the course, make a way / And come ashore on a greater day"

"Reservations, exclusive arrangements / Dinner with the patrons, the scenery is amazing / It's so outrageous, they whisper when they say it / When it's really real it's even realer than "The Matrix""

"Flow greatest like the greatest lakes / Capes on great estates, quiet water major waves"

"Peace before everything, God before anything / Love before anything, real before everything / Home before anyplace, truth before anything / Style and stay radiate, love power slay the hate"

"Universal ghetto life, holla black you know it well"

"Hip-Hop went from selling crack to smoking it"