I've always admired people who can tell a story with a simple song. You don't need much more than a guitar or a piano and a voice. That's what I've responded to, even when I was a kid. Even now, I like to think that both Joni [Joni Mitchell] and I are expressing some sort of truth -- hers might be just a little deeper, that's all. Show less «

"Lullaby" was the first song I wrote where I felt like, "Wow, I nailed it!" I don't want to say that people can relate to it--actually, you kind of hope that nobody can relate to it. But it seemed to me that the style had become subtler. And I saw how to set a course at the beginning, turn 90 degrees, and then once you think you know what's going on, turn it around again. That's pretty much how I've worked ever since then. Show less «

[on his tradition of bouncing the original ideas for his songs off his wife, Erin] I'll say something, like an idea for a song or whatever, and if she laughs then I'll start writing it, and if she doesn't, I don't even bother. Luckily, she has a good sense of humor. Show less «