You’re always looking at last year, or 10 years ago, or your school days, or your teenage years, your formative years. Because that’s exactly what they are, they’re your formative years.
A lot of artists use memories. A lot of prose writers, a lot of poets, a lot of songwriters, refer back to something. Generally it’s all you’ve got, unless you’re brilliant and can write totally in the now.
In some ways we live in a world where things appear to be very logical, very rational, and mechanical aspects of our world are rather scientific and rather straightforward.
I play to all people, and I play to people not governments, and I believe strongly that all people are peaceful and would want peace.
My stepmother sold my birth certificate and someone asked why I didn’t buy it back. I don’t know, really. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was mine. It cost me nothing and suddenly I had to buy it back.
I’ve got a few guitars that I like. The trouble with fame and riches is that you have more than one guitar.
Sometimes you write a song in a certain era and it’s got a certain kind of significance.
It’s a powerful thing hearing your friend on a very beautiful song.
I’m not a great practiser at all. We were never great practisers. The Beatles would come together for about a day before we had a tour, to make sure the amp worked.
As far as art’s concerned, I probably like modern art more than traditional art.
It’s not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that’s your pool of resources. If you were to write something now, I bet there’s a pretty good chance you’d call on your teenage years, your experiences then, stuff you learned then.
I realized marvelling at nature was a deep pleasure of mine.
That’s not really important what religion people are attached to, because by the same argument I have a lot of Christian friends and Moslem friends. It’s just happened that I do have a lot of relatives and friends who are Jewish.
I don’t think of myself as a legend. I just love what I do. I love playing with my band, I love going to beautiful places and give people good music. I love what I do, I’m very lucky man.
If you’re using your imagination, you tend to look into the past for ideas.
Music is like a psychiatrist. You can tell your guitar things that you can’t tell people. And it will answer you with things people can’t tell you.
I feel like I’m running in a figure of eight, don’t know if I’m coming or going, early or late.
I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love.
Rock it man. I know you will.
And in the end.