Three chords and the truth - that's what a country song is.

It was R.E.M. who showed other Eighties bands how to get away with ignoring the rules - they lived in some weird town nobody never heard of they didn't play power chords they probably couldn't even spell 'spandex.' All they had was songs.

Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy art poetry love scandal and the weather.

I don't write poetry and then strum some chords and then fit the words on top of the chords.

I came into music because I thought the presentation of poetry wasn't vibrant enough. So I merged improvised poetry with basic rock chords.

Country music is three chords and the truth.

Motherhood is at its best when the tender chords of sympathy have been touched.

I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.

I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape.

I do remember actually learning chords to Beatles songs. I thought they were great songwriters.

When I was first learning songs I'd have a favorite song and I'd take the chords and twist them around. I'd learn the chords and then play them backward. That was my first experimenting with writing a song.

But we got up there and decided to stick to this mix of power chords and funk and that's where it really started for us. In having the courage to take that decision. To take a gamble not just with our music but our lives.

The real beauty of it - key to my life was playing key chords on a banjo. For somebody else it may be a golf club that mom and dad put in their hands or a baseball or ballet lessons. Real gift to give to me and put it in writing.