I think all songs should have weather in them. Names of towns and streets, and they should have a couple of sailors. I think those are just song prerequisites.

My first big gig was an opening show for Frank Zappa, and I think that was difficult.

Children make up the best songs, anyway. Better than grown-ups. Kids are always working on songs and throwing them away, like little origami things or paper airplanes. They don't care if they lose it; they'll just make another one.

Most songs have meager beginnings. You wake up in the morning, you throw on your suspenders, and you subvocalize and just think. They seem to form like calcium. I can't think of a story right off the bat that was that interesting. I write things on the back of my hand, usually, and sing into a tape recorder.

Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.

I don't like doing 25 songs. I think that just kills the audience. I think the show should be 17, 18, 19 songs and encores.