People have a tendency to see country life through rose-colored glasses.

I get to see life through rose-colored glasses a lot of the time.

People like Howlin' Wolf, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Captain Beefheart - all of these artists were what I grew up listening to every day of my life. And there's a very healthy music scene in the west country of England, where I grew up.

Making me into a role model is placing too much importance on what I see as a work in progress.

With songs I almost see the images, see the action, and then all I have to do is describe it. It's almost like watching a scene from a film, and that's what I go about trying to catch in a song.

There is no honeymoon -- not in a financial system like ours, not in this country where people are free to take risks and reap the consequences.