Granny beads are what they're called when a grandma works the garden all day - you always see them - they have a handkerchief around their neck with a lot of dust on them, and then the sweat will go down and make these black beads of sweat and dirt around their neck. And that's what they call granny beads.
That time, when everyone else is asleep, and it's just me and my little man, that's the best time I've ever spent in my life. I just get to love on him. It, literally, is the best.
My dad wasn't the biggest role model, but he was a great musician and I loved him very much. He was a character.
I'm a songwriter; that's where it starts. I love writing with someone that shares that same feeling of accomplishment. I'll play music for my fans as long as they'll listen, but I fancy myself as a writer first.
First time I walked out on the Opry stage, Vince Gill was there. He kind of 'daddied' me through the whole thing. My knees were knocking. I walked out there, and I was literally shaking. They say it's the spirits or the ghosts. And out of respect for that whole establishment, I was really really nervous.
It should be if you're a good singer and a good songwriter, you should have your spot. You get everybody trying to release the prettiest guy, but that doesn't mean they're the best artist. Most of the time the true artists are just normal old dudes.
I firmly believe that every six years, a person goes through a serious change. Think about it: At 6, you start school. At about 12, you start hitting puberty. And then it goes on. You start hitting these different mental levels, and people change. I think that's part of the reason the divorce rate is so high.
When I was a kid, we always had big gardens, acres of stuff we grew out in the yard.
There's certain things as a songwriter that I don't really care to write about, and there are certain things I won't sing about anymore. There are just so many things that I probably thought was OK for me, or have been in the past, that I would never want my son to think was OK.
I've had my heart broken and then gone out and done dumb things.
I'll never be, like, sippy cup country, or write about everything I do around the house.
I was always going to make music, but I cleaned up my act a lot just to be a good dad and a husband. That sort of changed my career professionally, too.
My little boy, West, and my wife, they're my rock and that's the thing that keeps driving me to do better at what I do professionally. There was a time in my career where I had been on this huge roller coaster ride and I'd really got in the spot where I could've hung up it and just been a songwriter.
Any of the rewards or accolades or any of that are very nice and everything but the music is what saves me. And it did. I would write my way out of any kind of depressing period.
One of my main weaknesses is a good movie. I'll just bawl my eyes out.
I've made music since I was a kid so I've always gotten joy out of that.
I really tend to write in retrospect.
I always try to put something personal on my albums just to give people out there a little piece of my history and how I got where I am and who I am.
I want to let fans know how much I appreciate them and how much I appreciate them showing interest in our music and me personally.
I'm not Mr. Mom, but there's just certain things I won't say anymore.
