(When asked about writing from personal experience) "That's really an easy way to write a song. The subject matter's right before you. All you have to do is give it meter and rhyme."
"I think there's something inside you that just says 'You gotta write a song. Whether you want to or not.' I think most of the time, I start writing with a feel. As for inspiration, well, personal feelings about members of the opposite sex, I think, inspire most of the songs I write."
Favorite recordings of songs he wrote: "He Stopped Loving Her Today," George Jones 1980, "Womanhood," Tammy Wynette 1978, "Nashville Tears," John Anderson 1993