Quotes from Sam Hunt

A lot of the lessons that are taught in football will promote success in anything you get into after football; for me, it just happens to be music. Being disciplined. Good character. Trying to do the right thing, and working hard.

I'm conflicted about the lyric tattoo thing. I feel like that's a lifetime decision, and I always feel like, 'I hope you don't regret this a couple years from now when you get tired of that song.'

I got a horse when I was eight or 10 years old. And dad used to take me to the rodeo back home. I got into it big time.

When I was really young, my babysitters had horses, and I started riding them.

I try to make music that's relevant to my life and relatable to the culture I live in.

My style, in terms of what I wear, is kind of representative of the music.

I love being outside, I do a lot of hunting.

There's not a day goes by that I don't appreciate the freedom that I have to make music and tour and spend time with my family.

I like disagreement because it forces both sides to question their own opinions and why they feel that way.

I am from the country, and I grew up mostly influenced by country music.

I don't think I'm conscious of most of the things I've drawn from football, because they're so ingrained in me now... understanding that the discipline and the routine and the regimentation to be successful.

Sometimes I'm not even aware of some of the issues going on with me in my life until I sit down and start kind of looking for inspiration, trying to find something that inspires that creativity.

When I graduated high school, I bought a guitar and, at first, didn't really think I'd get into the songwriting thing as much as I did. But after learning a few songs of other people's to play on the guitar, I got bored with that and just started writing songs on my own, and that's kinda how it came about.

It's liberating to wear clothes that are outside the boundaries of what I'm supposed to wear, ya know, based on the traditional model, whether that be a country music singer, or being from the country. It's not a rebellious thing.

After graduating college, I was coming out of a routine I'd been in for several years, all the way back to high school. It was a year-round process of constantly having to work and be disciplined, and I was able to understand and connect the dots between all those characteristics - especially hard work and success.

I wrote a song several years ago while I was in college called 'Muscadine Wine.' I really didn't know if it had potential or not, if it was good or bad or what. I played it for my roommates - who I played ball with - one night, and I knew they would tell me the truth. They loved it, and that encouraged me.

There's a system in place in Nashville, and for a long time, I was trapped in this idea that the only way to do it was to come to town, get a record deal, and do it the way they say. And that system works. But it caters to a specific kind of artist, and I didn't necessarily fit that mold.

As much as I enjoy traveling and playing on stage as an artist, I really find my true sense of purpose in a room writing a song.

In a small town, it's either sports or a band with your buddies. I was always athletic. But in college, I was exposed to all this new music, and I was drawn to hip-hop and R&B.

People sniff out when you try to fake something or be something you are not.

I am kind of the front man for a team of people behind the scenes who are working just as hard as me and are putting in just as much time to make this all happen. I'm not trying to be humble. I just want everyone to get credit where credit is due.

Maybe one day music will just be music, and there won't be these categories; it'll just be different shades of music.

The first song I learned on the guitar was a Kenny Chesney song called 'What I Need to Do'; it was just an easy song to play... and it was really cool to see that come full-circle a few years later and have him record a song that I was part of.

I had some interesting costumes... the one that I remember right offhand is Zorro when I was a lot younger. I was a big time Zorro fan. My mom helped me make it, and I remember having a big issue with the fact that she wouldn't let me carry around a real metal sword; it just had to be plastic.