Quotes from Lyle Lovett

Never guess a woman's age. Never guess a woman's weight. Never even talk about weight in front of a woman. And never, ever ask a woman when she's due.

When someone tells me what he or she was doing the first time they heard a song of mine, then I've done a good job. If my song becomes about your life, then I'm successful.

I played guitar when I was young and never really considered it as a way to make a living.

My parents worked for Exxon, and they gave me every chance to take part in music. I took guitar lessons, and I was in the choir at school.

If you forget the words to your own song, you can always claim artistic license. Forget the words to the national anthem, and you're screwed.

Both my parents worked, so I was home alone a lot, and I would listen to their records. They belonged to the Columbia House record club, so they had records!

I've been lucky to be able to make the records I've wanted to make. The record company has never pressured me to cut certain songs.

I enjoyed hearing people do their own songs. I became attracted to singer-songwriters. I became interested in them as people; was curious about what they wanted to say.

My first performance was in second grade with my friend Rodney Fisher, and we worked up versions of 'Long Tall Texan' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.' It gave me a little early confidence that I could actually do this music thing.

Tipping your hat to a lady is good form. If you're at a dinner table, you'd most certainly take your hat off - cowboy hat, baseball hat, or otherwise.

Records are very powerful promotional tools to go out and be able to play on the road, but you do have to think about it as a way of sustaining itself at some point.

Barbecue sauce is like a beautiful woman. If it's too sweet, it's bound to be hiding something.

The first time I toured with the 'Large Band' in 1988, I got so tired. If I just stood still anywhere, I could go to sleep. I was that tired. But I had to perform. And I did, and after that tour, I was much less fretful about going out onstage.

If someone gives you a belt buckle, it's like a piece of jewelry. It has the same sort of emotional significance. It would be something you would intend to keep forever.

Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.

It's important to be successful enough to be able to keep doing what you love.

In school, I didn't speak up often in class. I was never the person to yell out an answer. If I knew it, I might whisper it to my buddy and let him answer. I kept quiet.

That's right, you're not from Texas. But Texas wants you anyways.

Beyond hoping that someone will like one of my songs, I don't think about how a song will be received. I just hope that, when somebody hears one of my songs, they'll want to hear it again.

It's really a lot easier to write about things that are problematic. Who wants to hear how happy you are?

I don't ever try to anticipate my audience. I just write the songs I want to write, and hope people like 'em.

As a songwriter, you try your best to write a good song, and you like nothing better than hearing a good song. It's easy to admire a great song, and you want to share out of enthusiasm.

Songwriters aren't always performers, and even performing songwriters aren't always the kind of show-biz performers you think they'd be.

I'm not really a competitive person, and I'm not naturally comfortable in front of people.