Lucinda Williams

If you come into success too soon, you'll burn out and be finished before you know it. If you let the maturation process happen naturally, you'll be happier with yourself in the end.

You should put time into learning your craft. It seems like people want success so quickly, way before they're ready.

I have a folder of scraps and pieces of paper with stuff, ideas for songs from the last 25 years; just little things, maybe early songs that I finished, but didn't think they were good enough.

And I feel that it's inevitable that the work that I do will reflect the life that I live. And the life I live feels very diverse.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.

If you're not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life.