Me, I'm spiritually retarded, I need to be knee deep in water with a fly rod in my hands, that's about as close to God as I get. -Steve Earle God
America's criminal justice system isn't known for rehabilitation. I'm not sure that, as a society, we are even interested in that concept anymore. -Steve Earle Society
My objection to the death penalty is based on the idea that this is a democracy, and in a democracy the government is me, and if the government kills somebody then I'm killing somebody. -Steve Earle Death
Gregory Corso used to get really pissed when people called Bob Dylan a 'poet.' After writing poetry for a few years, I can understand that. -Steve Earle Poetry
You know, I'm not comfortable with people whose politics are static in a democracy. -Steve Earle Politics
Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. -Steve Earle Best
Poetry is the hardest thing that there is. It fascinates me, so I want to write more of it. -Steve Earle Poetry
My objection to the death penalty is based on the idea that this is a democracy, and in a democracy the government is me, and if the government kills somebody then I'm killing somebody. -Steve Earle Government
Becoming interested in poetics got me interested in theater. Theater is supposed to be poetry, you know, before it's anything else. It just doesn't fly if it isn't musical. -Steve Earle Poetry
They say death and taxes are the only things that are inevitable. The truth is, you can not pay your taxes. I've done it, and there's consequences, but it can be done. Death you're not going to get out of, and you kind of got to deal with it. -Steve Earle Death
To me, religion is an agreement between a group of people about what God is. Spirituality is a one-on-one relationship. -Steve Earle Religion
All we do as songwriters is rewrite the songs that have impressed us till we find our own voice. It's part of learning the craft. -Steve Earle Learning
To me, religion is an agreement between a group of people about what God is. Spirituality is a one-on-one relationship. -Steve Earle Relationship
The drama teacher that I had in high school, back in Texas, was the only teacher who didn't kick me out of his class. He turned me on to 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.' I had picked up Dylan with 'Bringing It All Back Home,' and he turned me on to the first couple of albums, which I hadn't heard. -Steve Earle Teacher