Sometimes it’s like you’re a big pie settin’ on the table, and everybody runs up and gets their piece of you. When it’s over, the plate’s empty.

I never knew any Jews until I got into show business. I’ve found them to be real smart and good workers.

We used to go around tipping outhouses over, or turning over corn shocks on Halloween. Anything to be mean.

Fist City.

I’m always making Butcher Holler sound like the most backward part of the United States-and I think maybe it is.

How do you measure your value?

Nobody’s perfect. The only one that ever was, was crucified.

I was shocked when they nominated me for five different things,

I never rode in an automobile until I was 12.

When all those city folks try to fix up my talking, all they do is mess me up.

I just can’t wait to come back, but what hurts me most, honey, is having to leave, … That’s home for me up there. All my memories are there and all my kids’ memories are...

I’m not a big fan of Women’s Liberation, but maybe it will help women stand up for the respect they’re due.

I ain’t got much education, but I got some sense.

Once in a while I get inspired and finish my act with the hillbilly hoedown.

I’m proud of being part Cherokee, and I think it’s time all us Indians felt the same way.

I refuse to be pushed around anymore.

When I first came to Nashville, people hardly gave country music any respect. We lived in old cars and dirty hotels, and we ate when we could.

My biggest hero, Gregory Peck, was my birthday present on April 14, 1973. I just sat and stared at him.

I’m trying to lead a good Christian life, so there ain’t too much spicy to tell about me.

I avoid going through places where there’s too much poverty.

Really, I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I retire. Wash dishes?

When something is bothering me, I write a song that tells my feelings.

I think Charley Pride has been one of the best things to happen to country music, to prove it belongs to everybody.

When I’d tell people I like country music they’d get this look on their faces. People were kind of ashamed of country.

Back then, we didn’t know we were poor, and people were more proud then.

I’ve always been full of nervous energy, but I’m not really as happy as I seem.

I believe in education and wish I had a better one.

Some of my friends who know me best say they wouldn’t trade places with me for $1 million because of the pace I lead.

Country music has been here forever, but for years a lot of people who listened to country music were ashamed to admit it. What I really think started it booming was Ray Charles and his...

I try to visit people in hospitals when I can, smiling and joking while I’m there. But when I leave, I just start crying.

Who wants to be married to a grandfather?

A lot of people say I’d miss show business if I quit. I’d miss some of it. Now it’s the only life I know.

I’ve been married to the same man for all this time. The way we fight sometimes, you can tell.

I believe in horoscopes. I was born under the sign of the Ram, which means I’m headstrong, don’t like people telling me what to do.

Sometimes I think our problems are made worse by the kind of business we’re in. Playing these road shows is a weird experience.

A woman’s two cents worth is worth two cents in the music business.

I want more out of life than I’ve gotten.

You ain’t supposed to get salmon when they’re swimming upstream to spawn. But if you’re hungry, you do.

Because Olivia Newton-John wasn’t from Nashville, they didn’t like her winning our awards. I’ve got no complaints.

I’ve seen country music go uptown, like we say, and I’m proud I was there when it happened.

I don’t go to church regular. But I pray for answers to my problems.

The country is making a big mistake not teaching kids to cook and raise a garden and build fires.

I don’t know what it’s like for a book writer or a doctor or a teacher as they work to get established in their jobs. But for a singer, you’ve got to continue to grow...

I was married when I wasn’t quite 14 and had four babies by the time I was 18.

You can’t be halfway in this business. If you don’t meet the fans, you lose all you’ve got.

Being on stage is the best part of my career. I just say whatever comes into my head. It’s the only time I feel grown-up and in control of things.

I’ve seen every highway in the United States, and they all look alike to me.

I don’t like to talk about things where you’re going to gt one side or the other unhappy. My music has no politics.

The night I announced I was getting married, Daddy paced for hours on the porch.

I didn’t know how babies were made until I was pregnant with my fourth child.