I Don’t Like To Feel That I

I Don’t Like To Feel That I Owe Anything. I Like To Feel That I Pay My Own Way, No Free Lunch.

The Crowds Treat Me Like My Last Name. When I Go Onstage People Usually Stand Up, I Never Ask Them To, But They Do. They Stand Up And They Don't Know How Much I Appreciate It.

I Think Ive Done The Best I Could Have Done. But I Keep Wanting To Play Better, Go Further. There Are So Many Sounds I Still Want To Make, So Many Things I Havent Yet Done. When I Was Younger I Thought Maybe Id Reached That Peak. But Im 86 Now, And If I Make It Through To Next Month, Ill Be 87. And Now I Know It Can Never Be Perfect, It Can Never Be Exactly What It Should Be, So You Got To Keep Going Further, Getting Better.

It Seems Like I Always Had To Work Harder Than Other People. Those Nights When Everybody Else Is Asleep, And You Sit In Your Room Trying To Play Scales. I Just Wonder Where I Was When The Talent Was Being Given Out, Like George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Eric Clapton ... Oh, There's Many More! I Wouldn't Want To Be Like Them, You Understand, But I'd Like To Be Equal, If You Will.

I Don't Have A Favorite Song That I've Written. But I Do Have A Favorite Song: 'always On My Mind,' The Willie Nelson Version. If I Could Sing It Like He Do, I Would Sing It Every Night. I Like The Story It Tells.