“When I’m old and gray, I want to have a house by the sea. And paint. With a lot of wonderful chums, good music, and booze around. And a damn good kitchen to cook in.”

“The good thing is that I have always had wonderful people around me. It's dangerous when you start earning a lot of money and you become famous when you are too young.”

“Booze takes a lot of time and effort if you're going to do a good job with it.”

“I’m done. I’m old, I’m sad - that’s on a good day. I want out of this mess. But I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.”

“I hope when I'm ninety-five the only things I want are free: love, family, a good home-cooked meal.”

“Dear Long-wayaway-one,' very antisocial I am when I don't booze. And no fun when you're not around… Do you love me? Do you want to be a lazy Jane and never work again? Once I stopped boozing I have enjoyed not working. But we can't do it though.”

“Upbeat tunes make us want to dance around our kitchens and invite friends for dinner. But it's sad music that makes us want to touch the sky.”

“I’m a word freak. I like words. I’ve always compared writing to music. That’s the way I feel about good paragraphs. When it really works, it’s like music.”

“When I was a hardworking, pistol-hot writer, I was unknown. Now that I’m a tired old man, they start hollerin’ how good I am. I’m not going to analyze what that all means. I’m just determined not to let it turn my life into something I don’t want it to be.”

“The music we listen to may not define who we are. But it’s a damn good start.”