[On the lyrics of his songs] They meant a lot to my generation. And it's nice to know you've written songs that mean something to someone rather than some trivial pop dirge. I'm not thriving off a career slagging off the Queen. I think I have something valid to say. My words are my bullets. I like to brag that somehow I got it right.

To see [Bronny James] handle it, you know, with such class and so, you know, just, like, self awareness and just staying even killed is just a remarkable thing, man, and super proud of him.

He was conscious that something in [his] personality bolstered his confidence and allowed him to rest, to seek peace and find it. He never game a name to it, and never spoke of it. And never, never would he have allowed himself or anyone to call it – love

Certainty was essential to him and the written word had a certainty about it that everything else in life lacked.

What I don't like is describing Jim as that he was this wonderful, warm, sweet man because, yes he was a wonderful, warm, sweet man – but he was also the strongest man I ever met in character. He was very tough. He worked like a sonofabitch. He could get cranky and he got snarky at times. He would rarely get angry. I've seen him angry only about three times in my life.
He was a very complex guy, but he was that noble spirit.

He knew
Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.

It takes a lot of strength, a lot of pride or a lot of love to believe that what one man does has any importance, or that life can conquer death.

Complete, at the same time, was his confidence in his own judgment when it spoke to him decisively. He was one of those few that could believe and know as well as inquire and be of opinion. When I remember how much he admired intellectual force, how much he had of it himself, and yet how unconsciously and contentedly he gave others credit for superiority, I again see the healthy spirit of the genuine man.

There's a lot of positive stuff to say about him... Why can't I think of any now? (laughs) Oh, here's something positive: Big Jim's best trait of character was that he has always been himself... which was his worst trait of character at the same time.

It was all about him.

It seemed as though he had a fundamental belief that the merit of his argument depended on the strength of his feelings about the matter, and since he always felt uncontrollably passionate about everything, then clearly he was always right.

When Johnson started singing, he seemed like a guy who could have sprung from the head of Zeus in full armor.

So he who strongly feels, behaves.

He exuded confidence without ever looking as if he wanted to make sure everyone else knew how confident he was.