Now Ive been crying lately, — Cat Stevens

"Now Ive been happy lately Thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be Something good has begun. Oh, Ive been smiling lately Dreaming about the world as one And I believe it could be Someday its going to come."

"The last place I wanted to return to was the music business. But its the people and the cause that matter and right now theres an important need, which is bridge-building. I wanted to support the cause of humanity, because thats what I always sang about. Music can be healing, and with my history and my knowledge of both sides of what looks like a gigantic divide in the world, I feel I can point a way forward to our common humanity again. Its a big step for me but its a natural step. I dont feel at all irked by the responsibility — I feel inspired."

"I wrote a song called "Father & Son" about the son running off to do his own thing. Now the story is about my son coming back and bringing a guitar into the house. A couple of years ago, one morning after prayers, his guitar was lying around. I picked it up and my fingers knew exactly where to go. Id written some words and when I put them to music, it moved me and I realized I could have another job to do. Things just grew from there."

"If Rushdie turned up at my doorstep looking for help, I might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like. Id try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is."

"I love everything So dont it make you feel sad cause Ill drink to you, my baby Ill think to that, Ill think to that"

"Art was what I originally started out to do and music came second at first. I had a year at art college but I left because it was too much like school. I give all my paintings away to people I like."