My Smiths, my Carters, the Cashes - everybody embraced me and held my arms up when I couldn't do it myself.

I'm kind of a perfectionist about my songwriting. If I don't mean it, I don't think it's any good.

I've had a few ditty hits.

I moved back to Tennessee in '86 or '87. That's when I worked with the Carter Family because I really wanted to understand my roots.

Lots of girls marry at 16 in Tennessee.

There was a period where I was a little scared that I'd blown my chance.

I've matured as a writer and human being. I've got some wisdom under my belt.

I do feel I'm responsible to carrying on the music. That's what I was charged with as a kid. When I was a little girl, I was told, 'When we are gone' - when you're a kid, you never think they'll ever be gone - 'you have to keep the music alive, the Carter Family songs, and add your own songs.'

I'm really about my family and really proud of being a Carter.

I was thinking about it: so many of my stories are about my family life, not about being related to a lot of famous people. That's my grandma, that's my mama, my daddy, my aunt, my uncle, my stepdaddy. I'd probably tell them even if they weren't well known.

I started playing piano when I was 6, ukulele at 7.

I always wanted to be the rockin'est country chick in the universe.

If someone gets married at 15, they're either dumb or pregnant. I was both.

I'm pretty much an open book.

My songs are about who I am.

I've always had wanderlust to try and do different things, but I always return to the music of the Carter family.

There are no rules when it comes to songwriting, so I'd turn Carter family songs from the 1930s into pop songs.

If someone asked me to do something I didn't want to do or didn't think was right, I wouldn't do it.

Sometimes, it's good to stick to your guns.

There's something unnatural about losing a sibling when they're young.

I don't know how I got out of some of the scrapes I was in. But I know that there's some sort of plan.

I've always been one of those people - once I start something, I have to get it all out, because it gets me.

I like things all shined up and rocking with hooky pop choruses.

I don't really have any ditties left in me anymore.

I love to be surrounded by nature.

I'm a bubbling brew of emotions, but mostly, I'm an optimistic person.

I'd had three husbands by 23. The second was a songwriter who couldn't handle the fact the little lady was doing better than him.

I have great stories. I am going to write a book.

I like to do one thing at a time and do it to the best of my ability.

MusiCares was really good to me. I can't say enough how MusiCares helps other people. They really, really helped me. They have the greatest groups and support for musicians in recovery.

I believe everything falls into place as it's supposed to.

I don't have any regrets at all.

It's all for a reason and all happened the way it was supposed to happen.

One good thing is I was instilled with really good values. My mom treats everyone the same.

Musically, I always wanted to experiment.

I think, looking back, there was a lot of fear of success in me. When you are successful, you have to keep it up... it requires you to be responsible, and I had been pretty irresponsible.

I always have to just be myself. Anything else, I'm not happy, and it comes out musically.

I always knew I would make the record that I made in 'Carter Girl.'

I can laugh and cry at the drop of a freakin' hat - all at the same time.

Everyone deals with loss. I'm no different, but we all find our ways of coming through things. Is it tough? Of course, but you find the strength to push on through.

I fly from the seat of my pants, basically.

I've always been one to throw caution to the wind, and my motto has been, 'Never have a dull moment.' Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but I don't think I'd have it much differently.

I challenged myself to carry on the style of guitar that my grandmother did: the Carter scratch.

Working with Mellencamp, I made new fans, people that may have never heard of me. They may have heard I was related to the Carter Family or Johnny Cash somehow, but what they got was pure Carlene.

Grandma and Mama showed me that you always have to give as much as you can, no matter what.

I just know what I want, and I'm willing to butt heads with folks to get it.

My mother has always been open about all kinds of music and entertainment. She wanted us to see that it was not just country music and the Grand Ole Opry.

I was always in a big hurry to do everything. Before I was 20, I was married twice and had two kids. But I don't regret any of it. I learned a lot about myself. I had a lot to say for someone my age, real early on.

It's a matriarchal family, the Carters. A.P. was the original head of the Carter family, but the women were always strong. There were no questions asked in that regard; you had better be strong.

I got into photography when my kids were little, and I continued talking pictures over the years.