Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard is credited with writing more than 4,000 songs, over 100 of which reached country music's Top 10.
Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back, and, instead of bleeding, he sings.
—The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes