Country star Garth Brooks discussed the importance of his family in an intimate new interview. 

Brooks walked away from his music career over a decade ago to raise his three daughters, and said he has no regrets. 

"People said, 'How could you walk away from music?'" Brooks told PEOPLE. "But being a dad – there's nothing that can touch that." 

The singer retired 14 years ago after divorcing his first wife, Sandy Mahl, and losing his mother to cancer. Brooks and his girls - Taylor, 22, August, 20, and Allie, 18 - moved to a ranch in Oklahoma, and he began getting to know them for the first time. 

"I'd just stare at them," he admitted. "I knew their sweet faces and their dispositions. But I didn't know who they were." 

The 53-year-old blended into the small community, and enjoyed packing lunches, going to soccer games, and otherwise being a full-time dad. He shared valuable lessons in fatherhood that he learned along the way. 

"[Children] are the greatest joy and the greatest heartache you'll ever have," he began. "The saying is, as long as your babies are healthy, everything else you can deal with. If they have D's, if they flunk, you deal with it. 

"You can introduce them to the Lord, teach them manners, teach them to believe in themselves, but the truth is, they're going to be who they're going to be." 

With his children out of high school, Brooks has returned to the entertainment industry with full force. 

His newest album, "Man Against Machine," went platinum, and he is currently on tour with his new wife, country star Trisha Yearwood. Dates in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and other states are posted on Brooks' website.