QuoteProject
Even if I don't release it myself, somebody else might hear it and want to record it. When you write a song, it gives it that potential.
Smokey Robinson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Creating art opens up possibilities, as others may appreciate and recognize its value, even if the creator does not showcase it themselves.

Smokey Robinson's quote emphasizes the intrinsic potential of artistic creation, particularly in songwriting. He highlights that the act of writing a song possesses an inherent value that may resonate with others, allowing for the possibility that someone else might want to record and share it, thus giving the creation a life beyond its initial conception. This speaks to the interconnected nature of creativity and the impact it can have on others, regardless of the creator's own actions.

Themes

ArtCreativitySongwritingPotentialExpression

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on the importance of collaboration in music, this quote can highlight how songs can evolve through various interpretations.

More from Smokey Robinson

When you write a song, a song has longevity
Smokey RobinsonRead
When someone picks up one of my songs and records it, I'm a flattered man, it's a blessing to me
Smokey RobinsonRead
Motown will always be a heavy-duty part of my life because those are my roots
Smokey RobinsonRead
Songwriting is my gift from God
Smokey RobinsonRead
I always try to write a song, I never just want to write a record.
Smokey RobinsonRead
As a kid, this is what I wanted my life to be. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever dare to dream that it would be this.
Smokey RobinsonRead

Similar quotes

In a photograph a person’s eyes tell much, sometimes they tell all.
Alfred EisenstaedtRead
If poetry should address itself to the same needs and aspirations, the same hopes and fears, to which the Bible addresses itself, it might rival it in distribution.
Wallace StevensRead
Art is too serious to be taken seriously.
Ad ReinhardtRead
Technique does not constitute art. Nor is it a vague, fuzzy romantic quality known as ‘beauty,’ remote from the realities of everyday life. It is the depth and intensity of an artist’s experience that are the first importance in art.
Grant WoodRead
Some song ideas absolutely require a kind of rigid discipline, and others require absolute chaotic abandon. The form is only valid if you know how to un-form it. I don't mean to sound like an intellectual here!
John LydonRead
It's always thrilling to encounter the sweep of time in a work of fiction in a way that feels authentic and real.
Michael ChabonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.