You get into your late fifties, people start falling like flies all around you. I don't take life for granted any more. I'm really glad to be here.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a deep appreciation for life and the inevitability of loss as one ages.
In this quote, Tom Petty shares the poignant realization that as people grow older, they witness the passing of friends and loved ones, leading to a greater appreciation for life itself. This acknowledgment of mortality encourages a mindset of gratitude and cherishing each moment, highlighting the importance of valuing our existence and the time we have with those around us.
In practice
In a speech about valuing friendships, one might say, 'As Tom Petty wisely put it, we start to realize how precious life is amidst loss.'
When my record company rejected 'Full Moon Fever', I was hurt so bad. I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I'd never had anything rejected; I'd never really even had a comment. So when that happened, it was really just a board to the forehead. But then, finally, I picked myself up.
I developed a problem with authority. Any time that authority was what I interpreted as being unjust, I stood up to it, and that became my personality.
I don't know, my music has always just come from where the wind blew me. Like where I'm at during a particular moment in time.
Music really isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s all about people relating to each other and doing something that’s really from the soul. It must come from the soul.
It's hard for me... If I don't have a project going, I don't feel like I'm connected to anything. I don't even think it's that healthy for me. I like to get out of bed and have a purpose.
I think for it to be hip to be idealistic is weird, you know? I mean, even all the best rebels to me, had some sense of hope in them.
Like a French poem is life; being only perfect in structure when with the masculine rhymes mingled the feminine are.
The day it all changed. The day I stated never to take anything for granted. The day I learned to take charge of my life. It was the day I was diagnosed with cancer.
We never remember days, only moments.
This girl shivers and crawls under the covers with all her clothes on and falls into an overdue library book, a faerie story with rats and marrow and burning curses. The sentences build a fence around her, a Times Roman 10-point barricade, to keep the thorny voices in her head from getting too close.
There was a roaring in my ears and I lost track of what they were saying. I believe it was the physical manifestation of unbearable grief.
It was the kind of town that made you feel like Humphrey Bogart: you came in on a bumpy little plane, and, for some mysterious reason, got a private room with a balcony overlooking the town and the harbor; then you sat there and drank until something happened.
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