My father was a man of love. He always loved me to death. He worked hard in the fields, but my father never hit me. Never. I don't ever remember a really cross, unkind word from my father.
Johnny CashRead
I start a lot more songs than I finish, because I realize when I get into them, they're no good. I don't throw them away, I just put them away, store them, get them out of sight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the creative process, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and letting go of unworthy ideas while still valuing them.
Johnny Cash's quote illustrates the artistic journey and the common struggle of creators in discerning which ideas are worthy of development. He acknowledges that not every song he starts is good enough to finish, yet he chooses not to discard these ideas entirely, instead opting to store them away. This speaks to the importance of preserving creative thoughts, suggesting that even unfinished work can hold potential value for the future.
Themes
CreativityArtProcessMusicInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about songwriting, I might say, 'As Johnny Cash said, I often start songs that don't make the cut, but instead of discarding them, I store them for later.'
More from Johnny Cash
All quotes →Six foot six he stood on the ground He weighed two hundred and thirty-five pounds But I saw that giant of a man brought down To his knees by love
Johnny CashRead
That was the big thing when I was growing up, singing on the radio. The extent of my dream was to sing on the radio station in Memphis. Even when I got out of the Air Force in 1954, I came right back to Memphis and started knocking on doors at the radio station.
Johnny CashRead
There's no way around grief and loss: you can dodge all you want, but sooner or later you just have to go into it, through it, and, hopefully, come out the other side. The world you find there will never be the same as the world you left.
Johnny CashRead
If you aren't gonna say exactly how and what you feel, you might as well not say anything at all.
Johnny CashRead
The things that have always been important: to be a good man, to try to live my life the way God would have me, to turn it over to Him that His will might be worked in my life, to do my work without looking back, to give it all I've got, and to take pride in my work as an honest performer.
Johnny CashRead
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