Like books and black lives - albums still matter. Tonight and always.
Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don't forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It's like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain't right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ideas can come quickly and may need to be prioritized; true ideas will endure and uplift you.
This quote by Prince emphasizes the nature of creativity and the flow of ideas. He suggests that when inspiration strikes, it can be overwhelming, often leading one to momentarily pause one project for another. Yet, he reassures that genuine ideas will remain memorable and impactful, much like the truth, whereas insubstantial ideas will fade away, similar to how sand washes away on a beach. This reflects on the importance of recognizing and trusting in the ideas that hold true significance.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about the creative process during a music festival.
More from Prince
All quotes →Oh, I love critics. Because they love me. It's not a joke. They care.
Young people have decided they like to listen to music in a certain way, through ear buds, and that's fine with me as long as it doesn't bother them that they're not hearing 90 percent of the music that way.
Like books and black lives, albums still matter.
I used to be more involved with every aspect of everything onstage. I'm way more relaxed now. It feels like anything can happen.
The hardest thing with musicians is getting them not to play.
Similar quotes
Finding the medium that excites your imagination, that you love to play with and work in, is an important step to freeing your creative energies.
When anyone starts out to do something creative - especially if it seems a little unusual - they seek approval, often from those least inclined to give it. But a creative life cannot be sustained by approval, any more than it can be destroyed by criticism - you learn this as you go on.
We think about the world in all ways we experience it ; we think visually, we think in sign, we think kinesthetically, we think in abstract term, we think in movement. Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.
Sometimes you have to stop thinking. Sometimes you shut down completely. I think that's true in any creative field.
I think it is the weak and the young and the minorities that you need to look after to get a healthy creative environment - to get a lot of choices, a lot of different styles of music, a lot experimental stuff that everyone else feeds off.
Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.