If heartaches was commercials, we'd all be on TV.
John PrineRead
It doesn't hit you until you pull up to the hospital, and you see 'cancer' in big letters, and you're the patient. Then it all kind of comes home.
Interpretation
Facing a cancer diagnosis brings a profound realization of one's own mortality.
In this quote, John Prine expresses the moment when a cancer patient truly comprehends the gravity of their situation upon arriving at the hospital. The sight of the word 'cancer' serves as a harsh reminder of their reality, highlighting the emotional impact of such a diagnosis as it becomes personal and tangible.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a support group meeting for cancer patients.
If heartaches was commercials, we'd all be on TV.
One time, I went to school, and they asked us all to find out where our roots were. It's goin' around the class, and the kids were going, 'I'm Swedish-German' or 'I'm English-Irish.' They got to me and I said, 'Pure Kentuckian.'
I just tried to come up with some honest songs. What I was writing about was real plain stuff that I wasn't sure was going to be interesting to other people. But I guess it was...I've never had any discipline whatsoever. I just wait on a song like I was waiting for lightning to strike. And eventually-usually sometime around 3 in the morning-I'll have a good idea. By the time the sun comes up, hopefully, I'll have a decent song.
I feel basically good about my career because it's remained constant. What I do has never been especially in vogue or gotten high on the charts. At the same time, I haven't had to stop performing any of my music because it aged in style.
You know that first love that leaves you? You never forget that, especially if you're a songwriter. I must have gotten nine songs out of that girl.
You get to thinking that because you've written 50 or 100 songs, you think maybe you know how to do it. But when they're not coming along, you're just as in the dark as you ever were. When they're coming along, there's nothing to it. Sometimes it's so easy, it's like you're a court stenographer.
We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced
When I was young, I was picked on for something that today I feel is amazing. One thing about me connects millions of people around the world. And it's my skin condition - vitiligo.
We must use words to uplift and include. We can use our words to fight back against oppression and hate. But we must also channel our words into action.
I was lucky I had a mom who had seen it all. From seeing my grandfather march in the Civil Rights era, she understood the depth, character, and stability you need to go through racism. She taught me not to accept it to but deal with it and be better than it.
I'm gay and always have been, even when I was David Jones.
There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.
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