I don't know why I write really depressing songs. I'm a kind of melancholy guy, I suppose. But I figure I'm about normal.
Townes Van ZandtRead
Humans can't live in the present, like animals do. Humans are always thinking about the future or the _x000D_ _x000D_ past. So it's a veil of tears, man. I don't know anything that's going to benefit me now, except love. I _x000D_ _x000D_ just need an overwhelming amount of love. And a nap. Mostly a nap.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the complexity of human existence, where we often dwell on the past or future rather than embracing the present moment, with love being the essential remedy.
Townes Van Zandt reflects on the human tendency to become preoccupied with past regrets and future anxieties, contrasting our experience with that of animals who live more in the moment. He suggests that amidst this struggle, the only source of true benefit is the presence of love, emphasizing its significance in providing comfort in a world full of challenges. Additionally, he humorously alludes to the simplicity of needing rest through a nap, further underscoring the importance of self-care and the search for solace in a complicated life.
Themes
PresentLoveLifeAnxietyComfort
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of living in the moment at a self-help seminar.
More from Townes Van Zandt
All quotes →I don't envision a very long life for myself. I think my life will run out before my work does. I've designed it that way.
Townes Van ZandtRead
All of a sudden there's a song - there in your hotel room playing your guitar - and you write it, and two or three years later it will come true. It keeps you on your toes.
Townes Van ZandtRead
I'd like to write some songs that are so good that nobody understands them. Not even myself.
Townes Van ZandtRead
Aloneness is a state of being, whereas loneliness is a state of feeling. It's like the difference between being broke and being poor.
Townes Van ZandtRead
I don’t envision a long life for myself. Like, I think my life will run out before my work does, y’know? I’ve designed it that way.
Townes Van ZandtRead
Similar quotes
Every junkie, he thought, is a recording.
Philip K. DickRead
A good rule of thumb for many things in life holds that things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then happen faster than you thought they could.
Lawrence SummersRead
How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead
What I told [my teammates] after the game was I'm just fortunate [for] my 16 years because, this [injury] can happen every single night you go out and play... It can be over in one instant, so you should appreciate everyday.
Charles BarkleyRead
Yet, he thought, if I can die saying, "Life is so beautiful," then nothing else is important. If i can believe in myself that much, nothing else matters.
Mario PuzoRead
I used to meditate all the time in bed. That was when I was raising my daughter, and I'd get her up and off to school, and then I would go back to bed and meditate. And then I would do the same in the evening, and that was very good for that period because I had so many things to juggle as a single mother.
Alice WalkerRead