I picked up the guitar at 11, but even before then, I was writing songs on the organ.
Tracy ChapmanRead
Stand up for yourself and fight for your right to be the artist that you want to be. There's plenty of pressure from outside; people tell you how to dress and how to sing or what to sing, but I always felt like if I'm going to fail or succeed, I want to do it on my own terms.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of self-expression and authenticity in pursuing artistic goals, despite external pressures.
Tracy Chapman's quote stresses the significance of standing up for oneself in the creative process and the necessity of making artistic choices based on personal convictions rather than succumbing to societal expectations. It reflects the struggle many artists face when navigating between their own vision and the influence of others, advocating for personal integrity and ownership in the pursuit of artistic identity.
Themes
Self-ExpressionAuthenticityArtistic FreedomIndividualityCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire aspiring artists at a gallery opening to remain true to their vision.
More from Tracy Chapman
All quotes →As I started to consider a career in music, I hoped for success, truthfully. I didn't imagine anything that would amass the level of the first record, but I hoped that I would be able to sustain a career.
Tracy ChapmanRead
I can't think of anything worse, really, than to try to live up to someone else's expectations of what you should be. You don't make art by consensus.
Tracy ChapmanRead
My older sister encouraged me from early on and bought me one of the first guitars I had. She listened to all of the crappy songs that I wrote when I was 8 years old and encouraged me to keep doing it.
Tracy ChapmanRead
Now love's the only thing that's free /We must take it where it's found /Pretty soon it may be costly
Tracy ChapmanRead
I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in.
Tracy ChapmanRead
Similar quotes
It's a sort of piss-take on culture, because a drag queen is a clown - a parody of our society. It's a sarcastic spoof on culture, which allows us to laugh at ourselves - but in a way that is inclusive of everyone.
RupaulRead
You have to write the story that's at the front of your head. There is no point in trying to write for the market; it won't ring true.
Jojo MoyesRead
To ask an author who hopes to be a serious writer if his work is autobiographical is like asking a spider where he buys his thread. The spider gets his thread right out of his own guts, and that is where the author gets his writing.
Robertson DaviesRead
A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
The best stories come out of the truth.
Ridley ScottRead
Dancers today can do anything; the technique is phenomenal. The passion and the meaning to their movement can be another thing.
Martha GrahamRead