I'm not one who divides music, dance or art into various categories. Either something works, or it doesn't.
Twyla TharpRead
They hear it come out, but they don't know how it got there. They don't understand that's life's way of talking. You don't sing to feel better. You sing 'cause that's a way of understanding life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that expression through music helps individuals understand their experiences and emotions.
Ma Rainey highlights the idea that singing is not merely a form of entertainment or a mechanism for feeling better; rather, it is a profound means of making sense of one's existence and experiences. The act of singing represents a deeper communication of life’s complexities, allowing individuals to convey feelings and insights that might otherwise remain unexpressed.
Themes
MusicLifeExpressionUnderstandingEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion on the therapeutic benefits of music at a mental health conference.
Similar quotes
This is the beauty I want. Beauty has got to be astonishing, astounding-- it's got to burst in on you like a dream, like the exquisite eyes of a girl.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
I can write a poem in 10 minutes. I like writing songs; I can write songs in 5 or 10 minutes. My concentration seems very short.
Shel SilversteinRead
Literary studies were no more than a series of autopsies performed by heartless technicians. Worse than autopsies: biopsies. Vivisection. Even movies, which I love more than anything, more than life itself, they even do it with movies these days.
Stephen FryRead
I want you to see me naked and performing one or two dozen mad acts, which will take me less than half an hour, because if you have seen them with your own eyes, you can safely swear to any others you might wish to add.
Miguel De CervantesRead
But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead