--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first started playing the banjo…" description: "\"When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn't go to China. It hurt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/abigail-washburn-16106_banjo_when-i-first-started-playing-the-banjo-a_2342579.png" --- # When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously… ![“When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn't go to China. It hurt. Like a pain in my gut... that pain you feel when you know it's time to connect with your parents or your God or your child or your past or your…” quote by Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/abigail-washburn-16106_banjo_when-i-first-started-playing-the-banjo-a_2342579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/abigail-washburn-16106_banjo_when-i-first-started-playing-the-banjo-a_2342579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/abigail-washburn-16106_banjo_when-i-first-started-playing-the-banjo-a_2342579.png) > “When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn't go to China. It hurt. Like a pain in my gut... that pain you feel when you know it's time to connect with your parents or your God or your child or your past or your future... and you don't do it.” [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes missing deep connections as a lingering ache, urging reconnection with family, faith, and self. **In simple terms:** Missing important relationships feels painful. Key Takeaway Reconnect with loved ones and inner self. Themes family faith self‑discovery Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type musical personal When to use this quote - family gatherings - spiritual retreats - personal reflection - creative work Key Concepts emotional health spiritual longing Questions to Reflect On - What relationships need your attention? - How can you honor your past while moving forward? A Different Perspective Avoiding connection can stall personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banjo/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Connect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connect/) [Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Fell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Gut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gut/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-pain-370563/) [Nashville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nashville/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-feel-252957/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Period](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/period/) [Playing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing/) [Playing Banjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-banjo-636938/) [Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record/) [Record deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-deal/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) [Your child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-child/) ## Related quotes > [My family making music was like a folk background, really: banging on tabletops, playing banjo and all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-davies/my-family-making-music-was-like-a-folk-background-really-banging-on/) [Dave Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-davies/) > [Playing my banjo. Me and my hombre named Poncho. I would like to get some of your ellegro gato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elephant-man/playing-my-banjo-me-and-my-hombre-named-poncho-i-would-like-to-get/) [Elephant Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elephant-man/) > [I play banjo, and in Britain, it's easy to get away with playing banjo because you don't often see it on U.K. stages. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-marshall/i-play-banjo-and-in-britain-it-s-easy-to-get-away-with-playing-banjo/) [Winston Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-marshall/) > [I didn't actually start playing the banjo until I was in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/i-didn-t-actually-start-playing-the-banjo-until-i-was-in-high-school/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [Well I started out on guitar, so it is still the mainstay of my music. But I have recently been working very hard on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livingston-taylor/well-i-started-out-on-guitar-so-it-is-still-the-mainstay-of-my-music/) [Livingston Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livingston-taylor/) > [“Tell me this, pal, why isn't everybody sitting on a fence in the moonlight playing a banjo? That's all I want to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-lawrence/tell-me-this-pal-why-isn-t-everybody-sitting-on-a-fence-in-the/) [Vincent Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-lawrence/) > [When I was 3 years old, I was playing banjo on a country music TV show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickey-medlocke/when-i-was-3-years-old-i-was-playing-banjo-on-a-country-music-tv-show/) [Rickey Medlocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickey-medlocke/) > [I didn't grow up on the porch of a cabin looking out over the 90 acres that the mule was plowing with Paw-Paw playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketch-secor/i-didn-t-grow-up-on-the-porch-of-a-cabin-looking-out-over-the-90/) [Ketch Secor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ketch-secor/) > [It's life, so you're a constant evolution of tragedies and achievements and ups and downs. You can probably get a little bit more immune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-baena/it-s-life-so-you-re-a-constant-evolution-of-tragedies-and/) [Jeff Baena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-baena/) > [I'm, I guess you could say, the Chinese-speaking, banjo-picking girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-m-i-guess-you-could-say-the-chinese-speaking-banjo-picking-girl/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [In a strange way, I don't have a job, so I have a lot of time on my hands. When I do work, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/in-a-strange-way-i-don-t-have-a-job-so-i-have-a-lot-of-time-on-my/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I want parents out there to know that it's totally natural for kids to make believe and play games. It does not mean your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-arquette/i-want-parents-out-there-to-know-that-it-s-totally-natural-for-kids/) [Alexis Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-arquette/) > [Anytime you have a difficult encounter with your child, there is a good chance that at least one of these factors is bringing out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/anytime-you-have-a-difficult-encounter-with-your-child-there-is-a/) [Cathy Rindner Tempelsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/) > [From a tourist's point of view, you finally have time to travel, but you need to spend your time looking after your child. Club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guo-guangchang/from-a-tourist-s-point-of-view-you-finally-have-time-to-travel-but/) [Guo Guangchang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guo-guangchang/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) ## More by Abigail Washburn > [I feel like my kind of music is a big pot of different spices. It's a soup with all kinds of ingredients in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-feel-like-my-kind-of-music-is-a-big-pot-of-different-spices-it-s-a/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I was born in Evanston, Illinois. I spent my elementary and part of my junior high school years in a D.C. suburb. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-was-born-in-evanston-illinois-i-spent-my-elementary-and-part-of-my/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I've noticed that the more I open up, the more I learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-ve-noticed-that-the-more-i-open-up-the-more-i-learn/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [Is it an original idea? Or is it something where you're literally a creative collagist? You're taking pieces of the world that you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/is-it-an-original-idea-or-is-it-something-where-you-re-literally-a/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [In some ways, in the U.S. we don't know how to be. I think in a lot of ways America is about liberation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/in-some-ways-in-the-u-s-we-don-t-know-how-to-be-i-think-in-a-lot-of/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I feel like the one insight that's extremely comforting to me about the world is that we all share the same pool of emotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-feel-like-the-one-insight-that-s-extremely-comforting-to-me-about/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [My parents played the radio, but music was never an obsession or something that I thought I could call a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/my-parents-played-the-radio-but-music-was-never-an-obsession-or/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech always sends me down some path, some trajectory of some creative idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/martin-luther-king-s-i-have-a-dream-speech-always-sends-me-down-some/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I'm no ethnomusicologist. There is a connection between the five-note scale used both in traditional Chinese music and the blues, but I don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-m-no-ethnomusicologist-there-is-a-connection-between-the-five-note/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [As a child, I went to peace and ERA marches on the back of my mom and grandmother. Through them I learned that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/as-a-child-i-went-to-peace-and-era-marches-on-the-back-of-my-mom-and/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [Outside your door, the world is waiting. Inside your heart, a voice is calling. The four corners of the world are watching. So travel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/outside-your-door-the-world-is-waiting-inside-your-heart-a-voice-is/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I sang in a reggae band. And then there was a soul band where I sang back-up vocals and some lead. And I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-sang-in-a-reggae-band-and-then-there-was-a-soul-band-where-i-sang/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I spent all of my twenties feeling very angsty about trying to make a difference. I wanted to establish a touring circuit that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-spent-all-of-my-twenties-feeling-very-angsty-about-trying-to-make-a/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [I would still describe China as a vast, invigorating puzzle that will never make sense to my western upbringing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/i-would-still-describe-china-as-a-vast-invigorating-puzzle-that-will/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) > [China was the first time I truly felt like an outsider. I fell in love with the process of trying to become intimate with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-washburn/china-was-the-first-time-i-truly-felt-like-an-outsider-i-fell-in-love/) [Abigail Washburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) [Explore all 41 Abigail Washburn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-washburn/) ## More Banjo quotes > [Id be happiest standing at the back, strumming my little banjo where no one could see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-grint/id-be-happiest-standing-at-the-back-strumming-my-little-banjo-where/) [Rupert Grint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-grint/) > [When I was very young my mother sang to me at bedtime and my dad would often play the banjo or fiddle in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-block/when-i-was-very-young-my-mother-sang-to-me-at-bedtime-and-my-dad/) [Rory Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-block/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [When we moved back to the US, folk music was all the rage. So I traded in my banjo for a guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/when-we-moved-back-to-the-us-folk-music-was-all-the-rage-so-i-traded/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [My family was always playing music; I always enjoyed it. My cousin, who is a little older than me, he started playing music, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vile/my-family-was-always-playing-music-i-always-enjoyed-it-my-cousin-who/) [Kurt Vile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vile/) > [Earl Scruggs had this thing that it wasn't just the technique or even the instrument. It was him. There was this soulful quality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-scruggs/earl-scruggs-had-this-thing-that-it-wasn-t-just-the-technique-or-even/) [Earl Scruggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-scruggs/) > [Nothing says 'dropping out of society' like learning the banjo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-roth/nothing-says-dropping-out-of-society-like-learning-the-banjo/) [Daniel Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-roth/) > [“banjo. A plucked, fretted lute where a thin skin diaphragm is stretched over a circular metal frame amplifying the sound of the strings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-doherty/banjo-a-plucked-fretted-lute-where-a-thin-skin-diaphragm-is-stretched/) [Liz Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-doherty/) > [When I first heard the minstrel banjo - I played a gourd first - I almost lost my mind. I was like, Oh, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/when-i-first-heard-the-minstrel-banjo-i-played-a-gourd-first-i-almost/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gentleman-is-someone-who-knows-how-to-play-the-banjo-and-doesn-t/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I've heard of people stopping their cars, having car wrecks, all kinds of things. But most of the banjo players I know had that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-scruggs/i-ve-heard-of-people-stopping-their-cars-having-car-wrecks-all-kinds/) [Earl Scruggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-scruggs/) > [There are a lot of chapters to the banjo's history. Part of it are the roots in Africa, where it's a more primitive instrument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-fleck/there-are-a-lot-of-chapters-to-the-banjo-s-history-part-of-it-are-the/) [Bela Fleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-fleck/) > [My dad also plays a little banjo and guitar, my mom plays the mandolin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/page-mcconnell/my-dad-also-plays-a-little-banjo-and-guitar-my-mom-plays-the-mandolin/) [Page McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/page-mcconnell/) > [Whenever a big white man picks up a banjo, my cheeks tighten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/whenever-a-big-white-man-picks-up-a-banjo-my-cheeks-tighten/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“There was talk of the Centaur being moved into the elephant cages to make room for a banjo-picking Minotaur. Surrendering his meager furnishings to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/there-was-talk-of-the-centaur-being-moved-into-the-elephant-cages-to/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) [Browse all 104 Banjo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banjo/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first started playing the banjo and miraculously fell into a record deal in Nashville, TN, there was a period when I didn't go to China. It hurt. 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