--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There comes a time when you swim or sink…" description: "\"“There comes a time when you swim or sink so I jumped in the drink 'cause I couldn't make myself clear. Maybe I wrote in invisible ink, oh I've tried t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/aimee-mann-13579_invisible-ink_there-comes-a-time-when-you-swim-or-sink_1648783.png" --- # There comes a time when you swim or sink so I jumped in… ![“There comes a time when you swim or sink so I jumped in the drink 'cause I couldn't make myself clear. Maybe I wrote in invisible ink, oh I've tried to think how I could've made it appear.” quote by Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/aimee-mann-13579_invisible-ink_there-comes-a-time-when-you-swim-or-sink_1648783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/aimee-mann-13579_invisible-ink_there-comes-a-time-when-you-swim-or-sink_1648783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/aimee-mann-13579_invisible-ink_there-comes-a-time-when-you-swim-or-sink_1648783.png) > ““There comes a time when you swim or sink so I jumped in the drink 'cause I couldn't make myself clear. Maybe I wrote in invisible ink, oh I've tried to think how I could've made it appear. ”” [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lyric expresses feeling lost and unable to communicate clearly, using metaphors of swimming or sinking and invisible ink to convey frustration and a desire for clarity. **In simple terms:** The singer feels stuck and unable to express themselves. Key Takeaway Seek honest expression and clarity in communication. Themes self‑expression confusion artistic struggle identity Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type artistic emotional personal When to use this quote - songwriting - therapy - journaling - creative workshops Key Concepts invisible ink personal clarity emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - What blocks your ability to be clear? - How can you make your inner thoughts visible? A Different Perspective Metaphors may obscure concrete steps for resolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Invisible ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible-ink/) [Lyrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrics/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Trip Spector, don’t you put words in my mouth. You’re not a freak. You are a-lone. You been by yourself for so long, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-suede/trip-spector-don-t-you-put-words-in-my-mouth-you-re-not-a-freak-you/) [Damon Suede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-suede/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. 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There are no rewards Of fame or profit when the world grows weary. 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It smelled like invisible ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/the-wind-smelled-clean-like-clean-magazines-it-smelled-like-invisible/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) ## More by Aimee Mann > [I don't believe in asking people to spend $15 on something they've never heard before. That's just unreasonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/i-don-t-believe-in-asking-people-to-spend-15-on-something-they-ve/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [You know what, the drummer is my manager. He's busy. And I'm busy. I don't need the dough, though. But having said that, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/you-know-what-the-drummer-is-my-manager-he-s-busy-and-i-m-busy-i-don/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [The king of the jailhouse and the queen of the road think sharing the burden will lighten the load.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/the-king-of-the-jailhouse-and-the-queen-of-the-road-think-sharing-the/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [But I can't confront the doubts I have. I can't admit that maybe the past was bad, and so, for the sake of momentum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/but-i-can-t-confront-the-doubts-i-have-i-can-t-admit-that-maybe-the/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [Life is a series of problems to figure out how to solve gracefully and with dignity. 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You get into the cadence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/i-probably-would-ve-kept-slogging-on-that-same-chord-change-because/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [For me, there's a fine line between telling a story that's fictional with lots of details and then removing yourself too much from it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/for-me-there-s-a-fine-line-between-telling-a-story-that-s-fictional/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [Everyone's just extracting meaning and feeling and emotion from almost every aspect of music, and I think that for me, it's a huge antidote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/everyone-s-just-extracting-meaning-and-feeling-and-emotion-from/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [“Say you were split, you were split in fragments and none of the pieces would talk to you. Wouldn't you want to be who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/say-you-were-split-you-were-split-in-fragments-and-none-of-the-pieces/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [“That bastard making fun of me in front of all my peers Those people think I own this town, you're stripping all my gears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/that-bastard-making-fun-of-me-in-front-of-all-my-peers-those-people/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [I thought everything was interesting. I wanted to go scuba diving and I wanted to learn how to surf. Because I grew up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/i-thought-everything-was-interesting-i-wanted-to-go-scuba-diving-and/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) [Explore all 50 Aimee Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) ## More Invisible ink quotes > [The wind smelled clean, like clean magazines. It smelled like invisible ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/the-wind-smelled-clean-like-clean-magazines-it-smelled-like-invisible/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-pages-are-still-blank-but-there-is-a-miraculous-feeling-of-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Another steganographic system was still in use in the 20th century: Aeneas suggested pricking holes in a book or other document above or below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/another-steganographic-system-was-still-in-use-in-the-20th-century/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/how-do-you-tell-when-you-re-out-of-invisible-ink/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [157. Imagine yourself as being a pen. Youre trying to leave a mark on something, but you cant see it. Is it that youve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dania-dobbs/157-imagine-yourself-as-being-a-pen-youre-trying-to-leave-a-mark-on/) Dania Dobbs > [“Por que en las epocas oscuras se escribe con tinta invisible? Why in the darkest ages do they write with invisible ink?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/por-que-en-las-epocas-oscuras-se-escribe-con-tinta-invisible-why-in/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Memoirs of an Invisible Man... Written in invisible ink... First, and only Edition... A signed copy... Done so in blood... A vast and exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/memoirs-of-an-invisible-man-written-in-invisible-ink-first-and-only/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [“In my youth I regarded the Universe as an open book, printed in the language of physical equations, whereas now it appears to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/in-my-youth-i-regarded-the-universe-as-an-open-book-printed-in-the/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [“Most writers might as well write in invisible ink, because if what they’re writing is forgettable, it might as well be invisible too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/most-writers-might-as-well-write-in-invisible-ink-because-if-what/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“You can make invisible ink out of milk, lemon juice, saliva, vinegar, even soapy water—anything that will oxidize when you heat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gutman/you-can-make-invisible-ink-out-of-milk-lemon-juice-saliva-vinegar/) [Dan Gutman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gutman/) > [In my youth I regarded the universe as an open book, printed in the language of equations, whereas now it appears to me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/in-my-youth-i-regarded-the-universe-as-an-open-book-printed-in-the-2/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Retarded kids are the best. 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