--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts…" description: "\"Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every valve to the desperate drama of being / a self in a song.\" — Anne Carson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png" --- # Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every… ![“Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every valve to the desperate drama of being / a self in a song.” quote by Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png) > “Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every valve to the desperate drama of being / a self in a song.” [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music mirrors emotional intensity, opening hearts to raw, dramatic self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Music amplifies inner drama. Key Takeaway Listen to music for emotional insight. Themes emotion music self‑expression Mood intense reflective Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy sessions - performance art Key Concepts intensity vulnerability artistic catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape your inner narrative? - When does silence serve better? A Different Perspective Music can overwhelm emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [The past is remembered as if it were a drama in which the self was the leading player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-greenwald/the-past-is-remembered-as-if-it-were-a-drama-in-which-the-self-was/) Anthony Greenwald > [Then my life crashed and burned down: trials, men, drama, no self-love, no identity. A little identity, but not a lot of love for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/then-my-life-crashed-and-burned-down-trials-men-drama-no-self-love-no/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [The true confessors have been aware that not only is life mostly failure, but that in one's failure or pettiness or wrongness exists the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-true-confessors-have-been-aware-that-not-only-is-life-mostly/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Note to self: not every song that I h ave stuck in my head is appropriate to sing out loud in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ester-escalante/note-to-self-not-every-song-that-i-h-ave-stuck-in-my-head-is/) [Ester Escalante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ester-escalante/) > [It excites me when a person puts their whole self in a song or rhyme, or instrument. It fills me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/it-excites-me-when-a-person-puts-their-whole-self-in-a-song-or-rhyme/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [Note to self: Not every song that I have stuck in my head is appropriate to sing out loud in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/note-to-self-not-every-song-that-i-have-stuck-in-my-head-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was her voice that made The sky acutest at its vanishing. She measured to the hour its solitude. She was the single artificer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-was-her-voice-that-made-the-sky-acutest-at-its-vanishing-she/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [My parents passed away when I was a teenager, so I had to learn different survival techniques, I think, in comedy. 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Having it, man has no right to say life is unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-possibility-of-killing-one-s-self-is-a-safety-valve-having-it-man/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Students need to decide, 'All right, well, does the height matter? Does the side of it matter? Does the color of the valve matter?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-meyer/students-need-to-decide-all-right-well-does-the-height-matter-does/) [Dan Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-meyer/) > [A wholesome sense of humor will be a safety valve that will enable you to apply the lighter touch to heavy problems and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-b-brown/a-wholesome-sense-of-humor-will-be-a-safety-valve-that-will-enable/) [Hugh B. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-b-brown/) > [I'd been at Valve since I got out of college. I felt like I kind of grew up there, and I wanted to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-swift/i-d-been-at-valve-since-i-got-out-of-college-i-felt-like-i-kind-of/) [Kim Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-swift/) > [In order for innovation to happen, a bunch of things that aren't happening on closed platforms need to occur. Valve wouldn't exist today without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-newell/in-order-for-innovation-to-happen-a-bunch-of-things-that-aren-t/) [Gabe Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-newell/) ## More by Anne Carson > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Town of the Dragon Vein If you wake up too early listen for it. A sort of inverted whistling the sound of sound. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/town-of-the-dragon-vein-if-you-wake-up-too-early-listen-for-it-a-sort/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“You could take the entirety of the common sense of humans and put it in the palm of your hand and still have room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/you-could-take-the-entirety-of-the-common-sense-of-humans-and-put-it/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Could you visit me in dreams? That would cheer me. Sweet to see friends in the night, however short the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/could-you-visit-me-in-dreams-that-would-cheer-me-sweet-to-see-friends/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“He had a respect for facts maybe this was one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/he-had-a-respect-for-facts-maybe-this-was-one/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“She stumbled then and Geryon caught her other arm, it was like a handful of autumn. He felt huge and wrong. When is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/she-stumbled-then-and-geryon-caught-her-other-arm-it-was-like-a/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“M: ... but everytime I start in everytime I everytime you see I would have to tell the whole story all over again or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/m-but-everytime-i-start-in-everytime-i-everytime-you-see-i-would-have/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“On the Rules of Perspective A bad trick. Mistake. Dishonesty. These are the views of Braque. Why? Braque rejected perspective. Why? Someone who spends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/on-the-rules-of-perspective-a-bad-trick-mistake-dishonesty-these-are/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [We participate in the creation of the world by decreating ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/we-participate-in-the-creation-of-the-world-by-decreating-ourselves/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Look at me. This is nobility in a man: to bear what falls from the gods and not say No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/look-at-me-this-is-nobility-in-a-man-to-bear-what-falls-from-the-gods/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Well, they said, these are the pies we have . It was a proverb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/well-they-said-these-are-the-pies-we-have-it-was-a-proverb/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [What is a quote? A quote (cognate with quota) is a cut, a section, a slice of someone's orange. You suck the slice, toss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/what-is-a-quote-a-quote-cognate-with-quota-is-a-cut-a-section-a-slice/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Up against another human being one's own procedures take on definition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/up-against-another-human-being-one-s-own-procedures-take-on-definition/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Philosophy - hopeless. Yet it gives me hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/philosophy-hopeless-yet-it-gives-me-hope/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Grief and rage--you need to contain that, to put a frame around it, where it can play itself out without you or your kin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/grief-and-rage-you-need-to-contain-that-to-put-a-frame-around-it/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Explore all 193 Anne Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## More Desperate quotes > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“I am a desperate romantic. I love the idea of random collisions of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-thompson/i-am-a-desperate-romantic-i-love-the-idea-of-random-collisions-of-the/) [Jessica Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-thompson/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [“Really? I'm trying to place you. It seems like we've met before." Did I just issue him a pick up line? Fantastic, I've now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/really-i-m-trying-to-place-you-it-seems-like-we-ve-met-before-did-i/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [Never be desperate. Get rid of your insecurities. Know your worth. Believe in yourself and go get what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-desperate-get-rid-of-your-insecurities-know-your-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She was stupid and lonely. So desperate to be touched and loved with a good love. I need you, don't leave me, you're all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-bane/she-was-stupid-and-lonely-so-desperate-to-be-touched-and-loved-with-a/) [Lucian Bane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-bane/) > [You mostly know that you want to be funny, know that you have the desire. It's not like people who grow up beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-mostly-know-that-you-want-to-be-funny-know-that-you-have-the/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. Obviously I knew I wasn't but people were curiously desperate to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-had-to-smile-when-stories-emerged-questioning-whether-i-was-gay/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like this sometimes, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marber/i-know-it-s-a-film-and-all-of-that-and-it-s-a-hollywood-film-but-it/) [Patrick Marber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marber/) > [“you think I"m that desperate?" "The raging hard-on jabbing at me says yes." ~Creed/Annika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/you-think-i-m-that-desperate-the-raging-hard-on-jabbing-at-me-says/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for quality affordable child care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/along-with-a-livable-wage-many-parents-are-desperate-for-quality/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-forlan/as-a-player-if-a-club-is-desperate-to-sign-you-then-you-can-benefit/) [Diego Forlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-forlan/) [Browse all 1,618 Desperate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every valve to the desperate drama of being / a self in a song.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Carson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-opening-every-valve-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desperate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-opening-every-valve-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/anne-carson-1985_desperate_meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-op_1179840.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts opening every valve to the desperate drama of being / a self in a…” — Anne Carson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Carson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Meanwhile music pounded / across hearts...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-opening-every-valve-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/meanwhile-music-pounded-across-hearts-opening-every-valve-to-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```