--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had always wanted to write music, and…" description: "\"“He had always wanted to write music, and he could give no other identity to the thing he sought. If you want to know what it is, he told himself, list..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/ayn-rand-59_music_he-had-always-wanted-to-write-music-and_1061482.jpg" --- # He had always wanted to write music, and he could give no… ![“He had always wanted to write music, and he could give no other identity to the thing he sought. If you want to know what it is, he told himself, listen to the first phrases of Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto--or the last movement of Rachmaninoff’s Second. Men have not found the words for it, nor the…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/ayn-rand-59_music_he-had-always-wanted-to-write-music-and_1061482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/ayn-rand-59_music_he-had-always-wanted-to-write-music-and_1061482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/ayn-rand-59_music_he-had-always-wanted-to-write-music-and_1061482.jpg) > ““He had always wanted to write music, and he could give no other identity to the thing he sought. If you want to know what it is, he told himself, listen to the first phrases of Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto--or the last movement of Rachmaninoff’s Second. Men have not found the words for it, nor the deed nor the thought, but they have found the music. Let me see that in one single act of man on earth. Let me see it made real. Let me see the answer to the promise of that music. Not servants nor those served; not altars and immolations; but the final, the fulfilled, innocent of pain. Don’t help me or serve me, but let me see it once, because I need it. Don’t work for my happiness, my brothers--show me yours--show me that it is possible--show me your achievement--and the knowledge will give me courage for mine.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker seeks a pure, transcendent purpose expressed through music, yearning for authentic achievement rather than servitude, and asks others to demonstrate possibility to inspire his own courage. **In simple terms:** He longs for a higher purpose shown by others' real achievements. Key Takeaway Seek authentic purpose and be inspired by others' real actions. Themes purpose authenticity inspiration art courage Mood determined hopeful reflective Type philosophical motivational inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative endeavors - leadership - community building Key Concepts existentialism objectivism aestheticism Questions to Reflect On - What authentic purpose drives you? - How can others' achievements inspire your own courage? A Different Perspective True fulfillment may still require personal effort beyond witnessing others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Movement Rachmaninoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-rachmaninoff-2594368/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Phrases Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases-tchaikovsky-2594366/) [Rachmaninoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rachmaninoff/) [Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tchaikovsky/) [Tchaikovsky Concerto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tchaikovsky-concerto-2594367/) ## Related quotes > [I enjoy the kind of characters that allow you to write the dark stuff. I love Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, and when I'm writing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-wildhorn/i-enjoy-the-kind-of-characters-that-allow-you-to-write-the-dark-stuff/) [Frank Wildhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-wildhorn/) > [My father ran the gamut: a favorite of his was Josef Hofmann, but there was also Friedman, Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, Lhevinne, Moiseiwitsch, Paderewski, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/my-father-ran-the-gamut-a-favorite-of-his-was-josef-hofmann-but-there/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [Opinion in all parts of the world would agree that Rachmaninoff is the most complete of living masters of the instrument; his technique is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-rachmaninoff/opinion-in-all-parts-of-the-world-would-agree-that-rachmaninoff-is/) [Sergei Rachmaninoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-rachmaninoff/) > [Composers can do things that weren't allowed in the 17th century. Until we had composers like Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff to break the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-zigman/composers-can-do-things-that-weren-t-allowed-in-the-17th-century/) [Aaron Zigman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-zigman/) > [People think I am crazy because they see me doing stand-up, but I am generally not. I am very sad. I'm one of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/people-think-i-am-crazy-because-they-see-me-doing-stand-up-but-i-am/) [Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/) > [ \[On Rachmaninoff:\] He was the most Russian of them all, like a cathedral in the snow. Holy, wintry, infinite, he was all the Russias. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dagmar-godowsky/on-rachmaninoff-he-was-the-most-russian-of-them-all-like-a-cathedral/) [Dagmar Godowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dagmar-godowsky/) > [What were you going to do tonight?" "I was going to listen to the songs of Rachmaninoff." "Who's that?" "A dead Russian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/what-were-you-going-to-do-tonight-i-was-going-to-listen-to-the-songs/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [John Lennon was brilliant, so gifted, so giving. He was the Bach, Beethoven, the Rachmaninoff of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-bernstein/john-lennon-was-brilliant-so-gifted-so-giving-he-was-the-bach/) [Sid Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-bernstein/) > [Rachmaninoff made a musician out of me. His 'Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini' was the piece that sent me into raptures. It spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/rachmaninoff-made-a-musician-out-of-me-his-rhapsody-on-a-theme-by/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It has always been Oscar Peterson. He is my Rachmaninoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-horn/it-has-always-been-oscar-peterson-he-is-my-rachmaninoff/) [Shirley Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-horn/) > [I love anything by Tchaikovsky. He was the real pop star of his day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-love-anything-by-tchaikovsky-he-was-the-real-pop-star-of-his-day/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [For me, listening to Beethoven and Tchaikovsky in particular, there's an emotional aspect - very different kinds of emotional aspects from those two composers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-glover/for-me-listening-to-beethoven-and-tchaikovsky-in-particular-there-s/) [Crispin Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-glover/) > [They say that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Truth be told, we don't love him because of that, but he was a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/they-say-that-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-was-a-homosexual-truth-be-told/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/if-they-can-learn-to-say-tchaikovsky-and-michelangelo-and-dostoyevsky/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Music quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I'm at the edge of the world, Where do I go from here? Do I disappear? Edge of the world, Should I sink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/i-m-at-the-edge-of-the-world-where-do-i-go-from-here-do-i-disappear/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) [Hubert Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-laws/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [ “Downloading's the same as what I used to do. I used to tape the charts of the songs I liked \[off the radio\]. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gallagher/downloading-s-the-same-as-what-i-used-to-do-i-used-to-tape-the-charts/) [Liam Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gallagher/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I want people to hear my lyrics and my melodies and say, 'That dude's in pain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/i-want-people-to-hear-my-lyrics-and-my-melodies-and-say-that-dude-s/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) [Browse all 55,293 Music quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had always wanted to write music, and he could give no other identity to the thing he sought. If you want to know what it is, he told himself, listen to the first phrases of Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto--or the last movement of Rachmaninoff’s Second. Men have not found the words for it, nor the deed nor the thought, but they have found the music. Let me see that in one single act of man on earth. Let me see it made real. Let me see the answer to the promise of that music. Not servants nor those served; not altars and immolations; but the final, the fulfilled, innocent of pain. Don’t help me or serve me, but let me see it once, because I need it. 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