--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I became interested in folk music because…" description: "\"I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.\" — Bob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg" --- # I became interested in folk music because I had to make it… ![“I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg) > “I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He pursued folk music because he felt compelled to create it in his own way. **In simple terms:** He made folk music out of necessity. Key Takeaway Follow authentic creative impulses. Themes creativity authenticity folk tradition necessity expression Mood introspective inspired Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - teaching music - community events - personal journaling Key Concepts Artistic motivation cultural heritage personal drive Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to create art? - How does necessity shape artistic style? A Different Perspective External pressure may stifle authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Folk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk/) [Folk music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk-music/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Interested Folk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-folk-1889708/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-make/) [Somehow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somehow/) ## Related quotes > [Well, I don't think it ever did, but in the early '60s I got interested in folk music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-zevon/well-i-don-t-think-it-ever-did-but-in-the-early-60s-i-got-interested/) [Warren Zevon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-zevon/) > [Folk music is a bunch of fat people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/folk-music-is-a-bunch-of-fat-people/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I grew up listening to a lot of soul music, and a lot of folk music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/i-grew-up-listening-to-a-lot-of-soul-music-and-a-lot-of-folk-music/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [Mostly folk music is people with fruity voices trying to keep alive something old and dead. It's all a bit boring, like ballet: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/mostly-folk-music-is-people-with-fruity-voices-trying-to-keep-alive/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [More and more, I see myself as a folk musician, and someone who values context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanne-cash/more-and-more-i-see-myself-as-a-folk-musician-and-someone-who-values/) [Rosanne Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanne-cash/) > [Whether it's your own material or somebody else's material, it's essential that you identify with it thoroughly. It's like you want to archive it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stookey/whether-it-s-your-own-material-or-somebody-else-s-material-it-s/) [Paul Stookey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stookey/) > [I can be whatever it takes to be a folksinger. Folk music to me, if we had to have a definition, is portable music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-gilbert/i-can-be-whatever-it-takes-to-be-a-folksinger-folk-music-to-me-if-we/) [Vance Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-gilbert/) > [When I was young I wanted to make films and then I got into folk music when I was about 12, and started going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-andrews/when-i-was-young-i-wanted-to-make-films-and-then-i-got-into-folk/) [Finn Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-andrews/) > [Folks out in the country couldn't afford to pay for anybody else to make music. They had to make their own. So the peasantry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/folks-out-in-the-country-couldn-t-afford-to-pay-for-anybody-else-to/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [There's a similarity between European and North African folk musics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/there-s-a-similarity-between-european-and-north-african-folk-musics/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [Traditional folk music is about survival of the fittest song just like evolution is about survival of the fittest organism and generally the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-spiers/traditional-folk-music-is-about-survival-of-the-fittest-song-just/) [John Spiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-spiers/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) [Sam Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinton/) > [I am so blessed that all I've done in my professional life, since I was 17-18, is play music and somehow make a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mclagan/i-am-so-blessed-that-all-i-ve-done-in-my-professional-life-since-i/) [Ian McLagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mclagan/) > [My father being in the movie business, I thought being an actor would be great. But when I started singing to people in coffeehouses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crosby/my-father-being-in-the-movie-business-i-thought-being-an-actor-would/) [David Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crosby/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Folk quotes > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) [Sam Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hinton/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [What do folk always say about Arsenal? They can pass you to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-adam/what-do-folk-always-say-about-arsenal-they-can-pass-you-to-death/) [Charlie Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-adam/) > [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/) > [We Brits are law abiding folk. We pride ourselves on our natural tendency to form an orderly queue rather than a scrum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-boles/we-brits-are-law-abiding-folk-we-pride-ourselves-on-our-natural/) [Nick Boles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-boles/) > [“They change what they do not like,’ said Jessold, referring to the singers. ‘And they do not like what they cannot remember. That accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-stace/they-change-what-they-do-not-like-said-jessold-referring-to-the/) [Wesley Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-stace/) > [I'm really sick of anthems. Every song has to be a very big singalong thing - it feels very Eighties. There are a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-m-really-sick-of-anthems-every-song-has-to-be-a-very-big-singalong/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [I think the perception of audiences that love folk and country is they're perceived to be more closed-minded than they really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-mattel/i-think-the-perception-of-audiences-that-love-folk-and-country-is/) [Trixie Mattel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trixie-mattel/) > [Today's folk song is rock and roll. Although it happened to emanate from America, that's not really important in the end because we wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/today-s-folk-song-is-rock-and-roll-although-it-happened-to-emanate/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [In my early life, I was a professional folk singer. I used to sing on the national television and radio in Canada. Nobody knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gordon/in-my-early-life-i-was-a-professional-folk-singer-i-used-to-sing-on/) [Mary Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gordon/) > [I love the U.K. folk scene. In the States, nobody knows what to do with me. There's still a very narrow definition of Americana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/i-love-the-u-k-folk-scene-in-the-states-nobody-knows-what-to-do-with/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [I've always thought about myself as somewhat of a folk musician. I just write words. I don't think I'm even a musician. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-mccombs/i-ve-always-thought-about-myself-as-somewhat-of-a-folk-musician-i/) [Cass McCombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-mccombs/) [Browse all 441 Folk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-became-interested-in-folk-music-because-i-had-to-make-it-somehow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Folk" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-became-interested-in-folk-music-because-i-had-to-make-it-somehow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/bob-dylan-168_folk_i-became-interested-in-folk-music-becaus_2751580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I became interested in folk music because I had to make it somehow.” — Bob Dylan", "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": "Bob Dylan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I became interested in folk music...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-became-interested-in-folk-music-because-i-had-to-make-it-somehow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-became-interested-in-folk-music-because-i-had-to-make-it-somehow/#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 } } ] } ```