---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's…"
description: "\"If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction, I'll never play music again.\" — Bob Dylan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg"
---

#  If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction…

![“If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction, I'll never play music again.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg)

> “If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction, I'll never play music again.”

[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.

The speaker threatens to stop playing music if personal rumors about Jonah spread, showing how personal loyalty can affect artistic choices.

**In simple terms:** He'll quit music if Jonah's secret spreads.

Key Takeaway

Protect personal relationships over career.

Themes

loyalty artistic integrity privacy

Mood

defensive determined

Type

statement personal

When to use this quote

- band dynamics
- public statements
- media leaks

Key Concepts

personal boundaries reputation management

Questions to Reflect On

- How far would you go to protect a friend?
- What are the risks of mixing personal secrets with public art?

A Different Perspective

May limit artistic freedom if overprotective.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dysfunction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dysfunction/) [Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jonah/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/)

## Related quotes

> [“The only kinds of sexual dysfunction are abstinence, celibacy, and delayed marriage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-c-kinsey/the-only-kinds-of-sexual-dysfunction-are-abstinence-celibacy-and/)

Alfred C. Kinsey

> [“I’m about to tell Jonah about the safari Dad’s going to take me on, but Mrs. Marconi says talking’s like ping-pong: you take turns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-m-about-to-tell-jonah-about-the-safari-dad-s-going-to-take-me-on/)

[David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/)

> [As long as you give my friend Jonah Lehrer a free pizza, I'll write a song about your restaurant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/as-long-as-you-give-my-friend-jonah-lehrer-a-free-pizza-i-ll-write-a/)

[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/)

> [You want to know about creativity? Just go out and buy that book Imagine by Jonah Lehrer. It's only $29.00 in hardcover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-want-to-know-about-creativity-just-go-out-and-buy-that-book/)

[Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/)

> [Any real Bob Dylan fan would sleep with Jonah Lehrer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/any-real-bob-dylan-fan-would-sleep-with-jonah-lehrer/)

[Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/)

> [I'll be selling tickets for my next tour exclusively through Jonah Lehrer. Make sure to pay cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-ll-be-selling-tickets-for-my-next-tour-exclusively-through-jonah/)

[Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/)

> [I'm a good friend of Jonah Lehrer's. You should go on a date with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-m-a-good-friend-of-jonah-lehrer-s-you-should-go-on-a-date-with-him/)

[Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/)

> [“My family may be dysfunctional, but I think it’s pretty functional in its dysfunction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-torrey/my-family-may-be-dysfunctional-but-i-think-it-s-pretty-functional-in/)

Amanda Torrey

> [Everyone has some dysfunction in their families. They have to deal with it. You don't walk away if you love someone. You help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/everyone-has-some-dysfunction-in-their-families-they-have-to-deal/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Science and technology have amplified the effects of the dysfunction of the human mind in its unawakened state to such a degree that humanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/science-and-technology-have-amplified-the-effects-of-the-dysfunction/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“The cycles of dysfunction and mental illness did not have to carry over from generation to generation. You just had to educate yourself. Erika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/the-cycles-of-dysfunction-and-mental-illness-did-not-have-to-carry/)

[Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/)

> [“We put the fun in dysfunction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/we-put-the-fun-in-dysfunction/)

[William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/)

> [“The more severe the dysfunction you experienced growing up, the more difficult boundaries are for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/the-more-severe-the-dysfunction-you-experienced-growing-up-the-more/)

[David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/)

> [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

## 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 Dysfunction quotes

> [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [“The more severe the dysfunction you experienced growing up, the more difficult boundaries are for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/the-more-severe-the-dysfunction-you-experienced-growing-up-the-more/)

[David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/)

> [“We put the fun in dysfunction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/we-put-the-fun-in-dysfunction/)

[William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/)

> [“The cycles of dysfunction and mental illness did not have to carry over from generation to generation. You just had to educate yourself. Erika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/the-cycles-of-dysfunction-and-mental-illness-did-not-have-to-carry/)

[Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/)

> [Science and technology have amplified the effects of the dysfunction of the human mind in its unawakened state to such a degree that humanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/science-and-technology-have-amplified-the-effects-of-the-dysfunction/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Everyone has some dysfunction in their families. They have to deal with it. You don't walk away if you love someone. You help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/everyone-has-some-dysfunction-in-their-families-they-have-to-deal/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [“My family may be dysfunctional, but I think it’s pretty functional in its dysfunction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-torrey/my-family-may-be-dysfunctional-but-i-think-it-s-pretty-functional-in/)

Amanda Torrey

> [Everybody has some dysfunction in their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/everybody-has-some-dysfunction-in-their-families/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Pick a dysfunction and it's a family problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr/pick-a-dysfunction-and-it-s-a-family-problem/)

[Robert Downey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr/)

> [I think as a child you know when it's time for your parents to split. You realise they love each other, but they're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-cornish/i-think-as-a-child-you-know-when-it-s-time-for-your-parents-to-split/)

[Abbie Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-cornish/)

> [The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-greatest-achievement-of-humanity-is-not-its-works-of-art-science/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“They'd been playing house, but it wasn't a game either of them liked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-golding/they-d-been-playing-house-but-it-wasn-t-a-game-either-of-them-liked/)

Melanie Golding

> [“... I slipped our wicker bed and walked the sands where we were also roughly repeated: some young couple, "you did," "I didn't," "you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-slipped-our-wicker-bed-and-walked-the-sands-where-we-were-also/)

[Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/)

> [In a noted 1943 Harvard study, there were no cases of toxemia, congenital anomalies, or neonatal deaths among a group of well-fed woman. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brewer/in-a-noted-1943-harvard-study-there-were-no-cases-of-toxemia/)

Tom Brewer

> [What creates a writer is huge, psychological dysfunction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-lette/what-creates-a-writer-is-huge-psychological-dysfunction/)

[Kathy Lette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-lette/)

[Browse all 158 Dysfunction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dysfunction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction, I'll never play music again.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bob Dylan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-sexual-dysfunction-i-ll-never/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dysfunction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-sexual-dysfunction-i-ll-never/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/bob-dylan-168_dysfunction_if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-se_1181543.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you ever tell anyone about Jonah's sexual dysfunction, I'll never play music again.” — 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": "If you ever tell anyone about...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-sexual-dysfunction-i-ll-never/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-ever-tell-anyone-about-jonah-s-sexual-dysfunction-i-ll-never/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
