--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is more or less a lie, but then…" description: "\"Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.\" — Bob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg" --- # Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly… ![“Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg) > “Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.” [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. Life feels deceptive, yet we accept that illusion because it comforts us. **In simple terms:** Life is a comforting lie. Key Takeaway Question the comfort of false narratives. Themes illusion comfort acceptance Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - media consumption - political narratives Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What comforts you that might be a lie? - Can you live without this illusion? A Different Perspective The lie may prevent confronting harsh truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dylan/) [Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly/) [Exactly Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly-way-1130244/) [Lie Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie-exactly-5858876/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lie/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Zen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zen/) ## Related quotes > [Every great company, brand, career has been built in exactly the same way: bit by bit, step by step, little by little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/every-great-company-brand-career-has-been-built-in-exactly-the-same/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [What I understand about this concept of why is that it functions exactly the same way as parenting or exercise or any of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/what-i-understand-about-this-concept-of-why-is-that-it-functions/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [I made 'Batman' the way I made every other film, and I've done it to my own satisfaction - because the film, truly, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/i-made-batman-the-way-i-made-every-other-film-and-i-ve-done-it-to-my/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I play my music the same way because people expect it to sound exactly the way it does on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fats-domino/i-play-my-music-the-same-way-because-people-expect-it-to-sound/) [Fats Domino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fats-domino/) > [“A person can live his life exactly the way he wants to live it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/a-person-can-live-his-life-exactly-the-way-he-wants-to-live-it/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [There is nothing I have to do, nowhere I have to go, and no way I have to be except exactly the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/there-is-nothing-i-have-to-do-nowhere-i-have-to-go-and-no-way-i-have-2/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I was made exactly the way I was meant to be made in who I am and my personality and the way I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-rapinoe/i-was-made-exactly-the-way-i-was-meant-to-be-made-in-who-i-am-and-my/) [Megan Rapinoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-rapinoe/) > [Nothing important on Wall Street can be counted on to occur exactly in the same way as it happened before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/nothing-important-on-wall-street-can-be-counted-on-to-occur-exactly/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [I don't know if anything in nature ever grows exactly the same, but they are always exactly as the way it should be, perfectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ross/i-don-t-know-if-anything-in-nature-ever-grows-exactly-the-same-but/) [Bob Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ross/) > [Exactly the way I feel right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/exactly-the-way-i-feel-right-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm going to skate exactly the way I want to, create programs that I like, and everything will fall into place where it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-weir/i-m-going-to-skate-exactly-the-way-i-want-to-create-programs-that-i/) [Johnny Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-weir/) > [It had come about exactly in the way things happened in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/it-had-come-about-exactly-in-the-way-things-happened-in-books/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [The way I communicate is exactly the way in speech and amongst friends as it is in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cmat/the-way-i-communicate-is-exactly-the-way-in-speech-and-amongst/) [CMAT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cmat/) > [“I love and accept my self exactly the way I am”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cade/i-love-and-accept-my-self-exactly-the-way-i-am/) [Chris Cade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cade/) > [“If there was a God, the world seemed exactly the way it would be if there wasn’t one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/if-there-was-a-god-the-world-seemed-exactly-the-way-it-would-be-if/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) ## 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 Dylan quotes > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [“Dylan stopped at an intersection and gave Chris a long look. 'Not you. You are original. Unique.' 'That good or bad?' 'Oh definitely good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-fielding/dylan-stopped-at-an-intersection-and-gave-chris-a-long-look-not-you/) [Kim Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-fielding/) > [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 most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [“the mayor wants things smoothed over between O’Neil and you.” Inside Rachel a war battled: Yay! she was going to see Dylan regularly. And:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-shay/the-mayor-wants-things-smoothed-over-between-o-neil-and-you-inside/) [Kathryn Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-shay/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I first met (Bob Dylan) in '65. We've had a friendship for a long time. He decided to play on a record I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-sahm/i-first-met-bob-dylan-in-65-we-ve-had-a-friendship-for-a-long-time-he/) [Doug Sahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-sahm/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Most of the artists were trying to make a living, trying to get laid, trying to figure out who they were. They weren't trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geffen/most-of-the-artists-were-trying-to-make-a-living-trying-to-get-laid/) [David Geffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geffen/) > [I've been really, really blessed. I got to perform on stage with Bob Dylan. I've gotten to sing with Mick Jagger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-ve-been-really-really-blessed-i-got-to-perform-on-stage-with-bob/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Courtney Love's name should be right next to Bob Dylan when they say best lyricist of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-perry/courtney-love-s-name-should-be-right-next-to-bob-dylan-when-they-say/) [Linda Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-perry/) [Browse all 668 Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dylan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-again-that-s-exactly-the-way-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dylan" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-again-that-s-exactly-the-way-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/bob-dylan-168_dylan_life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-agai_1561492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that's exactly the way we want it to be.” — 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": "Life is more or less a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-again-that-s-exactly-the-way-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/life-is-more-or-less-a-lie-but-then-again-that-s-exactly-the-way-we/#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 } } ] } ```