--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: songs, to me, were more important than…" description: "\"“songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality. Some dif..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/bob-dylan-168_legend_songs-to-me-were-more-important-than-jus_3059081.jpg" --- # songs, to me, were more important than just light… ![“songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality. Some different republic, some liberated republic... whatever the case, it wasn't that I was anti-popular culture or anything and I had no ambition to stir…” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/bob-dylan-168_legend_songs-to-me-were-more-important-than-jus_3059081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/bob-dylan-168_legend_songs-to-me-were-more-important-than-jus_3059081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/bob-dylan-168_legend_songs-to-me-were-more-important-than-jus_3059081.jpg) > ““songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality. Some different republic, some liberated republic... whatever the case, it wasn't that I was anti-popular culture or anything and I had no ambition to stir things up. I just thought of mainstream culture as lame as hell and a big trick. It was like the unbroken sea of frost that lay outside the window and you had to have awkward footgear to walk with.”” [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. Mainstream culture can feel shallow, prompting a search for deeper, transformative experiences through music. **In simple terms:** Mainstream feels shallow; seek deeper music. Key Takeaway Seek authentic artistic experiences. Themes culture music consciousness Mood reflective critical Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - listening habits - music discovery - personal growth Key Concepts aesthetic theory counterculture Questions to Reflect On - What music moves you beyond entertainment? - How do you define “altered consciousness” in art? A Different Perspective Not everyone sees mainstream as shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legend/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Mainstream culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream-culture/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Pop culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-culture/) [Superficiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality/) ## Related quotes > [“I had no songs in my repertoire for commercial radio anyway. Songs about debauched bootleggers, mothers that drowned their own children, Cadillacs that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-had-no-songs-in-my-repertoire-for-commercial-radio-anyway-songs/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“..And songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/and-songs-to-me-were-more-important-than-just-light-entertainment/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Perhaps the most common argument against the advocates of cancel culture is that they're lame and uncreative - and I think they generally are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/perhaps-the-most-common-argument-against-the-advocates-of-cancel/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [Look, when I started out, mainstream culture was Sinatra, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Sound of Music. There was no fitting into it then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/look-when-i-started-out-mainstream-culture-was-sinatra-perry-como/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The meaning of the words in my songs are very important to me. But what's most important to me is that the music works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/the-meaning-of-the-words-in-my-songs-are-very-important-to-me-but/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [ The exploitation and superficiality of mainstream America is the object not of \[Bob\] Dylan's hipster scorn, but of an apocalyptic parable of holy fools… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-exploitation-and-superficiality-of-mainstream-america-is-the/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The poetry and transgression that was so much of surrealism's anarchic force has been recruited into mainstream culture. It has been made commonplace by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-poetry-and-transgression-that-was-so-much-of-surrealism-s/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [What stands out to me in America was all the police vs. citizens turmoil. It's decades of bad policing, bad schooling, racism, bigotry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/what-stands-out-to-me-in-america-was-all-the-police-vs-citizens/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the mainstream culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gierach/i-think-i-fish-in-part-because-it-s-an-anti-social-bohemian-business/) [John Gierach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gierach/) > [I’m glad mainstream culture is starting to catch up to where lesbian-feminism was 30 years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/i-m-glad-mainstream-culture-is-starting-to-catch-up-to-where-lesbian/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [“Fanfiction is the madwoman in mainstream culture’s attic, but the attic won’t contain it forever. Writing and reading fanfiction isn’t just something you do;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-jamison/fanfiction-is-the-madwoman-in-mainstream-culture-s-attic-but-the/) [Anne Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-jamison/) > [I sometimes have the sense that I live my life as a writer with my nose pressed against the wide, shiny plate glass window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-clausen/i-sometimes-have-the-sense-that-i-live-my-life-as-a-writer-with-my/) [Jan Clausen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-clausen/) > [To make an absolutely gross generalization, I think a lot of people feel like if you're mixed, more often than not you're quote unquote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-michael-key/to-make-an-absolutely-gross-generalization-i-think-a-lot-of-people/) [Keegan-Michael Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-michael-key/) > [I like the idea that you would participate in mainstream culture, especially for young girls and young kids who are looking for an alternative.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/i-like-the-idea-that-you-would-participate-in-mainstream-culture/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [Noise has taken the place of punk rock. People who play noise have no real aspirations to being part of the mainstream culture. Punk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/noise-has-taken-the-place-of-punk-rock-people-who-play-noise-have-no/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) ## 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 Legend quotes > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [“You will get your father's wealth one day but not his legacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-will-get-your-father-s-wealth-one-day-but-not-his-legacy/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“My father hasn’t told me about it but he showed me the straight path”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahmid-hassan-prohor/my-father-hasn-t-told-me-about-it-but-he-showed-me-the-straight-path/) [Fahmid Hassan Prohor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahmid-hassan-prohor/) > [It's a sport about risk and reward. It's a sport about becoming a legend. You look at guys that have stepped up on last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyron-woodley/it-s-a-sport-about-risk-and-reward-it-s-a-sport-about-becoming-a/) [Tyron Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyron-woodley/) > [I know there'll be comparisons, but I consider it an honor to be compared to Audrey Hepburn. She's a legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-oxenberg/i-know-there-ll-be-comparisons-but-i-consider-it-an-honor-to-be/) [Catherine Oxenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-oxenberg/) > [I'm a legend now. But I'll keep my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-oliveira/i-m-a-legend-now-but-i-ll-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Charles Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-oliveira/) > [“George didn't do quiet or subtle. His big paws kicked up rocks as he stretched into his own version of a freight train.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kaniut-cobb/george-didn-t-do-quiet-or-subtle-his-big-paws-kicked-up-rocks-as-he/) [Lisa Kaniut Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kaniut-cobb/) > [No, I don't like legend. I mean, I don't like the category. And to begin with, to me, a legend is something that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/no-i-don-t-like-legend-i-mean-i-don-t-like-the-category-and-to-begin/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [Obviously, Fred Astaire was a legend. I've tried to copy some of his movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-moir/obviously-fred-astaire-was-a-legend-i-ve-tried-to-copy-some-of-his/) [Scott Moir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-moir/) > [It puts a smile on my face to be compared to a legend. Year by year, as you play basketball, you've got to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/it-puts-a-smile-on-my-face-to-be-compared-to-a-legend-year-by-year-as/) [Lebron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [“love Dora too!” Great, I’m a legend with 5 year olds!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-campbell/love-dora-too-great-i-m-a-legend-with-5-year-olds/) [Bill Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-campbell/) > [I want to build to that mogul, legendary level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-nas-x/i-want-to-build-to-that-mogul-legendary-level/) [Lil Nas X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-nas-x/) > [I am not saying Gary Neville is a nobody. He has accomplished a lot in his life, he is a legend. But as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-arnautovic/i-am-not-saying-gary-neville-is-a-nobody-he-has-accomplished-a-lot-in/) [Marko Arnautovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-arnautovic/) > [Jackie Robinson is a true legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/jackie-robinson-is-a-true-legend/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) [Browse all 531 Legend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“songs, to me, were more important than just light entertainment. They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality. Some different republic, some liberated republic... whatever the case, it wasn't that I was anti-popular culture or anything and I had no ambition to stir things up. I just thought of mainstream culture as lame as hell and a big trick. 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