--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the only thing i knew how to do was to…" description: "\"the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on\" — Bob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg" --- # the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on ![“the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg) > “the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on” [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. Persistence is the only known skill; keep moving forward despite uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Keep moving forward. Key Takeaway Maintain perseverance despite unknowns. Themes resilience determination continuity Mood determined steady Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career challenges - personal setbacks - long‑term projects - daily routines Key Concepts existential philosophical motivation Questions to Reflect On - What does “keep on keeping on” mean to you? - When might persistence become counterproductive? A Different Perspective May ignore needed adaptation, leading to stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Keeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping/) [Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew/) [Knew Keeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-keeping-5458120/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-knew-407287/) ## Related quotes > [“You’ve gotta be the best thing I never knew I wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-zapata/you-ve-gotta-be-the-best-thing-i-never-knew-i-wanted/) [Mariana Zapata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-zapata/) > [I realize I don't do a very good job in keeping up to date, but I try to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-realize-i-don-t-do-a-very-good-job-in-keeping-up-to-date-but-i-try/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I never fantasized or invented a thing, not one thing. I knew every single thing I ever wrote about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/i-never-fantasized-or-invented-a-thing-not-one-thing-i-knew-every/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [The thing is, I knew from the very first audition that I did not fit the classic 'X Factor' criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/the-thing-is-i-knew-from-the-very-first-audition-that-i-did-not-fit/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I think the only thing I knew for sure is that I wanted to, whatever I did, I wanted to travel with my work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-think-the-only-thing-i-knew-for-sure-is-that-i-wanted-to-whatever-i/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“If there was one thing I knew, it was that our demons were what shaped who we were. The things we do, the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-c-doyle/if-there-was-one-thing-i-knew-it-was-that-our-demons-were-what-shaped/) [Barbara C. Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-c-doyle/) > [...she needed to confirm its presence. Like the keeper of the lighthouse and the prisoner, she regarded it as a mooring, a checkpoint, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-needed-to-confirm-its-presence-like-the-keeper-of-the-lighthouse/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“If there’s one thing I knew about Gina it was that she didn’t like simple answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-there-s-one-thing-i-knew-about-gina-it-was-that-she-didn-t-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think I always knew that I would do something with art because it was the one thing that I knew I was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-think-i-always-knew-that-i-would-do-something-with-art-because-it/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [I was watching 'Space Jam' when I was a kid but that was pretty much the only thing I knew about the NBA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-gobert/i-was-watching-space-jam-when-i-was-a-kid-but-that-was-pretty-much/) [Rudy Gobert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-gobert/) > [“Danny had no idea what the thing was. All he knew was that he lived more or less in a constant state of expecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/danny-had-no-idea-what-the-thing-was-all-he-knew-was-that-he-lived/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“One thing we knew for certain- despite all our certainties, it was very difficult to guess what one individual was thinking at any given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/one-thing-we-knew-for-certain-despite-all-our-certainties-it-was-very/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“Once again, Jack reached for her hand. It was the only thing he knew how to do. As it would turn out, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/once-again-jack-reached-for-her-hand-it-was-the-only-thing-he-knew/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Once you found the math in a thing, you knew everything about it, and you could manipulate it to your heart’s content with nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/once-you-found-the-math-in-a-thing-you-knew-everything-about-it-and/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [What a subtle, treacherous thing it was to let yourself go that way! Because once you've started it was terribly difficult to stop; soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/what-a-subtle-treacherous-thing-it-was-to-let-yourself-go-that-way/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) ## 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 Keeping quotes > [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/especially-for-those-of-us-who-lived-in-single-cells-you-had-the-time/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [It is by chance that I met you, and by choice I am keeping you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/it-is-by-chance-that-i-met-you-and-by-choice-i-am-keeping-you/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“I have a hard time keeping my hands off you without that added bonus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-have-a-hard-time-keeping-my-hands-off-you-without-that-added-bonus/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Keeping in touch with the people that matter is important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/keeping-in-touch-with-the-people-that-matter-is-important/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [A lot of young musicians in Stockholm are about keeping tradition alive and moving it forward at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/a-lot-of-young-musicians-in-stockholm-are-about-keeping-tradition/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [I always wanted to do be an allrounder. I don't know why I picked keeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-karthik/i-always-wanted-to-do-be-an-allrounder-i-don-t-know-why-i-picked/) [Dinesh Karthik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-karthik/) > [Keeping score is for games, not friendships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/keeping-score-is-for-games-not-friendships/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [By far the most difficult skill I learned as a C.E.O. was the ability to manage my own psychology. Organizational design, process design, metrics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/by-far-the-most-difficult-skill-i-learned-as-a-c-e-o-was-the-ability/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [In general, we like to play as a band - guitar, piano, and voice. We also tour with a bass player, a drummer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dost/in-general-we-like-to-play-as-a-band-guitar-piano-and-voice-we-also/) [Andrew Dost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dost/) > [I'll never forget how she told us. She took us all out to brunch, and she was like, 'You guys, I'm keeping this one.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-ll-never-forget-how-she-told-us-she-took-us-all-out-to-brunch-and/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [I think film requires a lot more patience and concentration and each day you're keeping the entire picture in your head throughout a two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawnee-smith/i-think-film-requires-a-lot-more-patience-and-concentration-and-each/) [Shawnee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawnee-smith/) > [There's nothing better than keeping fit. It gives me energy and helps me think more clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-donovan/there-s-nothing-better-than-keeping-fit-it-gives-me-energy-and-helps/) [Trevor Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-donovan/) > [There are too many people around keeping me grounded to go off the rails. I'm my own person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-scott/there-are-too-many-people-around-keeping-me-grounded-to-go-off-the/) [Naomi Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-scott/) [Browse all 642 Keeping quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-keep-on-keeping-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Keeping" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-keep-on-keeping-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bob-dylan-168_keeping_the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-k_2305133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on” — 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": "the only thing i knew how...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-keep-on-keeping-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-only-thing-i-knew-how-to-do-was-to-keep-on-keeping-on/#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 } } ] } ```